New York Buddhist Vihara

USA, New York, Queens Village

Construction of the temple was completed in 2000 with much of the work, including painting, interior furnishing, and artwork, carried out by volunteers.
The temple occupies 25 ha and consists of a two-story building with a basement level. In front of the entrance there is a semicircular moonstone embedded in the path. It is engraved with lions, bulls, elephants, and geese, which represent the desire, form, and formless realms. At the entrance there is a painting of Sanghamitta bringing a Bodhi tree to Sri Lanka and the king receiving it. The dining room is on the first story and the main hall is on the second story. The main hall has a narrow, rectangular layout with a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha enshrined at one end and a stupa at the other. The stupa contains relics of the Buddha. The seven skylights in the ceiling are decorated with stained-glass lotuses, which represent the first seven steps of Prince Siddhartha. The three stupas on the roof contain jewels and crystals from Myanmar and represent the Triple Gem: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. A 400-year-old palm-leaf manuscript of the Dirgha Agama in Pali is housed in the library in the basement.