Buddhist Maha Vihara

MALAYSIA, Kuala Lumpur, Brickfields

The temple is located in Brickfields, and is thus called Brickfields Buddhist Temple by local people. It was built in 1894 and was the first temple to be constructed overseas by Sri Lankan Buddhists. The shrine hall was renovated in 1924.
The principal buildings include the main temple gate, the shrine hall, the Wisma Dharma Cakra, the Wisma Sri Dhamma, bell tower, and a pagoda. The main temple gate has three curvilinear crossbars supported by two square pillars resembling the gateway of Sanchi Stupa in India.
The three-story Wisma Dharma Cakra stands at the rear of the compound and contains the Dewan Asokan Multi-Purpose Hall, Buddhist Institute Sunday Dhamma School, and Sri Dhamma Library. The first story can accommodate 800 people. Attached to the front of the building is a tall hexagonal structure with a pyramidal roof. A statue of the standing Sakyamuni Buddha is enshrined on the upper level. At the bottom of the structure a portico is formed supported by four pillars. At the entrance to the building there is a semicircular moonstone typically found at entrances to temple buildings in Sri Lanka. A 25 m high Asoka Pillar stands to one side.
The shrine hall is the oldest building in the temple. It is a single-story building surrounded by a colonnade. It houses a 12 m high seated statue of Sakyamuni Buddha with hands in the bhumisparsa (earth-touching) mudra. The statue is flanked by Sariputra and Maudgalyayana. On the left of the hall there is a 20 m high standing Buddha statue, while on the right there is a 23 m long statue of the Reclining Buddha.