Today is Buddha Purnima. Buddhist devotees around the world organize festivals and events around this Buddhapurnima. There are many places in the city of Kolkata where you can see Buddhist culture if you visit today. From Lake Town in the North to Takhuria in the South, 5 destinations have been explored for you. All these Buddhist temples are around 100 years old.
Buddhist Dharmangura Sabha, Po Barracks- A large number of people visit Will Barracks during Christmas. This central Kolkata’s Bo Barracks houses the Buddha Dharmangur congregation. It was established in 1892 by the Bengal Buddhist Association. Although the temple at Will Barracks was built in 1903. Inside the glass house is a golden Buddha statue.
Sridharmarajika Saitya Vihar, College Street- This Buddhist monastery was built around 100 years ago near College Square. The Sinhalese Buddhist monk Anagarika Dharmapala founded this Buddhist monastery in 1918. Inside the stupa here are the bones of Gautama Buddha from Emperor Ashoka’s stupa at Pattipralu. Here is the tooth of Gautama Buddha.
Myanmar Buddhist Temple, Central Avenue- This Buddhist temple was once known as Burma Buddhist Dharmasala. This temple was built in 1928. The Buddha statue is made up of five different parts. There are only five such statues in the entire world. One of them is in this temple in Kolkata and the remaining four are in Myanmar.
Nipponjen Myohoji, Thakuriya- This Japanese Buddha temple is located in Rabindra Sarovar. The temple was founded in 1931 according to the beliefs of the Nipponzan Myohoji or Nipponson-Myohaji-Daisanga sect of Buddhism. The influence of Japanese culture can be seen in the design of this beautiful temple. Inside the temple is a marble Buddha statue.
Calcutta Karma Gone Mutt, Padmapur- The temple is located in the Padmapur area of Ballyganj. The influence of Tibetan Buddhism can be seen here. Buddhist monk Akka Darjee came to Calcutta from Darjeeling in 1930 and established this monastery. Later this monastery was called Himalayan Buddha Kamba. However, in 1970, it was handed over to Ramtek Monastery in Sikkim. Later the name of the Math was changed to Calcutta Karma Gone Math.
