Introduction to Buddhism Course

Mangala Vihara, or the Shrine of Blessings, was founded by the late Tripitakacarya Sri Saddharma Vagisvara Upsddhayaya M M Mahaweera Maha Nayaka Thero and built on its current location which was donated by the late Madam Chew Quee Neo in 1959. A 2-storey building was completed in March 1960. The Shrine Hall occupied most of the ground floor with the kitchen, Honorary Treasurer’s and Honorary Secretary’s rooms. The second level consisted of a lecture-cum-library hall and the Sangha (Monks) quarters. The Singapore Buddhist Pali Society, which our devotees was registered as members, was the brainchild of our late founder.

Upon the completion of the building, our late founder planted the sapling of the Maha Bodhi tree from Anuradhapura (the ancient city of Sri Lanka), given to him by the first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Since the planting of the Maha Bodhi sapling, many Buddhists have come to venerate the tree and it has since grown into a huge, healthy tree.