(Left) The Buddha outside the vihara and (above) the golden Buddha inside.Pictures by Anup Bhattacharya

The first rays of the rising sun fall on the Buddha that is seated atop the Buddhist vihara beside Kona Expressway near Santragachhi railway station. The statue has been strategically placed at the highest point so that the rays of the sun fall on the Buddha’s face.

This new building comprising a Buddha temple and an auditorium, was completed last year. Located beside a busy railway junction and expressway, this Buddhist vihara is not an ideal place for meditation and prayer, the two basic tenets of Buddhism. Rather, it focuses on social welfare and service to society that is another important facet of the faith. “Meditation and prayer, called Granthgun, is one part of Buddhist philosophy. There is another part, called the Bidheyagun, that concentrates on social welfare and service to society. At this centre, we concentrate on social service,” said Aryapal Bhikkhu, a resident monk at the vihara.

Established in 2000, the Santragachhi Buddhist Welfare Association was formed by the 45 Buddhist families, who live in south Howrah. “As there was no Buddhist temple in Howrah, we thought of starting a temple and society here. In 2001, we started a small vihara inside a temporary tin shed near a banyan tree beside Kona Expressway,” said Makhan Barua, a member of the society. Later, they acquired land to build a permanent vihara. Initially, there were no resident monks at the vihara. “They would visit the monastery every month but would not stay,” said Barua.

Things started looking up after 2006-07 when the society received a grant of Rs 1 lakh from the central government for developing and maintaining the vihara. “We built the new auditorium in 2009 and the temple on the terrace,” said Barua. Inside the temple is a golden figure of Buddha in meditation. “We got the statue four years back from Thailand and it was kept in my house. We installed it after the temple was completed last year,” said Barua.

The centre is affiliated to the Mohabodhi Society and the Buddhist Dharmankur Sabha. While meditation is practised, social service like distributing blankets among the poor in winter and conducting drawing classes for underprivileged children are a must here.

The centre’s regular expenses are met by the Buddhist families of Howrah, including providing food for the resident monks. At present, five of them stay at the centre. “Each family takes turn every month to provide their food,” said Barua.

Buddha Purnima is one of the biggest festivals here. Another occasion is the Kathin Chibar Daan utsav. “At this festival, those who have taken monkhood are given their robes, called chibar. The robes are donated by devotees,” said Aryapal.