Seema Malaka

6°55′3.4428″N 79°51′11.7252″E / 6.917623000°N 79.853257000°E / 6.917623000; 79.853257000ArchitectureFounderHikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera,
Devundera Sri Jinaratana Nayake TheraCompletedLate 19th centuryWebsitegangaramaya.com

Part of a series on
Buddhism
Glossary Index Outline
History Timeline The Buddha Pre-sectarian Buddhism Councils Silk Road transmission of Buddhism Decline in the Indian subcontinent Later Buddhists Buddhist modernism
Dharma Concepts Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path Dharma wheel Five Aggregates Impermanence Suffering Not-self Dependent Origination Middle Way Emptiness Morality Karma Rebirth Saṃsāra Cosmology
Buddhist texts Buddhavacana Early Texts Tripiṭaka Mahayana Sutras Pāli Canon Sanskrit literature Tibetan canon Chinese canon Post-canon
Practices Three Jewels Buddhist Paths to liberation Five precepts Perfections Meditation Philosophical reasoning Devotional practices Merit making Recollections Mindfulness Wisdom Sublime abidings Aids to Enlightenment Monasticism Lay life Buddhist chant Pilgrimage Vegetarianism
Nirvāṇa Awakening Four Stages Arhat Pratyekabuddha Bodhisattva Buddha
Traditions Theravāda Pāli Mahāyāna Hinayana Chinese Vajrayāna Tibetan Navayana Newar
Buddhism by country Bhutan Brazil Cambodia China India Indonesia Japan Korea Laos Malaysia Mongolia Myanmar Russia Singapore US Sri Lanka Taiwan Thailand Tibet Vietnam
Religion portal
v t e

Seema Malaka (Sinhala: සීමා මාලකය) is a Buddhist temple in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The temple is mainly used for meditation and rest, rather than for worship. Situated in the Beira Lake, the temple was originally constructed in the late 19th century.^[1][2][3] Seema Malaka is a part of the Gangaramaya Temple and is situated few hundred meters to its east.^[4][5][6]

History

Seema Malaka was originally constructed in the late 19th century. The original structure slowly sank into the water in 1970s. In 1976, Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa was brought in to redesign and construct the temple, which stands today.^[4][7][8] The reconstruction was funded by a Sri Lankan Muslim businessman, S. H. Moosajee, and his wife, in memory of their son Ameer S. Moosajee.^[5][9]

Construction

Seema Malaka was redesigned by Geoffrey Bawa in 1976 after the original structure slowly sank; the temple is in the middle of the Beira Lake and the design was inspired by the ancient monasteries in forests of Anuradhapura and Ritigala.^[4][5][7]

The temple is constructed on three platforms over water, which are connected to the mainland and with each other by pontoon bridges. The temple's main roof is covered with blue color tiles and the temple is made from collected spindles and handrails in wooden finishes. The architecture of the edifice resembles the Kandyan era. All three platforms have numerous seated Buddha statues displaying different mudras. The main (central) platform houses wooden paneled shelter for meditation. On one of the side platforms is the Bodhi Tree which was grown from a branch of the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi tree in Anuradhapura. The four corners of the side platform have small shrines dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, Kataragama deviyo and Ganesha.^{[2][4][5][9][10]} A shrine dedicated to Guanyin is found at the entrance to the temple and another statue of Guanyin is also found within the temple complex.

Picture gallery

• 
  Buddha statue under the Bodhi Tree
• 
  Main hall of the temple
• 
  Buddha footprint at temple entrance
• 
  Vishnu statue in the temple
• 
  Guanyin statue in front of main temple hall
• 
  Guanyin shrine at the entrance to the main temple hall

• 
  Buddha statues in different Mudras towards South side of the temple
• 
  North side platform
• 
  Main hall with Bodhi Tree in background

Location

Seema Malaka is situated in the Beira Lake in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is situated 34 kilometres (21 mi) south of Bandaranaike International Airport and 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south-east of Galle Face Green.^[11]

References

External links

• Seema Malaka of Gangaramaya temple, Colombo on YouTube