Buddhist Library (Singapore)

[1] Besides functioning as a lending library, it also organises Dhamma talks, accredited Buddhist courses, public art exhibitions and welfare work locally and abroad.

In 1981, Venerable Dhammaratana, a Sri Lankan Theravadin monk, founded the Buddhist Research Society (BRS) in Singapore.

He is the senior pupil of the late Venerable Bellanwila Sri Somaratana Nayaka Thera and a graduate of Vidyalankara University.

[2] In 1973, he gave up a ready-made life of an abbot in the well-established Bellanwila Temple located near Colombo in Sri Lanka to propagate the Buddha's teachings in Singapore at the invitation of Venerable M.

In the long run, education contributes towards fostering a caring and sharing society with less social ills... With a vision for the future, we started, on a modest scale, to build a library of Buddhist literature covering all three major schools of Buddhism – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.

Its facilities and programmes are:[4] The Library houses over 16,000 books in English and Chinese covering various aspects of Buddhism, including scriptural texts, doctrine, philosophy, ethics, meditation, devotion, art and architecture.

[5] The Shrine Hall, with a seating capacity for 100, is where devotional services or Pujas are held regularly and on Buddhist festivals led by Bhante.

Buddhist meditation or Bhavana in Pali, is a core mental development practice that is embedded in the Buddha's teaching and has Enlightenment as its ultimate aim.

[4] Despite its modest resources, the volunteers and supporters of The Buddhist Library regularly organise charitable activities for the needy regardless of their race or religion.