Buddhist Shrine (Adyar)

Plan for the Buddhist Shrine at Adyar

Buddhist Shrine at Adyar

The Buddhist Shrine at Adyar was built in 1925 under the direction of Mr C. Jinarajadasa.

On February 12, 1883, while Col. Olcott and Alexis and Emma Coulomb where working in the Occult Room, there fell a note from Master K.H. with Rs. 150, and the plan of a sanctuary for a statue of the Buddha with orders to have it constructed. This did not happen until 1925, before the Golden Jubilee Convention.

Visit by the Dalai and Panchen Lamas

Young Tenzin Gyatso, the XIV Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama traveled to India for the first time in 1956, to celebrate the birth of Gautama Buddha. During their tour, on December 18, they went to the International Headquarters of the Theosophical Society in Adyar, Chennai, and visited the Buddhist Shrine.