Buddhist Temples of Kolkata (Calcutta)

A compilation of Buddhist Temples in Kolkata (Calcutta)

Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, has always been a melting pot of people of different religion and ethnicity. As the different religious group settled in a new city they set up there own place of worship.

As these religious group were further divided in sub sects and ethnicity, each of these groups started coming up with there own place of worships.

Unlike the Christian, Jews and Parsis the Buddhist came much later to the city and only a handful of there temples date backs over a century. But still Kolkata boast a interesting collection of Buddhist Temples, belonging to different ethnic groups, and scattered all  over the city.

1. Chinese Buddhist Temple, Lake Town

Chinese Buddhist Temple, Lake Town

The Chinese Buddhist Temple is located on Jessore Road in between Lake Town and Bangur.

The official address is 426 Jessore Road and the temple is located on a narrow lane on the opposite foot of Lake Town and Bangur.

It is a new temple, opened only in 1962. It went through an extension in 1972. The Chinese Buddhist Temple on Jessore Road consists of a large central hall and several smaller shrines. It also houses a library containing a large number of hand written religious text.

The temple is not very well maintained and is rarely visited by devotes. An old lady caretaker looks after the Chinese Buddhist Temple.

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Hsuan Tsang Monastery ~ Paschim Chowbaga, Calcutta (Kolkata)

Hsuan Tsang Chinese Buddhist Temple (Monastery)

Paschim Chowbaga (Tiljala), Calcutta (Kolkata)

Also see: My blog post on Calcutta (Kolkata) Chinatown and Buddhist Temple of Kolkata (Calcutta)

Hsuan Tsang Monastery, Paschim Chowbaga (Tiljala), Calcutta (Kolkata)

As I stepped inside the monastery complex I was reminded of the mountains, the Himalayas. The Hsuan Tsang Monastery has remarkable resemblance with his Himalayan counterparts like Rumtek, Hemis and Tawang, each of which built over a large area containing several temples and other religious structures.