Friends on the Path
You will find all the resources you need to move forward on your spiritual path.
Trained teachers skilled at explaining the Buddha’s ancient, orthodox teachings.
Guidance on putting these teachings into practice.
Techniques to use when difficulties arise.
Encouragement to keep moving forward, slowly, slowly.
A community that values spiritual development over material pleasures.
In Nicosia…
Great Cloud Buddhist Monastery in Nicosia is a place for everyone, regardless of background or experience, to learn and practice the Buddha’s ancient teachings.
You will discover a like-minded community of people seeking happiness that is not based on endless consumption and accumulation.
By learning and practicing the Buddha’s teachings, you will gain peace and happiness that is not tied to the ups and downs of ordinary life.
Here in Nicosia, the Centre is led by monks ordained and trained in the oldest Buddhist tradition, Theravada. With their guidance, we offer many opportunities for you to learn the Buddha’s teachings on mindfulness, meditation, morality, and generosity.
We offer several meditation activities as well as other opportunities to learn the teachings.
About Mahamevnawa
Mahamevanawa Buddhist Monastery was established to support the spiritual development of human beings through the teachings of the Buddha. Founded in 1999 in Sri Lanka by Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero, its sole purpose is to spread the original teachings of the Buddha. The monastery is a warm and welcoming place for everyone to investigate true happiness through Dhamma and meditation. Learn more about our monasteries in Sri Lanka.
Mahamevnawa, meaning “Great Cloud Monastery,” was the first monastery established in Sri Lanka and the site where Arahant Mahinda Thero (285 BCE – 205 BCE) first introduced the Buddha’s teachings to the island.
“I welcome you all to Mahamewnawa with thoughts of goodwill. In our Dhamma service, we have no restrictions regarding race, caste, language, color, or religion. The truth revealed by Gautama Buddha is open to everyone. If you are wise enough to understand that truth, then it is for you and for your own good and protection. Therefore, let us gather around that truth, the righteous Dhamma. Let us learn it, understand it, and live accordingly. Let us share this splendid gift of Dhamma with everyone. That is our noble duty. May you all be blessed by the Buddha, the noble Dhamma and Sangha, good noble friends in Dhamma, and all deities!” – Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda, the founder of Mahamevnawa Monastery – Polgahawela, Sri Lanka.
At Mahamevnawa
Here, the Buddha’s teachings are presented in modern language that is easy to understand. What makes Mahamevnawa unique is its effort to present the Supreme Dhamma to listeners in its original form. As a result, both young and old listen to the Dhamma and practice virtue, concentration, mindfulness, and wisdom to realize the Four Noble Truths revealed by the Supreme Buddha. Currently, there are more than 800 monks, more than 75 nuns, and thousands of lay disciples practicing Dhamma at Mahamevnawa Monasteries worldwide. There are also more than 60 Sri Lankan and international branches, including in Canada, the United States, England, Germany, Australia, South Korea, Italy, France, New Zealand, Japan, India, Cyprus, and Dubai. Learn more about our monasteries in Sri Lanka.
A place for you in Nicosia
Please visit our monastery in Nicosia to learn about the activities available for studying the teachings of the Buddha.
You may be wondering…
“Who is the founder of Mahamevnawa?”
“What are the monasteries in Sri Lanka like?”
“Is there really a Buddhist monastery in Nicosia?”
“Can non-Buddhists benefit from your activities?”
“What do Buddhists believe?”
“What happens at a monastery?”
“Who are the monks? Who are the lay people?”
“What can I expect when I visit?”
Message
Two thousand five hundred years ago, on the road of history, the most beautiful and gracious event occurred: the emergence of our mighty Lord Buddha. In the same era, there was an unquenched public thirst for the truth about life, and people sought it through various methods. However, those people were fortunate enough to be touched by the supreme wisdom of Gautama Buddha. Lord Buddha went looking for them and showed them the hidden truth of life in a unique way no one had ever encountered. It was the astonishing and ultimate truth that the Buddha discovered. Once they heard the Buddha’s wonderful words, they became the sages of their time, bringing the ‘Golden Era’ to India. People successfully got rid of the ongoing misery, anxiety, agony, awkwardness, and grief with the great teachings of the Buddha. They were able to face their life challenges without heartache, and they managed to mark the end of the continuing cycle of Samsara – birth and death. The Buddha, with his ultimate kindness, saved the people from pain and suffering. This was the most successful and beautiful time that had ever occurred. The intelligence of people in that era was not the same as today’s, and it was pretty hard to compare. They were so advanced in their thinking about life and did not easily fall into or get trapped by life’s simple, fake tastes, unlike nowadays. Lord Buddha spoke of different ways to see the path with intelligence, rejecting the myths of life with proper explanations as per the ’cause and effect theory’. Buddhism is a collection of these noble discourses, the Dhamma, which awakened the people’s wisdom.
After the passing away (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha, all his noble disciples (Sangha) who attained enlightenment safeguarded the Dhamma for the future in the ‘Magadhi’ (alias Pali) language, which was used in India at the time of the Buddha. The noble Sangha became ambassadors of the Buddha’s Dhamma and disseminated the Buddha’s teachings throughout the world. The sublime mission was carried out by the great king Dharmashoka. As a result, his son, Arahant Mihindu Thero, arrived on our little Island with the intact words of Lord Buddha. The most respected Arahant Mihindu Thero delivered the original sermons of the Lord Buddha to our fortunate ancestors. Arahant Mihindu Thero also introduced our ancestors to the Bhikku-hood (becoming a Buddhist monk) to help them follow a sacred life higher than the secular life patterns they knew. Lay disciples also learned to practice this Dhamma in their day-to-day lives. The noble mission of Arahant Mihindu Thero established Buddhism in Sri Lanka and safeguarded its existence for many generations to come.
Over time, anonymous changes affected the economic, social, political, educational, and religious sectors in every part of the world. As a result, the novel Buddhism and the practicality among followers disappeared. Fortunately, the most precious teachings of the Buddha that were rendered to us by Arahant Mihindu Thero were safely protected.
Though the practical application of Buddhism among the people began to fade, people have continued to seek something better and more realistic for themselves. At present, the public is not as keen to seek the truth as in the Buddha’s era. Still, there are wise groups interested in investigating the hidden side of life. I tried hard to learn the Dhamma, facing many challenges along the way as I sought to uncover this ultimate truth. I was fortunate to read the noble Dhamma of the Buddha in full – the dignified inheritance of Arahant Mihindu Thero. Buddhism is the most wondrous wisdom in the world. These teachings show us the enormous talent, kindness, self-consciousness, pure mind, intelligence, and the unmatched identity of the greatest person who ever appeared on this earth – the Buddha. All these points together reflect one thing—the uniqueness of the Thathagatha (one of many names used to address the Supreme Buddha).
I started the Dhamma service under the name ‘Mahamewnawa’ in 1999 as a memorial to the noble mission of Arahant Mihindu Thero. When we at Mahamewnawa began preaching the lucid Dhamma of the Buddha, intelligent groups from all over the Island gathered around us with renewed interest in this ultimate truth. We shall be fond only of the truth that the Buddha revealed to us. If someone respects and worships the Dhamma, has a perspective on life, and lives according to the Dhamma, then that will be enough for the disciple who desires to find the truth. This is because the truth of life can be expressed exclusively by Buddhism.
I welcome you all to Mahamewna with Mettha. Within our Dhamma service, we have no restrictions on race, caste, language, color, or religion. The truth unveiled by Gautama Buddha is open to everyone. If you are wise enough to understand that truth, then that truth is for you and for your own good and protection. Therefore, let us gather around that truth, the righteous Dhamma. Let us learn it, understand it, and live accordingly. Let us share this splendid gift of Dhamma with everybody. That is our noble duty at this time. May you all be blessed by the Buddha, the noble Dhamma, and the Sangha, good noble friends in Dhamma, and all deities!
~ Ven. Kiribathgoda Gnanananda Thero ~