About Us
Namo Tassa Bhagavato
Homage to the Blissful One!
Our Story —
Maryland Buddhist Vihara
Maryland Buddhist Vihara is a Theravada Buddhist temple located in Wheaton, Maryland, serving the greater Washington DC area. Founded in 1996 by Venerable Katugastota Uparatana Nayaka Thera, the Vihara began as a small community gathering place and has grown into a vibrant spiritual home for hundreds of families across Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC.
As a registered nonprofit and tax-exempt organization, the Vihara is guided by the teachings of the Theravada tradition — the oldest surviving school of Buddhism, rooted in the original Pali Canon as preserved in Sri Lanka for over 2,500 years.
Our community is diverse and welcoming. While our congregation is predominantly Sri Lankan Buddhist, we warmly receive people of all ethnicities, nationalities, and backgrounds. Americans, Sri Lankans, Burmese, Cambodians, Laotians, Vietnamese, and Thai practitioners have all found a home here.
The Vihara offers daily chanting, weekly meditation and yoga, monthly day retreats, Dhamma teachings, and a Dhamma School for young ones. We also support the wider community through religious services, blessings, cultural events, and guidance at life's important moments — from birth to marriage to passing.
Our Teacher —
Bhante Uparatana
Venerable Katugastota Uparatana Nayaka Thera is the founder, President and Chief Monk of Maryland Buddhist Vihara. Born in Sri Lanka in 1954, Bhante Uparatana was educated at Kurunegala Maliyadeva Pirivena and graduated from Kelaniya University in 1980. From 1977 to 1982, he served as a teacher at Vidhya Lankara Piriwena, teaching Buddhism and oriental languages.
He arrived in the United States in 1982 as an assistant to the renowned Bhante Henepola Gunaratana at the Washington Buddhist Vihara in Washington DC — and has dedicated the decades since to building Buddhist communities across America.
In 1996, Bhante founded the Maryland Buddhist Vihara in Wheaton, Maryland, which remains his primary home and ministry. He has also established two temples in Texas — the Austin Buddhist Vihara in Pflugerville and the Austin Buddhist Center in Delvalley — extending the reach of Theravada teachings across the United States.
Since 1989, Bhante has served as the Buddhist Chaplain of American University in Washington DC. He also teaches Sinhalese language and culture to US diplomats at the prestigious Foreign Service Institute.
In 2003, the Kandy Malwatta Chapter — one of the most revered Buddhist institutions in Sri Lanka — honored Bhante's extraordinary service by conferring upon him the title of Chief Judiciary Monk of the United States. In 2022, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by President Joe Biden in recognition of his religious and social contributions to the American people.
Bhante is a co-founder and serves as Chairman of the International Buddhist Association of America (IBAA), an organisation established to foster collaboration and cooperation among Buddhist communities across the United States. The IBAA was formally incorporated in Maryland in November 2015, following an inaugural founding meeting co-convened by Bhante and Venerable Dr. Thanat Inthisan at Wat Thai Washington DC on August 29, 2015.
Bhante is also a Founder Member and Board Advisor of the International Buddhist Committee of Washington DC, through which he plays an active role in interfaith dialogue and international Buddhist missionary work.
Charitable Work —
Uparatana Paramitha Padanama
Beyond his ministry at Maryland Buddhist Vihara, Bhante Uparatana is the Founder and Chairman of Uparatana Paramitha Padanama — a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Sri Lankan communities through social, economic, cultural and spiritual development. (heritage site conservation)
Drawing on over four decades of international relationships built through his work in the United States, Bhante established the foundation to deliver structured humanitarian support to vulnerable communities in Sri Lanka — including relief from natural disasters, economic hardship, and social inequality. The foundation focuses on child education, women's empowerment, healthcare access, cultural preservation, disaster relief and community development.
"May all living beings be happy and free from suffering."
— Most Venerable Katugastota Uparatana Thero