Buddhist architecture : study of contemporary Sri Lankan Buddhist temple architecture and it's compatibility with Buddhist philosophy with special reference to awasage

Abstract

The main task of religion is to set a reference for people for the way of people and direct them through a correct way of life, in harmony with the society. For that there are large number of religions in the world and among them "Buddhism" takes a major place. Out of them Buddhism explains the people the way to achieve spiritual salvation while correcting their lay life. temples can be considered as a center through which Buddhism survived and spread among public. It is the retreat where to any Buddhist is dragged, (no matter how away they are from religion) when they are in an utter mess with worldly life. No matter how occupied one is in worldly affairs, they have Buddhist principles and temple as a symbol of them behind their minds as reference, which come in to surface in utter disappointment of worldly life. Environment of the temple has so long been prepared in order to fulfill those objectives Temple has remained for long as a place giving spiritual relaxation, with it's built environment. Built environment of temples, sensitivity arranged, helped the users to achieve their objectives within that. Maurice Broadly describes that. "That architectural design has a direct and determinate effect on the way people behave. It implies a one way process in which the physical environment is the independent and human behaviors the dependent variable" (Mauricen Broady) So its true that any built environment should be shaped according to the objectives, which are to be achieved within that built environment. The study is primarily based on the argument that the Buddhist temples should be compatible with the Buddhist philosophy.