an organization that was established to encourage Buddhist studies in India and abroad. The society was founded in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1891 by Anagarika Dharmapala; one of its original goals was the restoration of the Mahabodhi temple at Buddh Gaya (Bihar state, India), the site of the Buddha's enlightenment, which at that time was in the hands of a Hindu landowner. In 1949 the government of Bihar passed the Buddha-Gaya Temple Act, which entrusted the management of the temple to a committee composed equally of Hindus and Buddhists.

The society has its headquarters in Calcutta and operates centres in several other cities in India and at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka. An English-language journal, The Maha Bodhi, is published by the society.