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| Sravasti was the prosperous capital of the Kingdom of Kosala, and the place where the Lord Buddha spend more Vassa retreats than any other. His first visit to the city was to perform the miracle of the pairs, when the Buddha rose into the air and simultaneously emitted fire and water over the heads of his astounded audience, thereby defeating six philosopher magicians and converting them to the Dhamma.
Sravasti was also the site of many of his previous lives as a Bodhisattva as recounted by Lord Buddha in the Jataka, but most importantly of all, it is where he spent much of his latter life shaping his sangha of monks. There were two major monasteries in the city, the Eastern monastery, or Purvarama donated by Visakka, and to the South, the Jeta grove, purchased by the merchant Anathapindaka. Within the Jetavana was the Gandakhuti, the Hall of Fragrance where Lord Buddha taught the Dharma and from which the teachings were spread for centuries thereafter as an important centre of the Sarvastivadin school. Near Sravasti are also stupas erected over relics of the three previous Buddhas of this era, Kraccuchanda, Kanakamuni and Kasyapa.
LBDFI has recently sponsored and erected a great Dharma Bell at Sravasti. It stands in the grounds of the Burmese Temple near the entrance to the Jetavana.
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