Dhammikarama Burmese Temple, Buddhist temple in George Town, Malaysia

Dhammikarama Burmese Temple is a Theravada Buddhist temple on Lorong Burma in George Town, opposite Wat Chayamangkalaram. Its white-walled main building has a low, broad form with a multi-tiered roof of orange tiles, each tier edged with gold ornamentation and topped with small gold spires. A smaller projecting entrance faces a lawn planted with slender palm trees.

The temple was established in 1803 by Burmese settlers and stands as the first Buddhist structure of its kind built on Penang. This founding marked the beginning of an enduring Burmese religious presence on the island.

The temple hosts the annual Water, Thingyan and Mid-Autumn festivals and Buddhist Lent, and women have been its mainstay since 1803, when four female trustees — Nyonya Betong, Nyonya Meerut, Nyonya Koloh and Nyonya Bulan — supported it. A well dug for the surrounding Burmese community stands unused since piped water arrived.

The temple welcomes visitors daily and is most peaceful during early morning or late afternoon hours when fewer people are present. Photography may have restrictions in certain areas, so it is respectful to ask permission before taking pictures inside the temple halls.

Among the guardian figures are a pair of winged chimeras called Panca Rupa, the Guardian Protectors of the World, and chinthe lions, alongside statues of elephants, fish and the garuda that stand for the three realms of land, air and sea. A large mural shows the Renunciation of the Buddha.