The Buddhist Maha Vihara was founded by the Sinhalese community based in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding areas in 1894 to provide a place of worship in their Sri Lankan Theravada tradition.
Most of Shinhalese were either traders or artisans and skilled workers brought in from Ceylon by the British Administration to develop the colonial Malayan Civil Service.
The Buddhist Maha Vihara was commonly known as the Brickfields Buddhist Temple for many years.