The Mahabodhi Society Hospital Dāna Service is a charity/compassion program connected with hospitals.

The program started around 1956 when the founder saw many suffering patients in hospitals and wanted to help them.

Free lunch served to hundreds of cancer patients in Bengaluru hospitals

Volunteers visit regularly and help patients there.

It's open to anyone who wants to help others.

It's a humanitarian charity program run by the Maha Bodhi Society, Bengaluru, focused on helping poor and suffering hospital patients through compassion and service — not medical treatment itself.

The main idea is “compassion in action” — putting Buddhist values into real social service.

History

Started in 1956 by Venerable Acharya Buddharakkhita (Bada Bhanteji). He visited Victoria Hospital and saw many patients suffering without support. He began bringing fruits and essential items to help them.Over The Time volunteers joined hospital service expanded special programs for cancer, burns, and poor patients were added

What We Do

Support for patients

• Distribute fruits and essential relief materials
• Provide nutritious meals to poor patients
• Monthly lunch for ~350 cancer patients at Kidwai Hospital

Emotional & spiritual help

• monks pray for recovery
• give counselling to patients and families
• offer comfort to lonely or poor patients

Regular hospital visits

• visits on full-moon (Purnima) days
• service at places like Victoria Hospital and burns wards

Who participates

• Buddhist monks
• volunteers
• donors
• general public (any religion)

People can:

• Donate money or food
• Help distribute materials
• Join hospital visits

The Hospital Dāna Service is only one part of Mahabodhi's wider social work, which also includes, Mahabodhi Burns & Casualty Center medical camps & medical missions artificial limb donations education and social welfare programs