The German Dharmaduta Society (GDS) was founded to propagate Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 and establish the Buddha Sasana in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and other Western countries. The society was founded in 1952 by Asoka Weeraratna.

The GDS sponsored the first Buddhist Mission to Germany in 1957, and continues to send monks to reside and conduct Dharmaduta work at the Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 Buddhist Vihara in Germany. The GDS administers the Berlin Vihara which was founded in 1957 by Asoka Weeraratna (later known as Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thero). In 1967, he founded the meditation monastery Nissarana Vanaya

Nissarana Vanaya

Nissarana Vanaya is a famous meditation monastery in Sri Lanka. It is located in western province close to the town of Kirindiwela.-History:Meetirigala Nissarana Vanaya is a monastery in the strict forest tradition in Sri Lanka...