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| Saturday, 17 April 2004 |
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Book Review : Saddhamangala Karunaratne felicitation volume - Part II (Continued from yesterday) by Lakshman de Mel Saddhamangala Karunaratne Felicitation Volume Edited by Malini Dias and K. B. A. Edmund Published by the Department of Archaeology, Sisara Printers, 2003, pp. 326. With regard to Dambulla which Dr. Guruge says has been a monastic establishment continuously for 23 centuries, he concludes that Dambulla and Ajanta have much in common in themes and motifs. Dr. Guruge also sees in Dambulla a significant stage in the evolution of Sri Lankan Sittara art which continues to this date. The links between these three centres highlighted in this article should be a convenient take-off point to those who wish to develop further on these themes. At a time when educational reforms are very much in the air, Prof. Ananda Kulasuriya's on "A Revival of learning" provides the appropriate background by recounting Buddhist educational enterprise in the early 19th century. The colonial administration set up schools with the main purpose of converting Buddhists to its faith. The colonial policy looked down upon the education imparted in temple schools. The article goes on to examine some of the recommendations of the Colebrooke Commission which encouraged Christian missionaries to set up schools with the final aim of overthrowing Buddhism and replacing it with Christianity. The article enumerates the measures taken by the missionaries to overcome the obstacles they faced. Prof. Kulasuriya then discusses the situation in the Kandyan areas with special reference to the revival brought about by the Ven. Weliwita Saranankara Sangharaja. He explains how the centre of educational an religious activity shifted to Matara. The article is rich in details which the writer has culled from a wide variety of sources. If this article appears to be incomplete without a reference to the revival of Buddhist education in the Western part of Sri Lanka, the lacuna is filled as it were, by the article of Ven. Akuretiye Nanda who writes about the 125th anniversary of the Vidyodaya Pirivena which was established in 1873 with seven students thanks to the untiring efforts of Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala who with Ven. Walana Siddhartha, the founder of the Paramadhamma Cetiya Pirivena at Ratmalana kept alive the tradition of Buddhist education which Ven. Welivita Sri Saranankara Sangharaja revived. The article by Ven. Nanda contains a wealth of information regarding the fortunes of this foremost seat of Buddhist education. It was not only Sri Lankan students who pursued their studies here. Among the outstanding students who went through its portals were eminent savants like Henry Steele Olcott, Paulo Dhalke, Rhys Davids and Anatole France. There are several other contributions from eminent scholars appearing in this volume. Considerations of space would not allow further comment on them. However, the editors of this volume have to be congratulated for bringing together such a wide array of articles as a genuine tribute to the erudition and scholarship of Dr. Saddhamangala Karunaratne. (Concluded) |
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