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| Thursday, 22 April 2004 |
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Dr. Paul Dahlke and his Buddhist House by Anagarika Dharmapala The 80th Anniversary of Das Buddhistische Haus in Berlin - Frohnau, Germany will be commemorated this year by the German Dharmaduta Society through a series of activities.
Das Buddhistische Haus was founded by Dr. Paul Dahlke in 1924. It is the oldest and largest Theravada Buddhist Centre in Europe. It also known now as the Berlin Buddhist Vihara. It is owned and maintained by the German Dharmaduta Society founded by Asoka Weeraratna in 1952. Dr. Paul Dahlke was a pioneer of Buddhism in Germany and prolific author. He visited Sri Lanka eight times. He died in 1928. The Anagarika Dharmapala was a close friend of Dr. Dahlke and on his way to England in 1925 the Anagarika spent 10 days at the Buddhist House in Berlin - Frohnau. The Anagarika made the following observations on Dr. Dahlke and the Buddhist House in an article published in the 'Maha Bodhi' Journal in 1925: Dr. Paul Dahlke of Berlin is well-known all over the world as a thinker of great originality and as author of Buddhist Essays, which was translated into English by Bhikkhu Silacara. The Sinhala Buddhists have every reason to be proud of the achievements of Dr. Dahlke of Germany, for it was in Ceylon that he learned Pali under such well-known scholars as the Thera Sumangala and Pandit Wagiswara. For more than twenty years he has been reading and translating Pali texts, and in Europe there is no more spiritually-minded Pali scholar than Dr. Dahlke. He has travelled all over Ceylon, visited the ancient Viharas, and has been to historic Buddhist places in India and Burma. It is the personality of Dr. Dahlke that attracts people to him. In his daily life he is a living example to his disciples, strictly observing the Five Precepts, and still attending to his professional duties. It will be hard to find a better Buddhist than Dr. Dahlke. He is a strict vegetarian and takes no alcohol. His literary labours have won him fame in Germany.
His disciples stay with him in the Buddhist House, which he has erected on an elevated and picturesque site near the Kaiser Park in Frohnau, not far from Berlin. The Buddhist House stands on a hillock, calling on the people "to come and see". The architectural features of the building are a surprisingly successful mixture of Sinhalese, Japanese, Chinese and Asokan. The stone pillars of the gate at the entrance are a miniature reproduction of the Sanchi Torana of the Asoka period; the portico is of stone with engravings of pictures as found in the great Ruwanweli Dagoba in Ceylon's Sacred City of Anuradhapura. The stepping stone with its rows of royal animals and flowers and a fully opened lotus at the centre, is a replica of the moonstone found in the Viharas at Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. The lecture hall is in shape similar to a Chinese temple, and at the far end of the hall is an engraving in marble of a Buddha image, and on either side of it is a marble tablet giving stanzas from the Dhammapada and Sutta-Nipata with a German translation. At a little distance from the hall is an isolated brick hut, with a wall all round, intended for students who wish to devote themselves to Jhana contemplation. This is like the padhana-ghara (meditation hut), mentioned in later Pali texts, for the use of Bhikkhus who devote themselves to meditation. There is nothing to disturb the mind of the spiritual student. The grounds are about six acres in extent, and undulating. The atmosphere is exhilarating and the breeze that comes from the pine woods is invigorating. Frescoes of the Sanchi Stupa and replicas of various sacred figures from Ceylon and Japan are to be seen on the walls of the first and second storeys of the House. All the expenses of building the House were met by Dr. Dahlke. Every evening Dr. Dahlke gives Dhamma instructions to his pupils. They read selected verses or passages from the Pali texts, and Dr. Dahlke explains them from the Theravada standpoint. The German pupils practise the Anapanasati Bhavana (Mindfulness on in-and out-breathing), sitting in the Padmasana (lotus posture) as required by the Satipatthana Sutta (the Discourse on the Foundations of Mindfulness). There is a special guest room on the second floor provided with every convenience. Adapted from "The Maha Bodhi" (1925) Extracted from 'Essays and Poems' by Dr. Paul Dahlke (The Wheel Publication No. 77 78, 1965) Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy |
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