Our hero, Anagarika Dharmapala
Ven. Walpola Piyananda, Chief Sangha Nayaka of
America
One hundred forty-seven years ago Anagarika Dharmapala was born into
a wealthy and influential family in Sri Lanka. At the age of 20 he chose
not to enter the family business renouncing the life of a householder
and dedicating his life to the revival and dissemination of the Buddha’s
teaching.
Two thousand six hundred years ago while sitting beneath the Bodhi
Tree, after six years of strenuous practice to discover the path that
leads to the end of suffering caused by greed, anger/hatred and
ignorance, Prince Siddhartha became the Buddha, attaining Full
Enlightenment.
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Anagarika
Dharmapala |
In 1891, Dharmapala visited the Buddha Gaya temple and the Sri Maha
Bodhi Tree and seeing the neglected condition of the temple made a vow
to rescue the holy place, to preserve it for the posterity.
He spent the rest of his life to preserve the historical sites in
India where the Buddha taught and lived; to protect the Buddhasasana in
Sri Lanka that was under siege by Christian missionaries; and to
disseminate the Dhamma throughout the world.
Buddhist education
Beginning in 1886 Dharmapala worked with Colonel Olcott, travelling
throughout Sri Lanka to raise funds for Buddhist education to counteract
the destructive effects that Christian Missionary schools had on the
noble aspects of the national character.
They established many schools, such as Ananda College and Nalanda
College in Colombo, Mahinda College in Galle, Dharmaraja College in
Kandy and Rahula College in Matara to name a few.
Working with Buddhists of China, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar,
Sri Lanka, Chittagong, India, Nepal, Tibet and Arakan he founded Buddha
Gaya Maha Bodhi Society in May, 1891 with the Most Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri
Sumangala Maha Nayake Thera as its first President.
The noble objective was to draw attention the Buddhist world to the
state of affairs at Buddha Gaya temple.
The Maha Bodhi journal was established in 1892 to publish Buddhist
Literature in English and Indian languages.
In 1893, Dharmapala attended the World Parliament of Religions held
in Chicago representing the Maha Bodhi Society and the Buddhist world
giving a speech, The World’s Debt to Buddha thoroughly impressing the
participants.
His well received lectures opened the eyes of Western intelligentsia
to the greatness of Buddha Dhamma. During his return trip, he met Mary
T. Foster, wife of a wealthy American banker who suffered from
uncontrollable anger. She asked if Buddhism could help her.
Technical institutions
He taught her the psychological advice given by the Buddha of the
cultivation of loving kindness. Practicing she succeeded and thenceforth
became his ‘Foster mother’ and with her generous donations schools,
hospitals, temples, monasteries and numerous other institutions were
established in India and Sri Lanka.
Dharmapala spent 1902-1904 touring Japan, America and Europe,
continuing to share the Dharma while familiarizing himself with the
technological advances of the West. Along with the lectures he gave, he
visited laboratories and technical institutions.
During a visit to Harvard University, he attended a class conducted
by the celebrated American psychologist William James, who remarked that
the Buddhist psychology that Dharmapala spoke on would be what everybody
would learn in another 25 years. Wherever Dharmapala travelled he
investigated technology to be able to help the development of the people
in India and Sri Lanka.
Under his initiative the first weaving school was started at Hiniduma
in Galle and another at Rajagiriya near Colombo. In a letter to the 13th
Dalai Lama he urged Tibet to begin the educational, economic and
technological development of its people to strengthen it from outside
forces.
Modern world
Upon Dharmapala’s return to Calcutta, he initiated Pali classes at
the Calcutta University, a major step towards propagating Buddhism with
the help of the Vice Chancellor. Scholarships were provided for students
of the Pali department.
From 1925 to 1927, Dhamapala toured England, America and Sri Lanka
several times. July 1926 saw the establishment of a permanent
headquarter of the London Buddhist Mission and at the end of 1927
another house was purchased for a Vihara staffed by three Sinhalese
Buddhist monks to keep burning in England the lamp of the Sublime Law.
It is now for us, the Buddhists of the world to follow the example
set by Anagarika Dharmapala: To study the Sublime Dhamma within the
context of the modern world in order to fully appreciate its clarity and
efficacy in eliminating suffering for oneself and others in the world
through the wisdom and compassion taught by the Buddha. Then will we be
able to share this most wondrous gift of the Dhamma with others
successfully for we have ‘sacca kiriya,’ (an appeal to truth): “If the
work that I am doing is good, then let help come to me, and if the work
is good, help will surely come.”
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