Anagarika Dharmapala eport

อนาคาริกธรรมปาละ Anagarika Dharmapala

By Pichaapat Suwimolsateain M. 5/18 One. 22

Content

Preface
Introductory Story
To profess Buddhism
His/her work on Buddhism

Virtues as good model for leading a life
Reference

Preface

This report is a part of SOC32106 (Moral Subject) and in order to gain practical knowledge in the field of
Buddhism. This basis for this report is originally stemmed from my passion of gaining more and more
knowledge about Buddhism. And finally , I hope you’ll enjoy learning from reading this report.

Regarding, Pichayapat Suwimolsateain M. 5/18 #22

Introduction Story

Anagarika Dharmapala was a religious leader who is credited with introducing Buddhism to the
United States and Europe. He also helped to restore Buddhism in his native Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka)
after centuries of foreign invaders had forced their religions on its citizens. He gave new energy to the religion
through a reform movement that emphasized its moral and ethical aspects. Anagarika Dharmapala preached
his ideas in many countries and was the Buddhist representative to the World Parliament of Religions in
Chicago, Illinois, in 1893. He made several other trips to the United States and Europe and wrote widely on
Buddhist topics before dying in India in 1933.
"The tendency of enlightened thought of the day all over the world is not toward theology, but philosophy
and psychology. Indeed, the [ship] of theology drifts into danger."

History: The making of a Buddhist

Anagarika Dharmapala was born David Hewavitarne in Colombo, Ceylon, on September 17, 1864. His
father, H. Don Carolis, was the wealthy founder of a furniture manufacturing business. His mother was
Mallika Hewavitarne, whose surname comes from a famous queen in Buddhist literature. The family was of
Sinhalese origin. The Sinhalese people arrived in Ceylon from northern India around the fifth century bce.
They conquered the native forest-dwelling Veddas and quickly formed the majority of the nation's
population. Buddhism was adopted as the national religion in the third century bce, and the island became
one of its leading world centers.
Several centuries of foreign intervention began when the Tamil people of south India invaded Ceylon in the
late third century. Then the Portuguese conquered much of the island by the late sixteenth century and
introduced Roman Catholicism to the inhabitants. Slightly more than a century later, the Dutch overthrew the
Portuguese and occupied Ceylon. They were in turn defeated by the British, who made most of Ceylon a
crown colony in 1798 and installed the Anglican religion. In 1815 the entire country was brought under
British rule, and the ancient line of Sinhalese kings ended. The British established rubber, tea, and coffee
plantations and created an educational system in the form of missionary schools and a university. The native
population attempted to regain its independence several times, but the British remained in power until 1948.
When Hewavitarne was born in 1864, the country had been under British control for many years. Christianity
had replaced Buddhism as the religion of much of the population, and the Sinhalese culture was largely lost as
a result of the three hundred years of foreign occupation. Most of the middle and upper-middle class
population, especially in the coastal areas, had taken Christian names, including Hewavitarne's family. Young
David was sent to missionary schools for primary and secondary education, as was the practice at the time. At
Saint Benedict's Anglican School and then later at Saint Thomas's Collegiate School, Christian values were
emphasized, and church attendance and Christian religious instruction were required.
Throughout his education, however, Hewavitarne did not lose his belief in Buddhism, his ancestors' faith. He
became influenced by two of the most well-known Buddhist leaders of the period, Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri
Sumangala Thera and Migettuwatte Sri Gunananda Thera. Hewavitarne found he much preferred the two
Buddhists' simple lifestyles over those of the missionary teachers for whom he had little respect. After
witnessing a riot that broke out after Christians attacked a peaceful Buddhist procession, Hewavitarne became
disgusted with the hypocrisy (the claiming of beliefs one does not actually hold or follow) of the British and
their religion. He dropped out of school to study on his own.

Around this time Ceylon received a pair of interesting guests. One of these, Helena Blavatsky (1831–1891),
was a founder of the Theosophical Society, a mystical religious and philosophical movement that combines
Buddhist and Hindu beliefs. The society is aimed at helping a Western audience investigate the universe and
humanity's place in it by becoming closer to the divine. Blavatsky was accompanied by the society's
cofounder, Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907). The two had come to Ceylon to learn more about
Buddhist principles. Soon after their arrival they began studies with a bhikkhu, an ordained Buddhist monk,
and declared themselves Buddhists. After he dropped out of school, Hewavitarne met Blavatsky and Olcott
and joined the Theosophical Society. He acted as a translator to aid Olcott in his efforts to open Buddhist
schools throughout the country and revitalize Buddhism. Hewavitarne also became a good friend of
Blavatsky, who encouraged him to learn Pali, an early Indian language in which much of the Buddhist canon,
or body of literature, is written. Blavatsky also inspired him to work for his people and religion.
Hewavitarne gave up his family wealth and changed his name to Dharmapala, which means "guardian of the
dharma." The dharma are the teachings of the Buddha, an Indian philosopher and the founder of Buddhism
who revealed the path to enlightenment and nirvana. For a first name he took Anagarika, which means "one
who has no home." This choice reflected his pledge to dedicate himself to a life following the rules of
Buddhism, including celibacy, or refraining from sexual intercourse. He wore a yellow robe similar to those of
Buddhist monks, although he was not one himself. He also counseled others to exchange their Western
names for traditional native names. Dharmapala assisted Olcott in opening more than three hundred schools
in Ceylon. This helped revive Buddhism's traditional branch of Theravada, which means "the way of the
elders."
When he was twenty years old, Dharmapala began writing for a weekly paper, the Saraasavi-Sandaresa. This
was the first of many writing jobs he held throughout his lifetime. He eventually took over the paper's entire
operation, writing, printing, and distributing it twice a week. He argued for a revival of native Sinhalese
traditions and a return to the country's Buddhist roots. Together with Olcott he toured Ceylon's villages to
see the religious conditions across the country for himself. In 1888 he founded an English-language
newspaper, the Buddhist, and used it to communicate his thoughts about the Buddhist revival and Sinhalese
nationalism to the English-speaking community.

Missions abroad

In 1888 Dharmapala traveled with Olcott to Japan to visit Buddhist sites and to attempt to encourage good
relations among the different branches of Buddhism. Three years later Dharmapala and Blavatsky toured
India, the country of Buddhism's origins. The religion had nearly died out there, however. Dharmapala was
distressed to find Buddhist shrines, such as the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya, in poor condition. When
he returned to Ceylon, Dharmapala founded the Maha Bodhi Society in order to restore the temple, which
honors the site of Buddha's enlightenment. The aims of the society soon broadened to include teaching and
promoting Buddhism in Ceylon and India. In 1892 he founded the Maha Bodhi Journal to aid in this process.
Dharmapala became known outside Asia when he traveled to Chicago in 1893 as the Theravada Buddhist
representative to the World Parliament of Religions. Though he was a young man of only twenty-nine among
gray-haired elders, Dharmapala spoke emotionally and intelligently of his religion. He gained followers in the
United States and opened a U.S. chapter of the Maha Bodhi Society.

Buddhism in Sri Lanka

In the early twenty-first century, Sri Lanka was the home of the world's oldest ongoing Buddhist civilization.
Though the religion began in India, it nearly ceased to exist there after it spread to other countries. The
Indian emperor Ashoka Maurya, also called Asoka, who ruled from c. 273 to c. 232 bce, converted to
Buddhism after a bloody struggle to gain power and was determined to devote himself to peace. He
attempted to achieve this by sending missionaries outside of India to spread the faith. One of these, his son,
Mahinda, is credited with bringing Buddhism to Ceylon in the third century bce.
The Sinhalese king accepted Buddhism, linking the religion with the line of Ceylon rulers. The civilization's
magnificent central city of Anuradhapura became the center for Theraveda Buddhism. The city covered a
relatively large amount of land, measuring about 30 square miles, and featured houses of two and three stories
tall and temples up to nine stories tall. By the fifth century ce, eight thousand Buddhist monks lived there. A
cutting from the bodhi tree, the sacred fig tree under which the Indian philosopher Buddha (563–483) was said
to have been sitting when he gained enlightenment, was planted in the city. When the Tamil invaded in the
eighth century, the Sinhalese moved farther south and the city was abandoned.
Despite occupations by three different foreign powers and the invasion of Christianity, Buddhism retained a
hold on the people of Ceylon. The Sinhalese kings remained Buddhists until the British overthrew the last of
their line in 1815. The efforts of Anagarika Dharmapala and other reformers helped to revive the religion in
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, restoring a belief system with roots more than two thousand years old.
Due to their efforts, Sri Lanka eventually became the primary center of Theravada Buddhism in the world.

To Process Buddhism

A life of Buddhist service

Dharmapala continued to work for the revival of Buddhism in his native Ceylon and in India. He also spoke
out for an independent Ceylon, free of British rule. When Blavatsky died Dharmapala stopped working with
the Theosophical Society. A wealthy American patron, Mary E. Foster, helped finance further tours abroad
for him. During an 1896 tour, Dharmapala was able to celebrate the first Wesak Festival in the United States.
The Wesak Festival is held in honor of the Buddha's birthday and enlightenment. In 1906 he founded a
weekly publication, the Sinhala Bauddhaya, with financial support from Foster. In this paper he discussed his
twin passions of Buddhism and Sinhalese nationalism and criticized the British administration in Ceylon. His
also continued to travel around the world. He opened new branches of the Maha Bodhi Society in cities such
as London, England; New Delhi, India; and New York in the United States. On a trip to England in 1926, he
founded a publication called the British Buddhist, and the following year he led that nation's first Wesak
Festival.
His efforts to promote Sinhalese nationalism and an independent Ceylon gained him many enemies. Because
of this, towards the end of his life he decided to leave Ceylon and settle in India. On January 13, 1933, he was
ordained (authorized to have priestly authority) a bhikkhu, or Buddhist monk, by Sinhalese monks. He died
three months later.
Dharmapala is credited with establishing a code of ethics directed at the Buddhist worshippers rather than at
the monks and nuns. This code is in many respects similar to Protestant Christianity with its emphasis on
worldly, ethical actions. For example, Dharmapala emphasized integrating basic Buddhist beliefs such as the
Eightfold Path in one's daily life, similar to the way the Ten Commandments provide rules for everyday living
for Christians. Some have described the result as a "Protestant Buddhism," which focuses on spiritual
teachings in one's everyday life.
He is best known for three lasting achievements. First, he revitalized Buddhism in Sri Lanka, the home of the
religion's oldest school, and in India, the religion's birthplace. Second, he introduced Buddhist teachings
throughout Asia, North America, and Europe. Third, he awakened a Sinhalese nationalism which had been
inactive due to so many centuries of foreign rule. Dharmapala left behind a large body of published work,
including Return to Righteousness: A Collection of Speeches, Essays, and Letters of the Anagarika Dharmapala, and
many writings on Buddhism.

His Work on Buddhism

Anagarika Dharmapāla is noted because he was: the first global Buddhist missionary. ... a pioneer in the
revival of Buddhism in India after it had been virtually extinct for several centuries. the first Buddhist in
modern times to preach the Dhamma in three continents: Asia, North America, and Europe.

Anagārika Dharmapāla (1864–1933) was the leading figure in the Sri Lankan Buddhist renaissance that sought
to restore Buddhism during the late colonial period. Born Don David Hēvāvitarana into an elite Sinhala
Buddhist family, he met Colonel Henry Olcott and Madame Elena Petrovna Blavatsky and joined their newly
formed Buddhist Theosophical Society in 1884 in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). Seeing the depressed condition of
Buddhism in both Sri Lanka and India, Dharmapala took it as his mission to revive Buddhism. In his work he
sought to enable Buddhists to address the twofold task of recovering their identity and finding ways to
respond to modernity. Creating a new role for himself in Buddhism, he became an anagārika (homeless one),
who was neither a monk nor a layperson, and he took the name Dharmapāla (protector of the dharma).
A tireless activist, Dharmapāla worked in India, where he founded the Maha Bodhi Society and sought to
restore the Buddhist shrine of the sacred bodhi tree at the site of the Buddha's enlightenment in Bodh GayĀ.
Through his writings and his brilliant oratory, he critiqued the colonial and Christian suppression of
Buddhism and Buddhists. Relying on Buddhist texts such as the Mahāvaṃsa, he linked Buddhism and Sinhala
nationalism and challenged Sinhala Buddhists to reclaim their true identity and abandon their attachment to
colonial values. Dharmapāla popularized a reformed Buddhism that was characterized by a lay orientation, a
this-worldly asceticism, an activist and moralist focus, and a strong social consciousness. Dharmapāla traveled
widely in Asia preaching these ideas, and he introduced the West to his reformist vision when he represented
Buddhism at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893.

Virtues as good model for leading a life

He spoke of the late leader’s commitment to the country’s own cultural traditions and his role in
engendering an atmosphere which served as a backdrop to Independence which was achieved fifteen years
after his death in Sanchi. The Minister paid tribute to the Anagarika’s success in propagating the message of
Buddhism in terms which had a powerful appeal throughout the world. He made special mention of the
Anagarika’s emphasis on the scientific foundations of Buddhist doctrine, and his references to Charles
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. The persuasive appeal of his rational, analytical approach received wide
acclaim in international fora, including the Congress of Religions in Chicago, the Minister said. An important
facet of his work was the importance he attached to the laity and the relevance of Buddhist values to everyday
life, especially in relation to vocations and livelihoods. Prof. Peiris characterized the Anagarika as a role model
whose example serves as a continuing inspiration today.

The keynote address was delivered by India’s High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Yashwardhan K.
Sinha. Mr. Bandula Gunawardena, Minister of Education, distributed Awards on the invitation of the
Mahabodhi Society. Among the participants were delegates from India, Korea and members of the Japanese
Parliament.
Senior prelates of the Maha Sangha graced the occasion. Ven. Banagala Upatissa Thero welcomed the
gathering.

References:

https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/dharmapala-anagarika (Intro + history + To profess Buddhism)
https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/anagarika-dharmapala (Work)
https://mfa.gov.lk/minister-gl-peiris-extols-the-virtual-of-anagarika-dharmapala/ (virtures)