Sumanapal
Bhikkhu
In the sixties of the nineteenth
century the prospect of Buddhism in Ceylon was dark. Traditional culture was
partially swept away due to the onslaughts of Portuguese, Dutch and British
invasion. Schools controlled by Christian missionaries were opened and in these
schools children were brain-washed to hate their own culture, religion and
literature. A famous hymn composed by the well known Anglican Bishop Heber
bears testimony to the attitude of the Christian missionaries to the native
people of Sri Lanka.:
“ What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft o’er Ceylon’s isle,
Where every prospect pleases
And only man is vile:
In vain with lavish kindness
The gifts of God are strewn,
The heathen in his blindness
Bows down to wood and stone.”
Under Dutch occupation the Buddhists
of Sri Lanka had to declare themselves as Christians and this rule continued
for seventy years of British rule. The law was finally abrogated in 1884 when
Col. Olcott persuaded the British Secretary of State to do so on behalf of the
Buddhists of Ceylon.
The Hewavitarne family of Matara in
South Ceylon was a family which stood steadfastly on the side of their
ancestral faith in that critical period. An important member of this family was
Hewavitarne Dingiri Appuhamy who had two sons. One of them became a monk and
known as Hittatiye Atthadassi Thera. His brother Don Caolis Hewavitarne went to
Colombo and started a furniture manufacturing business. He was married to a
young lady Mallika who was the daughter of a Colombo businessman named Andris
Perera Dharmagunawardene. Both of them wanted a son though for different
reasons. Don Caolis desired a son as a successor in the family business but his
wife wanted her son to be a monk who would help then people of her country to
return to the Noble Eight Fold Path from which they had deviated. Then on the
night of 17th September in the year 1865 a son was born to them. He
was named David and everyday with his parents he used to take refuge in the
triple gems in the shrine. At the same time he would vow to observe the
precepts. Whenever he slightly deviated from the precepts it was pinted out to
him by his mother who gently reminded him to observe them more carefully and
sincerely. It is said that the influences which a child receives in his early
years determines to a large extent the course of his later development. This
happened in Dhammapala’s case also. His deep devotion to the Buddha, Dharma and
the Sangha was a result of his father’s austere example and his mother’s
advice.
Dhammapala was admitted to girl’s
school where most of the students were Burghers i.e. a mixture of Dutch and
Sinhalese blood. Gradually he began to understand that in Sri Lanka there were
two kinds of people: on one side were the Buddhists like his parents who
followed the Dharma and the Christians who hated and wanted to destroy it.
The next school he got admitted to
was a private school where he studied for two years. In that school he got the
opportunity to study books written in Sinhalese and obtained a deep knowledge
of his mother tongue and its literature. After leaving that school he took
admission in the lowest form of St. Benedict’s Institute where on Thursdays he
had to attend a special class conducted by a brother because he was a Buddhist.
He was initiated into the Brahmacharya vow by his father and was advised to be
satisfied with whatever he got to eat and sleep a little. The event left a
permanent impression on his mind and all through his life he was habituated to
be content with whatever food he obtained and to sleep only two or three hours
at night. After that Dhammapala attended Christian Boarding School, an Anglican
institution located at Kote which was six or seven miles away from Colombo.
Here he had to attend service at 6: 30 a.m. in the Church and to recite some
verses from Genesis and Matthew as well. The boarding school master drank
alcohol and was in the habit of shooting small birds that swat on the trees.
Such a practice was revolting for Dhammapala because it went against the practice
of compassion and mindfulness preached by the Buddha. During this period some
incidents took place that had a profound impact on his mind and illustrated to
him the huge gulf that existed between the fanaticism of the Christiansand
Buddhist wisdom and tolerance. One Sunday while Dhammapala was quietly reading
a pamphlet on the Four Noble Truth the teacher mentioned above came to him and
flung it through the window after snatching it from him. On one occasion one of
his classmates died and the students were asked to offer prayers, gathering
around the dead bodies. Looking at the uneasy faces of his friends Dhammapala
came to the conclusion that prayer was a product of fear. Dhammpala was fond of
the sonorous cadences of the authorized version of the Bible and at the same
time formulated questions which perplexed and irritated his teachers. Warden Miller was the warden of the
institution in which he studied and was a staunch believer in the maxim “Spare
the rod and spoil the child.” On a May morning Dhammapala came to him and
requested to give a holiday on that day as it was the sacred day of the Birth,
Enlightenment and Death of the Buddha. The Warden was astonished at the
audacity of Dhammapala and promptly turned down his request. As a result
Dhammapala left the school for the day. On the next day he was scolded and
thrashed by the Warden. But he remained absent from school for the school on
two Vesak days in two successive years and the he received the same punishment
as before.
Dhammapala had a very large friend
circle which included boys of every class and community. He liked to argue with
his friends and told him stories from the life of the Buddha. Dhammapala had a
school fellow who was weakly succumbing to the persuasions of the Christian
missionaries. He sent his friend to the padre in the Sunday school with the
question,” If “Thou shalt not kill” is a commandment why did the Crusade take
place?” The padre replied that they were inspired by heaven. When the answer
was brought to Dharmapala he asked,” Why should God inspire people to break his
own commandments?” Dhammapala had a profound knowledge of the Christian
scriptures and that knowledge was put by him to good use in his debate against
the Christian missionaries.
Everyday on his way to the school
Dhammapala crossed Kotahena Temple where he saw Migettuvatte Gunananda who was
the greatest orator and debater of modern Sri Lanka. In 1873 a large public
meeting was arranged at Panadura near Colombo in which Gunananda met Christian
missionaries in a debate and defeated them. The incident marked the end of
Christian influence in Sri Lanka. This historic event had a profound impression
in the minds of the people Sri Lankan as well as in the minds of the
foreigners. Gunananda became intimate with two foreigners namely H. S. Olcott
of the U.S.A. and H.P. Blavatasky of Russia. By this time Dhammapala had become
a great favorite of Gunanada From his teacher he came to know that they had
come to Bombay and from there they would visit Sri Lanka to help in the revival
of Buddhism.
On their arrival in Sri Lanka Mr.
Olcott and Madame Blavatasky received a very warm welcome from the native
people who flocked in thousands to meet them. Young Dhammapala who was fourteen
years old at hat time also met them with great enthusiasm at heart. In 1884 Dhammapala was admitted as a member
of the Theosophical Society. He was profoundly influenced by Madam Blavatasky
and accompanied her to Adyar, Head Quarter of the Society though his parents
were unwilling to allow him to accompany her. In Adyar Madam Blavatasky
persuaded Dhammapalato study Pali instead of pursuing Theosophical studies as
according to her all knowledge necessary for him was available. At the same
time she also encouraged her to dedicate himself to social service and so he
returned to Sri Lanka.
In the age of twenty Dhammapala
decided to remain a celibate all through his life and that was a turning point
of his life. He obtained his parent’s permission to live in the Headquarters of
Theosophical Society because according to him the Society was working for the
development of Buddhism. In those days he would clean his own room, make his
own bed, attend office work, write all the letters, and take them to post
himself … He would interpret for one, prepare a programme for another,
translate a lecture for someone else… would discuss the policy of the editor
and would correct proofs for him…He spent well nigh 15 to 16 hours a day in
intensive work.
In 1886 when Col. Walcott and C.W.
Leadbeater arrived in Colombo for raising funds for Buddhist Education
Dhammapala joined them as an interpreter. For this he took three months leave
from his job as the junior clerk in the Education Department. For two months of
their island wide journey Dhammapala interpreted the words of Col. Walcott.
This experience offered Dhammapala a profound knowledge about his country and
countrymen. He clearly saw the backwardness of his mother land. He felt that
his country men needed inspiration and encouragement to move forward and bring
back their lost glory. Not only did he translate the speeches of Col. Walcott
he also added his own views that were in keeping with these requirements.
Gradually Dhammapala became fully aware of the destructive capabilities
of the Christian missionaries. Since then he directed most of his energy in
making people aware of this and trying to desist them from emulating the
British e.g. drinking alcohol, consuming meat, adopting foreign names, and
wearing foreigner’s attire. After the departure of Col. Walcott he carried on
his work with the help of Mr. Leadbeater. In the mean time he got a promotion
in his job and was informed about it by the letter of Colonial Secretary. But
instead of rejoining it he resigned, ignoring the advice of his father and the
Colonial Secretary himself.
During the period 1885 to 1889
Dhammapala kept himself busy working for the Theosophical Society. He was the
manager of the Sandarasa paper and in 1888 the first Buddhist journal the Buddhist
came into existence with Mr. Leadbeater as the editor. The ‘Sandarasa’
concentrated on local Buddhist news and ‘The Buddhist’ became very popular in
foreign countries like Europe, America, India, Japan, Australia etc. It created
a profound interest about Buddhism in those distant lands. Apart from that he
carried on his preaching activities throughout the island on bullock cart.
During this time he added the epithet Anagarika or homeless to his name.
In the year Col. Walcott received an
invitation to visit Japan from the high priest of the country and he there with
Dhammapala accompanying him. During the visit Dhammapala fell ill but recovered
soon and delivered two memorable
lectures in which he very eloquently emphasized the religious and cultural
unity of the two nations and expressed his love and gratitude for the people of
Japan.
In 1891 Col. Walcott went to Burma
after receiving an invitation and Dhammapala proceeded towards India on a
pilgrimage with a Japanese friend. They visited Saranath and Buddhgaya and
seeing the sad condition of Buddhgaya Dhammapala was inspired to rescue the
holy Buddhist spots from neglect. He and his friend decided to stay in that
place until he found some Buddhist monk to take charge of it. He wrote many
letters to the Buddhist countries requested them for financial and other kind
of help. He left Bodhgaya for Calcutta after six weeks to raise funds in order
to buy the property from its Hindu owner the Mahanth. He devoted some time to
this work and made the people of the Buddhist world aware of this problem. On
31st May 1891 the Mahabodhi Society was founded in which Sumnangala
Thero was President, Col. Walcott as Director, and Dhammapla himself as one of
the secretaries. Dhammapala wanted that on the full moon day of Ashara
(June-July) on which the Buddha preached his first sermon Buddhist monks should
be present at Buddhagaya. He requested four monks of the Ramanna Nikaya to
accompany him there and they started their journey on 10th July.
Dhammapala installed the four monks
in the Burmese Rest Rears and then he himself went to negotiate with the
Mahanta for the purchase of the holy place. But it was a very difficult task
because neither the Mahanta nor the British Government cooperated with him.
On October 1891 Dhammapala delivered his first
public lecture in India at the Albert Hall of Calcutta on ‘The Kinship of
Hinduism and Buddhism’. Narendranath Sen, the editor of the Indian Mirror was
present as the Chairman. In 1892 the Headquarter of Mahabodhi Society was shifted
from Colombo to Calcutta. On the year Dhammapala began to publish a journal
named ‘Mahabodhi’.
The journal became widely popular and as a
result Dharmpala received an invitation to participate in the parliament of
religious that took place in Chicago. In the meantime he made friends with the
Buddhists of Tibet and Sikkim and requested them to join hands in the works of
the Mahabodhi Society. But the fate of Mahabodhi society itself still remained
unsettled as the Mahanta of Buddhagaya told col Olcott directly that he was not
going to sell or lease the land to them. One evening Mahantas men manhandled
the Sinhala monks and their servants but the court case against them fell
through as there was no evidence.
Mrs Annie Basant accompanied Dhammapal to
Chicago where on 18th September 1893 he delivered his lecture on a world's Debt
to Buddhism. He became a very popular figure in the conference. A newspaper of
Chicago described him in the following world " with his black, curly locks
thrown back from his broad brow, his keen, clear eyes fixed on the audience,
his long brown figurines emphasising the utterances of his vibrant voice, he
looked the very image of a propagandist, and one trembled to know such a figure
stood at the head of the Buddha and to spread the light of Asia throughout the
world" (Ctg Louis observer, September 21, 1893; equated Bhikkhu
Sangharakkhita).
Mr. C. T. Strauss was very much
influenced by Dhammapalas speech and He accepted the Five precepts from
Dhammapala. Thus he Buddhism on American soil. His speeches became very popular
and brought the teaching of the Buddha to the West.
In his speech in the Parliament of Religions
Dhammapala said that during the time of the Buddha people professing different
kin8of faith lived in India. some of them were septic , some materialist some
spiritualist and some pessimist. Then he quoted some lines from Dr. Oldenburg.
"when didactic scepticism began to attack moral ideas, when a painful
longing for deliverance from the burden of being was met by the first signs of
moral decay, Buddha appeared. The Buddha taught the middle path that open our
eyes and gives us understanding. It is the path that advises us to avoid both
the paths of sensualism and extreme a secticism as unprofitable. He taught
people about the four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight Fold path that leads us
to the attainment of Nirvana. The Buddha had boundless love and compassion for
man and Sariputta, one of his leading disciple acknowledge that he was unable
to measure his merely and wisdom. His inclination was not towards theology but
towards philosophy and psychology. The Buddha founded the kingdom of
righteousness and inspired his disciples to move from place to place and spread
the message to all humanity.
In attending the Parliament of Religion
Dhammapala developed a lifelong friendship with Swami Vivekananda. They met for
the first time in the World Religion Parliament Dhammapala helped Vivekanda in
delivering his speech by giving him 5 minutes from the time allotted to him.
After the conclusion of the Parliament of
Religion on 27th September Anagarika Dhammapala departed from America through
China and Japan after giving a few lectures. Foster who was a middle age lady.
In later years she became Dhammapalas most important benefactress. Through they
met only for a few minutes but within that short spen of time the noble lady
was so much impressed by Dhammapala that she donated millions of rupees
for Buddhism and with that money many temples, monasteries, schools and
hospitals were built in Sri Lanka and India.
On 31st October Dhammapala reached Oklahoma
and soon he moved to Tokyo. There he received by 100 monks. But his attempt in
raising fund for Buddhagaya struggle build and he went to Sanghai and then to
Siam. The Siam brunch of the Mahabodhi Society was established on February
1894. But Dhammapala was very much disappointed when the Southern Buddhists did
not show saving Buddhagaya. He returned to Sri Lanka to be known a leading
Buddhist missionary of the day-
After reaching Colombo Dhammapala got a grand
reception from his countrymen. In his lectures he shared his experience in
Chicago with then and at the same time made them aware of the scheme for the
restoration of Buddhagaya. In December 1894 he organised a pilgrimage to
Buddhagaya for the first time. In February 1895 he carried a beautiful
resplendent image to Buddhagaya and installed it at the temple. But the men of
Mahanta threw it forcibly into the courtyard blew.
Dhammapala moved to the court against the
perpetrators of the crime though the court decided to the Burmese rest house in
charge of the Mahabodhi Society and allowed the image to be kept there. But
1910 the Calcutta High Court ruled that the rest House was Mahanta's property
and thus Dhammapala's expectations were thwarted. But he celebrated Vesakh in
Calcutta. In 1896 he visited America for the second time when Dr. Paul eaus,
the president of the American Buddhist society invited him. In London he met
Edwin Arnold, Dr. Thus Davies and Max Muller. He visited America and England
and gave lectures there. In May 1897 Vesakh day was celebrated in America. He
visited that Paris in September that year and took part in the congress of
orientalises: A meeting between Dhammapala and the Pope was arranged in Vatican
by a cardinal but when it was known that drunkenness introduced by Europeans in
Sri Lanka he cancelled the meeting.
Dhammapala spent the whole of 1898 in touring
entire Sri Lanka on a bullock cart the people of Sri Lanka became greatly
enthusiastic in the regeneration of Buddhism in Sri.
In the beginning of 1899 Dhammapala embarked
upon a tour of north India. Ar that time he travelled as a pilgrimage and mixed
with the ascetics. He travelled in the third and inter classes with the
common people and ate at times the food that the poor slept. By this he
received a deep inside and knowledge about the plight of the poor and about the
problems of superstition and ignorance from which they were suffering. After
that he went to South India on an invitation and there in his speeches he
underscored the importance of removing untouchablility. He also set up a branch
of the Mahabodhi Society of Madras.
When in 1902 he visited America for the second
time he visited the laboratories and the technical institutions of that country
in order to have a firsthand information about the technical advancement of the
West. He even was present in a lecture in the Harvard University
delivered by the celebrated American psychologist William James listened to
Dhammapala delivering a short speech about Buddhist psychology and praised it
very much Dhammapala was aware that the reason for the backwardness of the East
was its looks of technical knowledge.
In 1904 Dhammapala with the help of Mrs.
Foster started an institution at Saranath in which he utilized his knowledge
that he had acquired from his visit to America. Then he resumed his tour of his
native land in the bullock-eart but this time his aim was to introduce the
people of Sri Lanka to the achievements of the West in the industrial field. He
sent some young men of Sri Lanka to Japan to receive training in weaving and in
other trades. He established two weaving schools one at Galle and the other one
near Colombo. In this noble job he received financial aid from Mrs. Foster. But
in this very year he lost his father who had been a source of encouragement and
inspiration from him.
Dhammapalas 20 years old friendship with
Colend Walcott came to an-end when he realised that Buddhism and Theosophy were
different and from that time he started to counter attack the anti Buddhist
activities of Theosophical society in the Sinhala weekly paper Sinhala
Bauddhaya which he began to publish from May 1906.
In 1907 Dhammapala received a sit back in his
mission for Buddhagaya when the ruling regarding the Burmese rest house went
against him and the Buddhists were compelled to remove the Buddha image and the
resident monks who were there from 1896.
Dhammapala spent the year 1911 and 1912
in his tour of Sri Lanka. He also used Sinhala Bauddhaya as
a medium to achieve a national revival in his country. In his writings and
speech he denounced the limitations of the people of the Sri Lankan as well as
those of the Buddhist monks. He expressed the view that the people of Sri Lanka
had surrendered their cultural freedom to the Christians and their financial
independence to the Indian Muslim traders.
In 1914 Dhammapala went to Honolulu to
express his gratitude to Mrs. Foster for her help to the cause of Mahabodhi
Society. At that time she donated a sum of Rs.60.000 to Dhammapala for
establishing a charitable hospital in Colombo in the memory of her father
Foster Robinson Free Hospital. Dhammapala also went to lecture tours in
countries like Japan, Korea, Manchuria, China, Singapore and Java where
addressed a large audience.
On 2nd June 1915 martial law was proclaimed in
Sri Lanka following a riot between Buddhists and Muslims at Gampola when the
Muslims attacked a procession of the Buddhists. Many Buddhist leaders were
arrested but as Dhammapala was in India he escaped that fate. However, he was
interned by the British Government at Calcutta from 1915 to 1920.
But Dhammapala remained active in
Calcutta. In 1915 he bought a property for constructing a vihara in
Calcutta by his own money and by the financial help which he had received from
Mrs. Foster. Construction started in 1918 and the vihara known as the
Dhammarajika vihara was inaugurated in 1920by Lord Ronaldshay, the then
governor of Bengal. Dhammapala delivered an eloquent speech in the gathering
which was attended by many distinguished people and a large audience.
In 1922 Dhammapala returned to Sri Lanka with
failing health but he could not sit idle. He returned the Sinhala Bauddhaya
that had remind suspended due to the riot. In 1925 fell so ill that he had to
be admitted in a sanatorium to undergo a surgery. In the month of August of the
same year he went to London for setting up a branch of Mahabodhi Society there.
He gave some lectures in London and then went to SanFrancisco to request Mrs.
Foster for some financial help for the same. In December 1925 he delivered a
memorable lecture at the London Town Hall and at Holborn Town Hall. He needed
in London a permanent Head Quarter for the Mahabodhi Society in London and so
he bought a house at Ealing. In order to honour Mrs. Foster after her. He came
back to Sri Lanka in 1926 and continued his fund raising campaign for the
British Buddhist Mission. He returned to London in 1927 to build a temporary
residence there. But falling severely ill with bronchitis he returned to Sri
Lanka, leaving the charge of London Mission to his nephew Dayananda.
After returning from London he fell severely
ill. He was confined to bed due to stomach and g
Heart problem and was suffering from severe
pain. He is only surviving brother died in 1929 and it was a great shack for
him. In the following year he received another blow when his great benefactress
Mrs. Foster passed away.
In 1931 he left Sri Lanka permanently for
Saranath. At Saranath Dhammapala entered the order 1931. The Mulagandhakuti
Vihara was constructed and it's inauguration took place on 11th November of
that year. As a full fledged monk he received upasampada or higher ordination
in January 1933. From that time his condition began to worsen and his physician
Dr. Nandy had to be summoned. But inspite of all his efforts Dhammapala did not
live long and breathed his last on the 29th April 1933.
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