Buddhists from Sri Lanka saved the flame of the Buddha Dhamma in Germany
Posted on February 28th, 2021
Senaka Weeraratna
Dr. Hans Wolfgang Schumann is a German Buddhist. He is a well known Buddhist scholar and chronicler of the history of Buddhism in Germany.
Born on January 31, 1928, Dr. Hans Wolfgang Schumann died on June 26th, 2019 in Bonn.
In a seminal article on the state of Buddhism in Germany, ‘ Buddhism and Buddhist Studies in Germany’, Maha Bodhi Journal, Vol. 79, (February – March 1971) page 99, Dr. Schumann raises a significant question as follows:
Shouldn’t Germans be grateful to Sri Lankan Buddhist Societies for giving organizational help at several critical periods of Buddhism in Germany and thereby helping in saving the flame of the Buddha Dhamma in Germany” ?
Dr. Hans Wolfgang Schumann, answers as follows:
another important Buddhist Centre is the Buddhist House’ founded by Paul Dahlke in Berlin – Frohnau in 1924. It survived World War II in a dilapidated condition and probably would have been auctioned and dismantled if the Ceylonese ‘German Dhammaduta Society’ (founded in 1952) which inherited a large sum of money from a German Buddhist had not come to its rescue. The GDS purchased the house in 1958, renovated it, furnished it with additional rooms, a well stocked library and Ceylonese Bhikkhus (monks) sent from the GDS took charge of regular lectures and meditation courses.
Dr.Schumann further states …..Asian Buddhist mission was successful. The organizational help which Asian Buddhist Societies, in particular Ceylon, in several critical periods had extended saved the flame of the Dhamma in Germany. Isn’t this for the Germans reason enough to be grateful? ”
http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2021/02/21/when-the-world-boycotted-the-germans-sri-lanka-opened-its-doors-to-the-germans/