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BUDDHIST MONK TURNED FORMER CHRISTIAN MINISTER
PASSED AWAY IN NORTH HOLLYWOOD
By Walter Jayawardhana
reporting from Los Angeles
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The monk who is seated is Venerable
Samitha who passed away.
Venerable Nashville Samitha , a Buddhist monk turned former Christian
Minister passed away at his home at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center
in North Hollywood, California.
He was 94 years old when his illustrious life came to an end, the
incumbent of the Center , Venerable Bhante Yatrawana Siriniwasa said.
He passed away on Tuesday June 7 listening to the chanting of Pirith
by the other monks of the Center, Venerable Siriniwasa added.
A Master of Arts of the George Peabody College for teachers in Nashville
, Tennessee, where he also collected his two bachelors degrees in science
and arts , Venerable Samitha later entered Havard University where he
bagged Scientae Thiologicae Magistri and Scientae Thiologicae baccalaurei
degrees following deep studies of Christian Theology.
According to his last wishes his body was donated for organ removal
and anatomical studies by the medical Faculty students of the University
of Southern California in Los Angeles. The late thera decided on this
due to his strong Buddhist beliefs of ‘dana’ or giving, Venerable
Siriniwasa said. He also practiced ‘non attachment’ to his
physical body after his death, Siriniwasa also claimed.
Following a brief last rites Buddhist ceremony at the center, the
body was removed by the Medical School authorities immediately after
the passing away, he further said.
Born Carl York Schmidt, December 3 1911, to parents George and Annie,
who were second generation of German immigrants in the area, but his
parents names were entered in the US records erroneously, as Smiths.
He became a minister of the Church of Christ, a protestant ministry,
and also taught at David Lipscomb College in Nashville , Tennessee.
Being a rebel since his young days he preached against the war and
refused to join the military claiming his non-violent philosophy. The
young Carl Schmidt worked as a newspaper delivery boy to finance his
college education.
Despite his conservative upbringing in the Bible Belt of the country
and working as a Minister and a preacher in Rhodes island, Michigan
, Colorado and several other states in the union, he started questioning
the existence of an almighty god.
In one of his lectures he said , “ I have studied the Bible carefully.
My sober conclusions are that it was written by several people over
many years and there is no God.”
“I was”, he said , “a strong Christian and I was baptized
when I was 14 years old.I have read new testament 37 times and old testament
three times besides Bible studies. My reasons for discounting God are
many.”
Carl Schmidt (Venerable Samitha) asked, if God knew everything why
was he surprised when many men turned out to be sinful. (Genesis 6)
He alleged God drowned all the people and animals of the earth , except
Noah’s family and the animals of the Ark, even though it was the
people not the animals who sinned. (Genesis 6 and 7)
Schmidt argued that God , supposedly loving rained down fire and brimstone
on Sodom burning innocent children alive. (Genesis6)
The former Rev. Carl Schmidt said when Harvard University accepted
him on a scholarship “ I began to slow down my life and think more
, study more, read more and question more. I soon found I did not a
valid reason for preaching Christianity.”
Carl Schmidt declared that there was no divine wisdom in writing the
Bible since it was written by humans. Since it was common for the humans
to make mistakes, and the Bible was full of errors and contradictions,
he said.
Due to his atheism, he later joined the Unitarian church but to his
dismay, discovered, “that they had (not only) lost faith in God
but they had lost faith in humanity too.” His world travels later
enabled him to be a Buddhist after meeting many Buddhist monks whom
he described as “gentle, compassionate, truth-telling, and calm”
people.
He was ordained as a Buddhist monk, under the name Samitha, by Venerable
Pandit Ambalantota Kolitha.
A service in memory of the late Venerable Samitha will be held June
14, At the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center in North Hollywood during the
morning hours with a Sangheeka dana, an alms giving, at 11.30 a.m
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