Courtesy:  AI Overview

Ananda College played a pivotal role as the hub of the Buddhist Revival movement in Sri Lanka, primarily by offering a modern English education rooted in national and Buddhist values, thereby counteracting the dominance of Christian missionary schools during the colonial era. 

Key Contributions

• Pioneering Buddhist Education: Established by Colonel Henry Steel Olcott and the Buddhist Theosophical Society (BTS) in 1886, Ananda College provided a formal English education for Buddhist children, which was previously lacking. This directly challenged the colonial practice of using education for Christian conversion and denationalization.
• Fostering National Identity and Culture: The school actively promoted the study of local languages (Sinhala and Tamil), Pali, Sanskrit, Buddhism, and traditional arts, instilling a strong sense of national pride and a “Ceylonese” identity in its students. This was a significant departure from other elite schools that often disparaged indigenous culture.
• Producing Influential Leaders: The college produced generations of leaders and prominent figures in various fields, including politics, academia, the military, and the judiciary, who were instrumental in the post-independence national renaissance and the assertion of Buddhist and national values in public life.
• Key Figures in the Revival:
  • Colonel Henry Steel Olcott: The American founder who, inspired by the Panadura Debate, arrived in Sri Lanka to safeguard Buddhism and establish a network of Buddhist schools, including Ananda College.
  • Don Baron Jayatilaka (Sir D.B. Jayatilaka): As the first Sinhala Buddhist principal, he was a key pioneer of the Buddhist revival and education movement, later becoming a high-profile national statesman.
  • P. de S. Kularatne: During his “golden era” as principal (1918-1943), he expanded the school significantly, got university curricula revised to include local languages and Buddhism as subjects, and fostered an environment of patriotism and independent thinking among students.
  • L.H. Mettananda and G.P. Malalasekera: Both served as principals and were ardent nationalists and leading figures in the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress, further promoting Sinhala Buddhist identity and education at Ananda and at a national level.
  • Venerable Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera and Venerable Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera: These revered monks guided the founders and provided the necessary spiritual and intellectual backing for the movement.
• Symbolic Importance: The school’s motto, “Appamādo Amathapadan” (Heedfulness leads to emancipation), and the prominent “Budu Medura” (shrine room) within the college premises serve as constant reminders of its core Buddhist mission and values. 

Ananda College effectively created a new tradition of Buddhist education that successfully combined modern English instruction with a strong, proud Buddhist and national ethos, empowering the local population and providing the intellectual backbone for the national independence movement. 

Courtesy:  AI Overview

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Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka

26 August 2022  ·

Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka

Monthly Lecture

D.B. Jayatilaka’s pioneering contribution to the Buddhist Revival in Sri Lanka as a Buddhist educationist at Ananda and Dharmaraja Colleges”

YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZBV35QUZbAM

Visit – www.royalasiaticsociety.lk/monthly-lectures/

Lecture Medium – English

The Buddhist Revival was one of the great landmarks in the history of Sri Lanka during the 19th and 20th centuries. It was followed by a Buddhist Renaissance in the Post-Independence period when the state machinery was regained by the downtrodden people after nearly 500 years of Euro-Christian colonial rule. Ananda College established in 1886 played a pivotal role in the Buddhist Revival. It was the hub of Buddhist resistance to the spread of missionary education, denationalization of Buddhist children, and Christian conversion. This school produced outstanding students and outstanding principals. Don Baron Jayatilaka, who was the third principal of Ananda College (1898 – 1907), was one of the pioneers of the Buddhist Revival movement and Buddhist Education. In 1890 he was appointed by the Buddhist Theosophical Society (BTS) as the principal of the Kandy Buddhist High School in Kandy (Dharmaraja College). He was a high-profile national statesman. His dedication to the cause of Buddhism and the uplift of Buddhist education is worthy of recall by a grateful nation. This talk intends to highlight the contribution made by D.B. Jayatilaka to the development of Buddhist education and the Buddhist revival in Sri Lanka.