{"id":46327,"date":"2015-07-29T13:00:22","date_gmt":"2015-07-29T20:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=46327"},"modified":"2015-07-29T13:00:22","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T20:00:22","slug":"why-anagarika-dharmapala-is-important-to-india-particularly-to-the-indian-buddhist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2015\/07\/29\/why-anagarika-dharmapala-is-important-to-india-particularly-to-the-indian-buddhist\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Anagarika Dharmapala is important to India, particularly to the Indian Buddhist?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chanaka Bandarage<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n

Courtesy \u2013 \u2018New Buddhist\u2019, India (July 2015 edition)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Is Anagarika Dharmapala the Mahatma Gandhi of Sri Lanka?\u00a0 There is a truth in this statement.<\/p>\n

True, Dharmapala spoke largely for the Singhalese Buddhists.\u00a0 But, like Gandhi, Dharmapala too fought fiercely against British imperialism (the British were ruiling Sri Lanka during his lifetime (1864 \u2013 1933).<\/p>\n

Thus, Dharmapala fought for all Sri Lankans.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala reminded his fellow Sri Lankans why India, a very close neighbour, is so important to Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Though Sri Lanka has a Singhala, Buddhist base (foundation), it is today a country where people of all major world religions (except Judaism) live in a friendly and harmonious manner. \u00a0It is a fine social experiment of a \u2018melting pot\u2019.\u00a0 Sri Lanka will continue to prosper as a fine \u2018multicultural\u2019 country.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka was founded soon after the demise of Lord Buddha (2498 years ago \u2013 (498 BC), where Vijaya, a Prince from northern India (Singhapura Village in Wanga Land of Lata Nation, located in the present day northern Bengal ) landed in Sri Lanka (Thambapanni).\u00a0 According to Mahavamsa<\/a> (the chronicled history of Sri Lanka<\/a>), Vijaya\u2019s father was King Singhabahu; and\u00a0 Singhabahu’s father was a lion (his hands and feet were like a lion’s paws). Singhabahu\u2019s mother was a princess from the same area (Kalinga).<\/p>\n

Dharmapala in his writings pointed out that according to Mahavamsa<\/a> and other Chronicles, Sri Lanka\u2019s second king, Panduvasdeva (Prince Vijaya\u2019s nephew), married a blood relative of Lord Buddha (Baddha-Kacchayana of the Buddha\u2019s Shakya Wangsha of Kapilavastu); thus, the Singhalese are able to trace a lineage to Lord Buddha.\u00a0 According to Buddhists, Lord Buddha, a citizen of India (Dambadiva), is the Greatest Person to have lived in the world.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka became a fully-fledged Buddhist nation during the reign of King Devanampiya Tissa (Sri Lanka\u2019s eighth King; 307 BC to 267BC.), after the \u00a0arrival of Buddhism<\/a> in Sri Lanka under the aegis of the Maurya Emperor, Dharmashoka (this happened about 200 years after the arrival of Prince Vijaya). He utilized his son (Mihindu) and daughter (Sanghamittha) for the propagation of Buddhism to Sri Lanka.\u00a0 They carried out the missions extremely successfully.<\/p>\n

In his writings Dharmapala stressed that his fellow countrymen (Singhalese) should work hard like the ethnic minorities of the country of the time (largely of Indian decent). He questioned his fellow Singhalese that if the minority races could do so well in trade and commerce, why could not they.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala wanted to motivate the Singhalese to work hard and prosper just\u00a0 like their Muslim, Tamil, Burgher, Bhora, Sindh and Parsi counterparts.\u00a0 But, Dharmapala never addressed those minority races in derogatory terms. For example, he never used the somewhat offeensive\u00a0 adjective, \u2018para\u2019 (bloody), to \u00a0describe ethnic minorities of the country;\u00a0 he used the term to describe the British.<\/p>\n

True, language such as \u2018para\u2019 is inappropriate for contemporary Sri Lanka, but, more than 100 years ago, it was acceptable.\u00a0 It was one of Dharmapala\u2019s ways of getting through the message to the masses.\u00a0 And his method was effective.\u00a0 People accepted his counsel without a protest.\u00a0 Dharmapala never used\u00a0 \u2018filthy\u2019 language against any people, including the British.<\/p>\n

Due to the colonial (British) occupation of the country, Dharmapala was fiercely anti-British.\u00a0 He vehemently opposed the unlawful British occupation of Sri Lanka.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala never preached that\u00a0 only Singhala Buddhists should live in Sri Lanka or that other races must leave Sri Lanka.\u00a0 He basically wanted the Singhalese to come out of their\u00a0 closets and be successful like the ethnic minorities. \u00a0Coming from an entrepreneurial family, he was totally against idleness.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Dharmapala was always a forceful protector of Singhala, Buddhist values, culture and traditions. There was nothing wrong in this, as he did not harm other cultures or religions.<\/p>\n

As a true Buddhist, Dharmapala launched massive campaigns against meat and liquor consumption \u2013 ills that were introduced by the western imperialists (first, by the Portuguese in the 1500s). \u00a0He travelled the whole island in a placards fixed car, demanding people to refrain from meat and alcohol consumption. Dharmapala spoke to his fellow countrymen, sometimes in harsh language; people listened to him intently, acknowledged his views and refrained from consuming meat and alcohol.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala asked his fellow countrymen to refrain from killing all living beings; he also asked people, especially\u00a0 children to follow the five Buddhist precepts \u2013 the Buddha\u2019s preaching to the Buddhist layman.\u00a0 Again, people largely followed Dharmapala\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala asked people to change their Portuguese and English names to Singhala (a Sanskrit language of an Aryan base).\u00a0 He himself changed his name from David to Dharmapala. \u00a0He persuaded his family members to change their names as well, including his mother. He advised his Singhala brethren not to give western names to their offspring.\u00a0 A fine example was how he instantaneously changed (by consent) the name of young Pedris Silva (then 14 years old) to Piyadasa Sirisena.\u00a0 The young boy had come to read Singhala poems before Dharmapala at a Buddhist function. \u00a0Piyadasa Sirisena went\u00a0 to become one of Sri Lanka\u2019s\u00a0 Sinahala literary giants. \u00a0Owing to Dharmapala\u2019s action, hundreds and thousands of Sri Lankans\u00a0 started to have Singhala (Arya) names.\u00a0 The trend continues to this day.<\/p>\n

Another very successful campaign launched by Dharmapala was asking the Singhalese (both men and women) to renounce western attire and wear the traditional Singhala, Buddhist dress that was applicable to them.<\/p>\n

When working with his mentor, Henry Steel Olcott (a US citizen), Dharmapala assisted Olcott\u2019s campaign to establish many Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka (numbering about 300). This includes Ananda College, Sri Lanka\u2019s premier Buddhist school for boys.<\/p>\n

A prolific writer, Dharmapala wrote to his fellow countrymen regularly through his then very popular newspapers, \u2018The Buddhist\u2019 (English) \u00a0and \u2018Singhala Bauddhaya\u2019 (Singhala).\u00a0 He gave good counsel \u00a0to his people to lead a pious and a meritorious life.<\/p>\n

Being a Buddhist leader, Dharmapala stressed that Buddhist children must attend Sunday Buddhist Schools (\u2018Daham Pasal\u2019) held in Buddhist temples throughout the country to study Buddhism, and among \u00a0other things such as good manners (eg. respect elders).\u00a0 Parents \u00a0and teachers positively responded to Dharmapala\u2019s request, there was a massive revival of the Sunday \u2018Daham Pasal\u2019 in Sri Lanka. \u00a0This trend also continues to this day.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala was instrumental in translating Tripitaka from Pali to Singhala. He entrusted this work to his own brother, a medical doctor.<\/p>\n

The biggest and the most notable contribution to Buddhism by Dharmapala was the saving of \u00a0Buddhagaya for Buddhists from Hindu fundamentalists.\u00a0 Buddhagaya is the place where Buddha attained enlightenment.\u00a0 Dharmapala restored stupas there.<\/p>\n

This was an achievement of unprecedented proportion.<\/p>\n

This is one reason why the Buddhists in India pay so much respect to Dharmapala.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Dharmapala thousands of Buddhists from all over the world visit Buddhagaya today, one of the most sacred places for the world\u2019s Buddhists.<\/p>\n

If not for Dharmapala, Buddhagaya today would have become a place of Hindu worship.\u00a0 He initiated legal proceedings against Mahantaya who had unlawfully occupied Buddhagaya and systematically tried to convert it to a place of Hindu worship. \u00a0The legal proceedings in New Delhi ran for several years and that drained Dharmapala physically, mentally and monetarily.\u00a0 But, Dharmapala never gave up.\u00a0 It was a lone fight by him against a very powerful cabal led by Mahantaya. \u00a0But, finally Dharmapala won.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala did not rest from Buddhagaya.\u00a0 He saved Mulagandha Kuti in Saranath for Buddhists. \u00a0He built stupas there (opened by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1930). Mulagandha Kuti\u00a0 is the place where Lord Buddha\u00a0 made his first sermon, to the five disciples.\u00a0 It is situated in close proximity to Isipathanaramaya in the city of Banares (\u2018Baranes Nuwara\u2019 or present day Varanasi).<\/p>\n

Dharmapala restored many important Buddhist sites in India.\u00a0 He built a massive temple in Calcutta – Dharmaraajika temple,\u00a0 then, pilgrims rests in major\u00a0 Indian cities including \u00a0in Chennai and Calcutta.<\/p>\n

One of Dharmapala\u2019s \u00a0main ambitions was to educate Indians about Buddhism and Lord Buddha.\u00a0 He wanted to do this without disturbing other religions and without antagonizing non-Buddhists.\u00a0 Dharmapala laid the foundation to revive Buddhism in India, his followers like Ambedkar very successfully carried forward the task.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala was sorry to see the destruction and desecration of the ancient Buddhist places of worship in India.\u00a0 The Mahabodhi Society that he established (a mammoth establishment in India today) worked in restoring the ancient Indian Buddhist sites. This work continues to this day.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala achieved tremendous successes in India, wholesomely a Hindu country, without causing any commotion there.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a remarkable achievement; in effect, a silent revolution.\u00a0 It is a good example to present day politicians of both countries how to resolve issues in a friendly and amicable manner, avoiding conflict.\u00a0 Especially, when people of the two \u00a0close neighborhoods are also distantly related to each other.<\/p>\n

Rather than despising him, the Indians liked Dharmapala. \u00a0Even today, there is admiration for him in India. \u00a0At the beginning of this year, India honoured Dharmapala by issuing a postage stamp to commemorate his 150th<\/sup> Birth Anniversary. \u00a0This is a very rare thing to happen in India \u2013issuing a postage stamp to honour a foreign national. It was more significant because Indian President Pranab Mukherjee presided the ceremony and expressed India\u2019s gratitude to Dharmapala. It is stated that even today one of the main streets of Calcutta \u2013 presumably,\u00a0\u00a0 the street where the Mahabodhi Society in Calcutta was then located, is named after Dharmapala (It has been stated that the famous US Golfer, Tiger Woods, is an admirer of Dharmapala, he had kept a portrait of Dharmapala in his room (Tiger\u2019s mother is a Buddhist from Thailand). His Holiness Dalai Lama, a resident of India, has praised the work of Dharmapala; he has a high regard for him.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala propagated Buddhism in many parts of India and the West.\u00a0 He did this in a peaceful, non-violent manner,<\/p>\n

This also shows that Dharmapala is a man of \u00a0truly international significance.<\/p>\n

The British wrongfully alleged that Dharmapala instigated Buddhists to riot during the 1915 Singhala-Muslim riots.\u00a0 There were no documentary evidence to prove the charges against Dharmapala, he was totally innocent.\u00a0 When the riots happened, Dharmapala was in Calcutta, India.\u00a0 This alone shows his innocence. Being a good Buddhist, Dharmapala never instigated violence against anyone.\u00a0 Basically, he had absolutely nothing to do with the Singhala \u2013 Muslim riots.\u00a0 Yet, the British incarcerated him for a long period of time (6 years).\u00a0 National leaders like DS\u00a0 Senanayake, \u00a0FR Senanayake and several others were also incarcerated over the same incident (the Singhala – Muslim riots; they were also innocent).\u00a0 William Pedris, a brave young man, was brutally executed at Welikada prison.\u00a0 EW Perera took a letter to the King of England (George Vi) concealed in his shoe sole to obtain the release of DS\u00a0 Senanayake and FR Senanayake and few others.\u00a0 He was successful, but the British kept Dharmapala imprisoned (under house arrest in India).\u00a0 Fortunately, like Pedris, \u00a0they did not hang \u00a0Dharmapala, but, restrained \u00a0him badly.\u00a0 Dharmapala was in his early 50s during that time. \u00a0Dharmapala never recovered from the mental agony he suffered as a result of the unlawful imprisonment. \u00a0He suffered because he did nothing wrong; it is alleged he was punished solely because of the British\u2019s hatred towards him.\u00a0 It is alleged, it was a case where the British took revenge from Dharmapala who spoke harshly against the British rule in Sri Lanka.\u00a0 There were some Singhala leaders, loyal to the British, who worked against\u00a0 Dharmapala.<\/p>\n

During the 18th and 19th<\/sup> centuries Sri Lankans were subjected to harsh, imperialistic rule and their morale was low.\u00a0 Dharmapala did everything to improve the self-confidence of his fellow countrymen.\u00a0 Dharmapala, \u00a0who came from a \u2018high society family\u2019, possessed a pleasing personality \u2013 a dark man of almost six foot tall, Dharmapala wore a long, yellow coloured (Singhala) \u00a0garment.\u00a0 His presence caught the eye of everyone.\u00a0 He was a great\u00a0 communicator.\u00a0 \u00a0Dharmapala spoke fluent English and his English writing skills were exceptionally good.\u00a0 He was \u00a0well educated (an old boy of St Benedict\u2019s College, Colombo 12*, he was a civil servant before starting \u00a0the Buddhist propagation work \u00a0(*at St Benedict\u2019s, he had an altercation with the school hierarchy when he saw a Catholic Priest mercilessly shooting down a bird).\u00a0 Dharmapala was mentored by the American Buddhist, HR Olcott.\u00a0 Dharmapala watched \u2018Panadura Vaadaya\u2019 where the Buddhist priests won the debate over their Christian counterparts (Olcott became a Buddhist owing to the outcome of this debate).<\/p>\n

Oozing with confidence, Dharmapala was \u00a0fearless; he never hesitated to fight against discrimination and injustice.\u00a0 He always fought for the downtrodden; he aspired \u00a0equality and justice.\u00a0 The following \u00a0incidents illustrate his fearlessness and bravery:<\/p>\n

a). Robert Chalmers (the then Ceylon Governor) allowed Dharmapala to attend his office, but, Dharmapala \u00a0was purposely kept waiting in the office for a long time \u2013for nearly 2 hours.\u00a0 Dharmapala became angry; during the meeting he complained to Chalmers that he too was busy and that Chalmers should have stuck to the appointment.\u00a0 Dharmapala remonstrated that Chalmers deliberately wasted his valuable time, he had no confidence in Chalmers.\u00a0 Despite Chalmers\u2019 request to stay, Dharmapala left the office early without completing the meeting.\u00a0 This was like a slap on Chalmers\u2019 face,\u00a0 his staff witnessed what happened.\u00a0 Chalmers never expected\u00a0 that type of \u2018bravery\u2019 from a Singhalese; at\u00a0 that time the whites sometimes considered the locals as a species of sub-human.\u00a0\u00a0 Note, when Dharmapala was imprisoned, Chalmers was still the Governor of Ceylon. \u00a0It was Governor Stubbs who released Dharmapala.<\/p>\n

b). In late 1920s Mahatma Gandhi attended the function to open the Calcutta Mahabodhi\u00a0 Society.\u00a0 In his address, Gandhi stated\u00a0 he understood the Greatness of Lord Buddha after reading Sir Edwin Arnold\u2019s \u2018Light of Asia\u2019.\u00a0 Dharmapala was the last speaker of the event (listed to give the \u2018Thank You\u2019 address).\u00a0 Dharmapala said that Lord Buddha was born closer to 2,400 years ago in India (Dambadiva), he questioned why Mahatma Gandhi had to wait to read the Englishman\u2019s book to realise the Greatness of Lord Buddha.\u00a0\u00a0 Dharmapala said that Lord Buddha was not just the\u00a0 Greatest person ever produced by India,\u00a0 he \u00a0was the Greatest Person ever produced by the world. \u00a0Gandhi was somewhat taken back by Dharmapala\u2019s \u2018rebuke\u2019; he nodded and smilingly listened to Dharmapala.\u00a0 Gandhi was prepared to learn from his friend Dharmapala. Gandhi had a strong liking to Dharmapala. After the\u00a0 speech Rabindranath Tagore, a close friend of both Gandhi and Dharmapala,\u00a0 congratulated\u00a0 Dharmapala for his oratory skills.\u00a0 At that time no one would dare criticise Gandhi, who was the undisputed leader of \u00a0India\u2019s independence struggle, but brave Dharmapala \u00a0did not hesitate to say what he had to about his friend , Gandhi, inside Gandhi\u2019s \u00a0own India.\u00a0 \u00a0The remarkable thing is that Dharmapala did this without antagonizing Gandhi. Dharmapala had a great respect and admiration for Gandhi; but on that occasion, he believed he \u00a0had to make the utterance. \u00a0This is due to his love for Lord Buddha and Buddhism which preceded everything else for him. It is stated that Gandhi was saddened to hear the death of Dharmapala in 1933.<\/p>\n

c). \u00a0When travelling by train in India and Sri Lanka on two separate occasions, Dharmapala was confronted by unruly white\u00a0 British men (in Sri Lanka, by a white planter), who demanded that Dharmapala\u00a0 leave the 1st<\/sup> class compartment that they were in.\u00a0\u00a0 They could not tolerate travelling in the same compartment with Dharmapala – a Buddhist preacher, who wore a \u2018strange\u2019 yellow garment and demanded that they stop consuming \u00a0alcohol (whiskey) on the train. \u00a0Dharmapala, a brave man,\u00a0 did not bow down to his white opponents; he directly confronted\u00a0 them.\u00a0\u00a0 Dharmapala had a \u00a0stronger personality than his white opponents, the whites \u2018lost the battle\u2019 – they fled their respective \u00a0compartments allowing Dharmapala to travel freely (Note, Gandhi too experienced an ugly train incident in Pretoria, South Africa – his first taste of racial discrimination. Despite carrying a first class ticket, he was indiscriminately thrown out of the train by the authorities on the instigation of a white man.\u00a0 The difference is that the whites failed in their attempts to evict Dharmapala from his train compartment \u2013 on both occasions).<\/p>\n

Dharmapala was an avid traveler.\u00a0 \u00a0Those days the voyages were made by ship.\u00a0 Lots of Dharmapala\u2019s time was spent on travelling to various countries to promote Buddhism.\u00a0 His speech at the Chicago Conference on Religion (Parliament of the World’s Religions) in 1893 was exceptionally \u00a0powerful and of very high standard.\u00a0 Dharmapala became \u00a0the \u2018key person\u2019 at the Chicago conference, most of the representatives were Christian.\u00a0 The thousands of delegates flocked around Dharmapala as if he was a movie star.\u00a0 Dharmapala gave a mesmerising speech to the audience about Lord Buddha and Buddhism, even Swami Vivekananda who represented the Hindu faith of India had to openly\u00a0 embrace him. \u00a0Chicago was a major watershed event in Dharmapala\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala supported Buddhist countries, for example,\u00a0\u00a0 Japan – at a time when most countries despised it.\u00a0 He was clever to collect monetary donations from Japan.\u00a0 He had leading Japanese business friends in Japan. When he visited Burma, sometimes he was\u00a0 invited to the king\u2019s palace where he had audiences with the Crown Prince.\u00a0 The Burmese \u00a0Crown Prince made small financial contributions towards Dharmapala\u2019s legal battles in India to save\u00a0 Buddhagaya.\u00a0\u00a0 Dharmapala had a deep gratitude for Burma for help establishing the \u00a0Siam Nikaya in Sri Lanka. \u00a0Dharmapala maintained a good relationship with the Thai Royalty.\u00a0 Dharmapala visited Shanghai in China few times, he also visited several other Asian and European \u00a0countries.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala had a remarkable knowledge about international affairs and world religions.<\/p>\n

Dharmaplaa liked Western Capitalism, and impliedly encouraged it.\u00a0 He had a great \u2018entrepreneurial \u00a0mind\u2019; he raised hundreds and thousands of \u00a0dollars for his noble tasks.\u00a0 Dharmaplaa needed money for his many projects \u2013 the \u2019Save Buddhagaya\u2019 project itself needed lots of money \u2013 the litigation in India was protracted and lots of money was required for legal fees, pay compensation etc.\u00a0 As stated before expelling the illegal Hindu squatter (Mahantaya) from Buddhagaya, who had patronage from the Indian state, was a herculean task; only Dharmapala could do it and so he did.\u00a0 Not only Dharmapala started Buddhist philanthropy projects in Sri Lanka (there were many), he embarked on noble Buddhist projects in many countries, mainly in India, and the West \u2013 notably in \u00a0the UK and US.\u00a0 He raised money well. \u00a0It is Dharmapala who founded the London \u00a0Buddhist Vihara (Saddhatissa Centre of North London is the main Theravada Buddhist centre in the UK today).\u00a0 He established Buddhist presences in San Francisco, Boston and New York. \u00a0Dharmapala was clever in persuading his family to financially support his Buddhist \u00a0ventures. The main donor for his projects was Mary Foster Robinson, the US philanthropist.\u00a0 \u00a0Mrs Foster Robinson was impressed of Dharmapala after his historic speech in Chicago.\u00a0 She donated many \u00a0thousands of dollars (possibly millions) for Dharmapala\u2019s various causes.\u00a0 Dharmapala ran a large farm type project in Hiniduma in southern Sri\u00a0 Lanka. \u00a0Emulating Gandhi\u2019s handloom co-operatives , he established Sri Lanka\u2019s first handloom weaving school (Hewawitharana \u00a0Weaving School).\u00a0 He started a Free Hospital in Colombo 10 in memory of Mrs Foster Robinson who predeceased Dharmapala.\u00a0 Dharmapala\u2019s diary notes show that though he dealt with lots of money, he spent them\u00a0 thriftily and very carefully.\u00a0 Dharmapala was 100% honest in financial affairs. Dharmapala valued the financial donations he received and accounted for every cent. \u00a0This is why people like Mrs Foster Robinson continued to fund him. Obviously his opponents, who were jealous of his money\u00a0 raising and contact making ability and the enormous standing \u00a0he had in the community; \u00a0attacked him from left, right and the centre.<\/p>\n

Above all, Dharmapala was a Great Practising Buddhist.\u00a0 He tried to follow the Buddha\u2019s teachings to the letter.\u00a0 Dharmapala dedicated his life to Lord Buddha.\u00a0 Buddha was in his mind and thoughts always.\u00a0 That is the reason why he became \u2018Anagarika\u2019. Most devotedly, Dharmapala\u00a0 tried his best to worship Buddha every day.\u00a0 Every of his speech and writing was embedded with Buddha\u2019s teachings.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala venerated his mother, he predeceased her.<\/p>\n

Dharmapala wished that he be born again and again in India (Dambadiva), not because he was disgusted with Sri Lanka.\u00a0 Dharmapala loved his native land, Sri Lanka and as pointed out in this article, he did so much for Sri Lanka. \u00a0Being a follower of\u00a0 Buddha (Dharmapala became a monk in the last stages of his \u00a0life – Ven Siri Devamitta Dhammapala), he wished that he be re-born in India.\u00a0 This is due to his eternal love for Lord Buddha, and also of his affinity with Buddhagaya, the place that he rescued for the world\u2019s Buddhists. \u00a0He also loved the Indian people.<\/p>\n

Ven Dhammapala passed away\u00a0 starring at the Mulagandha Kuti\u00a0 Stupas that he built, his fellow monks moved his bed outside of the building that he was living; as it was the desire of Ven Dhammapala to view the Stupas upon his demise.\u00a0 When a portion of Dharmapala\u2019s\u00a0 ashes were brought to Sri Lanka (Colombo) by a specially decorated \u2018Buddhist \u00a0train\u2019 from India, hundreds and thousands of Sri Lankans lined along the railway track yelling \u2018Sadhu, Sadhu, Sadhu\u2019. They threw fragrant flowers at the train. It is stated that more than 50,000 people flocked inside Colombo\u2019s Fort Railway Station to receive the train. There were more people outside of the station. A massive Buddhist memorial service was held in Colombo where condolences were read from Gandhi, Nehru, Tagore and leaders from many nations, including from the Governor of Ceylon. It is stated that in Bihar, many state government and privately owned buildings displayed a white flag in respect of Anagarika Dharmapala.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>The writer, a<\/em> Lawyer, is the President of Sri Lanka Support Group (Global) <\/em><\/p>\n

__________<\/p>\n

(This article was published in the magazine \u2018New Buddhist\u2019, India, July 2015. A Singhala translation of this article will be \u00a0published in Lankaweb soon)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chanaka Bandarage Courtesy \u2013 \u2018New Buddhist\u2019, India (July 2015 edition) Is Anagarika Dharmapala the Mahatma Gandhi of Sri Lanka?\u00a0 There is a truth in this statement. True, Dharmapala spoke largely for the Singhalese Buddhists.\u00a0 But, like Gandhi, Dharmapala too fought fiercely against British imperialism (the British were ruiling Sri Lanka during his lifetime (1864 \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[88,86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-chanaka-bandarage","category-sri-lanka-support-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}