Anagarika Dharmapala (born on September 17, 1864, in Ceylon) was one of the most dynamic and cultured national heroes of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). <\/p>\n
He had a deep sense of patriotism, a highly disciplined mind and was prepared to sacrifice his own comforts, aspirations and his entire life for the sake of moral development and the peaceful enjoyment of life for all nations. <\/p>\n
He was a devout practitioner and a fearless defender of the teachings of the Buddha which he strongly believed to be the panacea for the troubled world in which he grew up. <\/p>\n
His aim was to reclaim the Buddhist sites in India, particularly the place of the Buddhas Enlightenment Buddha Gaya, from Hindu occupation for the benefit of all nations irrespective of differences and to revive and girdle the world with the message of the Buddha. <\/p>\n
He is also widely regarded as a national hero who saved the Sri Lankan nation from cultural collapse and one of the few pioneers of the campaign in seeking complete independence and self governance for the Sri Lankan nation. <\/p>\n
The deeper and deeper we unearth the personal sacrifices he made and the vast number of articles he wrote, the lectures he delivered and the hundreds of journeys he made from East to the West, the more we begin to appreciate his hitherto unsurpassed service to spread the teachings of the Buddha, The Light of Asia, throughout the civilised world. <\/p>\n
I have quoted a section of a Pali stanza (gatha) from Dhammapada below as a fitting preamble to my article. This stanza was often used by Anagarika Dharmapala himself in his lectures and writings to emphasise that honest endeavour or rather sacrifice in dissemination of the Tathagatas teachings is far superior to any other gifts. This is what Anagarika believed to be the highest dana or selfless service he could offer to the world. <\/p>\n
Sabba danam dhamma danam jinati The gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts <\/p>\n
(Dhammapada tanha vagga, verse 354) <\/p>\n
As we all know, Buddhism was propagated first by the Buddha himself and his Arahant disciples. During the first 200 years of its history, Buddhism was mainly confined to the Northern part of India. <\/p>\n
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Read the original here: <\/p>\n
Selfless spiritual seeker and greatest revivalist and propagandist of Buddhism in modern times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Anagarika Dharmapala (born on September 17, 1864, in Ceylon) was one of the most dynamic and cultured national heroes of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He had a deep sense of patriotism, a highly disciplined mind and was prepared to sacrifice his own comforts, aspirations and his entire life for the sake of moral development and the peaceful enjoyment of life for all nations Continue reading