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FEATURES | EASTERN HORIZON 41
Venerable Shravasti Dhammika was
born in Australia in 1951 into a Christian
family, and became a Buddhist at the age
of 18. In 1973, he went to Thailand with
the intention of becoming a monk then to
Laos, Burma and finally to India. For the
next three years, he traveled around India
learning yoga and meditation, and finally
ordaining as a monk under Venerable
Matiwella Sangharatna, the last disciple
of Anagarika Dharmapala. In 1976, he
went to Sri Lanka where he studied Pali
at Sri Lanka Vidyalaya, and later became
a co-founder and teacher of Nilambe
Meditation Centre in Kandy. Since then,
he has spent most of his time in Sri Lanka
and Singapore. Bhante Dhammika is a
prolific writer and his books and essays
have been translated into more than 30
languages. He is also well-known for his
public talks and represented Theravada
Buddhism at the European Buddhist
Millennium Conference in Berlin in 2000.
Bhante Dhammika was the spiritual
advisor to Singapore’s Buddha Dhamma
Mandala Society until his return to
Australia in early 2017.
The first
yellow robes
in the West
By Venerable S. Dhammika
After the Buddha preached his first sermon at Isipatana he gave
this commission to his audience; “Wander forth for the good
of the many, for the welfare of the many, out of compassion for
the world. Let no two of you go in the same direction. Teach the
Dhamma that is lovely, in the beginning, the middle and the end.”
From its very beginning Buddhist Sangha took this call to heart
and because they did the Dhamma eventually spread to every
corner of Asia. And of the monks who undertook to proclaim the
Dhamma far and wide none have been more energetic and ready
to do so than those of Sri Lanka.
It was Sri Lankan monks who spread Theravada to Burma and the
various kingdoms which made up what is now Thailand. It was
they who probably helped Buddhism survive in south India for as
long as it did. While most Sri Lankan monks left their island home
as missionaries, others travelled as pilgrims, some did so out of
curiosity and a few were just looking for greener pastures. The
history of Asia is littered with snippets of information mentioning
Sri Lankan monks in the most unexpected places.
The Japanese monk Ennin was in China during the emperor
Wuzong’s persecution of Buddhism in 842-846. He was ordered
to report to the local police office to have his permit cancelled and
when he turned up there were two Sri Lankan monks there. What
they were doing in China we do not know. When Xuanzang was
in India in the 5th century he travelled through parts of southern
India with a group of 70 Sri Lankan monks who were heading
for the north. A Sri Lankan monk named Anandasri was in Bodh
Gaya in the early 14th century from where he later visited Tibet.
One Tibetan source describes him as “foremost on the Sangha of
the island of Simhala … skilled in two languages, one who seeks
the benefit of the Dharma.” Numerous similar examples could
be given testifying to the fact that Sri Lankan monks were great