Hammalawa Saddhatissa
Encyclopedia
The Ven. Prof. Hammalawa Saddhatissa Maha Thera (1914–1990) was an ordained Buddhist monk and author from Sri Lanka
, educated in Benares, London, and Edinburgh. He was a contemporary of and in many ways equal to Ven. Prof. Walpola Rahula
, also of Sri Lanka.
at the request of the Mahabodhi Society and would live the rest of his life in the West, including time teaching in Canada.
At the time of his death, "He was the head of the London Buddhist Vihara and the Sanghanayake of the United Kingdom
and Europe
."
He was posthumously honored in 2005 by Sri Lanka
with a postage stamp bearing his image.
, the University of London, Saddhatissa developed a sensitivity to Western philosophical discourse. He thus developed his thought, specifically in Buddhist ethics, with both traditional training and Western thought in mind. His primary Western influence (in Buddhist Ethics at least) appears to be Th. Stcherbatsky, followed by the French philologist La Vallée Poussin.
His main interest was in staying close to the 'lived expression' of Buddhism as opposed to abstract academic theorizing.
Before He Was Buddha: The Life of Siddhartha with Jack Kornfield (2000) ISBN 1569752303
Buddhist Ethics (1970) (1987) and (1997 & 2003) ISBN 0861711246
The Sutta Nipata trans. (1985) ISBN 0700701818 ( Wisdom Books)
A Buddhist's Manual (1976) ASIN: B000YH9HP8
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, educated in Benares, London, and Edinburgh. He was a contemporary of and in many ways equal to Ven. Prof. Walpola Rahula
Walpola Rahula
The venerable Prof Walpola Sri Rahula Maha Thera was a Buddhist monk, scholar and writer. He is considered to be one of the top Sri Lankan intellectuals of the 20th century. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to...
, also of Sri Lanka.
Life
Ven. Saddhatissa was born in Hammalawa, a small town in N.W. Sri Lanka in 1914 and ordained as a novice monk there in 1926. In his youth he was active in both the Mahabodhi Society and the work of B.R. Ambedkar. In 1957 he would travel to LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at the request of the Mahabodhi Society and would live the rest of his life in the West, including time teaching in Canada.
At the time of his death, "He was the head of the London Buddhist Vihara and the Sanghanayake of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
."
He was posthumously honored in 2005 by Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
with a postage stamp bearing his image.
Philosophy
Spending years at SOASSchool of Oriental and African Studies
The School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
, the University of London, Saddhatissa developed a sensitivity to Western philosophical discourse. He thus developed his thought, specifically in Buddhist ethics, with both traditional training and Western thought in mind. His primary Western influence (in Buddhist Ethics at least) appears to be Th. Stcherbatsky, followed by the French philologist La Vallée Poussin.
His main interest was in staying close to the 'lived expression' of Buddhism as opposed to abstract academic theorizing.
"Unlike other expositors of Buddhism -- for example, some representatives of the Cha'n and Zen traditions, who sometimes regard moral practice as a kind of preliminary to the meditational practice of mindfulness, and who take enlightenment to be a kind of epistemological transformation, a new and holistic way of seeing reality -- Saddhatissa regards moral practice and the practice of mindfulness as a seamless whole."
Books
"The Buddha's Way"Before He Was Buddha: The Life of Siddhartha with Jack Kornfield (2000) ISBN 1569752303
Buddhist Ethics (1970) (1987) and (1997 & 2003) ISBN 0861711246
The Sutta Nipata trans. (1985) ISBN 0700701818 ( Wisdom Books)
A Buddhist's Manual (1976) ASIN: B000YH9HP8