In recent times we have heard of many Buddhist monks who have rendered invaluable service for the perpetuation of Buddhism.
Among them were some monks who were based at the Bambalapitiya Siri Vajiraramaya and they made a great contribution to the development of Buddhism and Buddhist education even during the British rule in Sri Lanka.
This article is about Ven. Narada Thera, a respected monk not only in this country but all over the world, who lived at the Bambalapitiya Vajiraramaya.
He was born on 14 July, 1898 in Kotahena, Colombo as Sumanapala to a middle class family and his parents were Colonis and Pabilina de Silva.
Although Kotahena, Colombo was an area where most of the residents were Christians at that time, Sumanapala’s mother was a devotee of the Karunatilakaramaya in Kotahena, enabling Sumanapala to gain an understanding of Buddhism and Pali and Sanscrit languages from an early age.
At a young age, Sumanapala came in contact with Ven. Palane Vajiragnana Thera who was a friend of the Chief Incumbent of the Karunatilakaramaya, Ven. Tangalle Palitha Thera.
Educated at St. Benedict’s College in Kotahena, Sumanapala became increasingly pro-Buddhist and sought permission from his mother to become a monk.
Mother
Although the mother initially expressed her displeasure over this, she later agreed after being convinced by Palitha Thera and Vajiragnana Thera. Accordingly Sumanapala chose the Bambalapitiya Vajiraramaya for his priestly life. Accordingly, on July 16, 1916, Sumanapala was ordained under the tutelage of Weragampita Siri Revatha Thera and Vajiragnana Thera.
After his ordination, Narada Thera was able to learn about the Tripitaka Dhamma from Vajiragnana Thera and the Abhidharma from Ven. Arangala Sri Dhammanayake Thera and the then Editor of Lakmini Pahana, Dharmaratne.
Narada Thera later entered the University of Colombo to study Logic and Western Philosophy.
Narada Thera, who was developing the knowledge of Dhamma, gradually tried to convey its value to the youth and children who were in the need of learning the Dhamma in Colombo at that time.
Accordingly, Narada Thera was able to carry out his service based on the Vajirarama Dhamma School started by Vajiragnana Thera.
Dudley Senanayake, J.R. Jayewardene, Bernard Zoysa, C.P. de Silva, Nissanka Wijeratne, Lalith Athulathmudali, Anura Bandaranaike, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Ranil Wickramasinghe and many others who later became prominent figures in the country’s political arena learned the Dhamma from him.
Journey
Narada Thera’s first journey to a foreign country was in 1927 to the opening of the new Mulagandhakuti Vihara in India.
The keynote address at the event was delivered by Ven. Kahawe Rathanasara Thera and the English translation of the sermon was delivered by Narada Thera.
It seems that the opportunity was provided due to the sound knowledge of the English language he had obtained from his school days.
From there, his missionary work spread to eastern countries such as Cambodia, Singapore, China, and Vietnam, and to Western countries such as France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
He was also the first Ceylonese bikkhu to visit South Africa, Scotland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, China, Japan and Laos.
Based on the above facts, many scholars say that Narada Thera is credited with being the first Ceylonese bikkhu to cover all five continents of the world.
In addition to preaching and having discussions during these missionary journeys, he also established Buddhist societies and monasteries.
Nepal
When the then King of Nepal expelled the bikkhus from Nepal in 1946, Narada Thera, who had accompanied a delegation to Nepal, explained the situation to the King and instructed him to stop that reckless act.
Narada Thera did not stop there and instructed the construction of a pagoda which was named as Lanka Chaitya. As a result of his intervention, Vesak Poya Day was made a state holiday in Nepal.
In the meantime, In 1956, Americans gathered in Washington, D.C., to listen to a lecture entitled “The Buddha and the Buddhist Philosophy”, delivered by Narada Thera and there was a great deal of Buddhist revival in the US after this.
He also spearheaded the establishment of Sri Lankaramaya, which has now become a Buddhist center in Singapore.
He obtained land on a lease basis and built a three-storied building on it and made a great effort to develop it and turn it into a temple. It was also with the intervention of Narada Thera that Buddhism was re-promoted in Indonesia, where Islam had spread in large.
He travelled to various parts of Indonesia in March 1934 to organise sermons and founded a number of Buddhist organisations in Indonesia. Thereafter, Thai, Burmese and Chinese monks were given the opportunity to visit Indonesia.
Revered
Narada Thera is still revered by Buddhists in Laos. At one time, the bikkhus of that country bathed Narada Thera in incense and offered him the title of ‘Sadhu Maha’.
Meanwhile, on a mission to China, he took five young Chinese nationals to Ceylon, ordained them in 1936 and re-established the Theravada Buddha Sasana in China.
Also, the London Buddhist Temple, which was started by Anagarika Dharmapala in 1925 as the first Buddhist temple in Europe, later went bankrupt due to various reasons. Rebuilding of this temple was another service rendered by Narada Thera, after the Second World War.
During the communal riots of 1983, over 300 Tamils from the Bambalapitiya area were provided refuge at the Vajiraramaya and given all facilities and protection for three days, reflecting Narada Thera’s compassion. He became the Chief Incumbent of the Bambalapitiya Vajiraramaya in 1955 and built a pagoda and a two storied Dharmashala at the Vajiraramaya and turned it into an impressive temple.
Narada Thera was one of the foremost preachers in Sri Lanka and there is hardly a village in Sri Lanka where he had not visited to deliver sermons during his lifetime.
Among the books written by him are ‘Sinhala Khuddaka Paata’, ‘Dhampiya Pahana’, ‘Pirisudu Sitha’, ‘Avihinsawa’, ‘Punaruthpaththiya’, ‘Dasa Parami’, ‘Nirvanaya’, ‘Dharma Sangrahaya’, ‘The Buddha and His Teachings’, ‘Manual of Buddhism’, ‘Buddhism in natshel’, ‘Pali Coures’, ‘Manual of Abhidhamma’, ‘Life of the Saripuththa’ and ‘Life of the Buddha’. Some of these books have also been translated into French, German, Portuguese, Cambodian and Chinese languages.
Thus, after nearly 70 years of service to the Buddhism, Narada Thera continued to teach the students of Vajirarama Dhamma School even when he was in a wheelchair. He was hospitalised in August 1983 and passed away on October 2, 1983.