A Felicitation Volume presented to THE VEN. NĀRADA MAHATHERA Edited by Piyadassi Thera Produced by The Buddhist Information Centre Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha Colombo, Sri Lanka. Published by the BUDDHIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY P.O. BOX 61 KANDY, SRI LANKA 2523 1979 Nārada Felicitation Volume Editorial Committee CHAIRMAN Madihe Paññāsiha Mahānayaka Thera Patron of Sāsana Sevaka Society Ltd., and The Buddhist Information Centre EDITOR Piyadassi Thera Vajirarama, Colombo 5, Sri Lanka Printed for the Felicitation Volume Editorial Committee by MESSRS. COLOMBO APOTHECARIES’ CO., LTD. Colombo, Sri Lanka l979 This Volume is presented to THE VENERABLE NĀRADA MAHATHERA in respectful admiration to felicitate him upon the completion of his eighty-first year 2 CONTENTS Page The Ven. Nārada Mahāthera. A Biographical Sketch by Gunaseela Vitanage 9 Bibliography of the Published Writings of Nārada Mahāthera 19 MESSAGES OF FELICITATION The Ven. Mahānāyaka Thera of the Malwatta Chapter, Siam Nikāya 22 The Ven. Mahānāyaka Thera of the Asgiriya Chapter, Siam Nikaāya 23 The Ven. Mahānāyaka Thera of the Amarapura Nikāya 24 The Ven. Mahānāyaka Thera of the Ramanna Nikāya 25 Mr. William Gopallawa (Former President of the Republic of Sri Lanka) 26 The President of the Republic of Sri Lanka 27 The Prime Minister of the Republic of Sri Lanka 28 The President of the Mahabodhi Society of Sri Lanka 31 The President of the Buddhist Society (London) 33 The President of the Colombo Y.M.B.A. 34 The President of the Sāsana Sevaka Society 36 The President of the Servants of the Buddha 37 The Vice-President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists 39 3 ARTICLES Dr. Richard A. Gard: A Foreword to the Study of Buddhism 41 Dr. Ananda W. P. Guruge: Dhamma-Desanā and Dhamma- Sākacchā 57 Dr. Jotiya D. Dhirasekera: Text and Traditions—Warped and Distorted 77 Dr. D. J. Kalupahana: Empiricism in Early Buddhism and William James 85 Dr. Gunapala Dharmasiri: Buddhism and the Modern World 99 Mr. Gunapala Senadhira: The Tree of Enlightenment 115 Mr. Pham Kim Khanh: The Venerable Nārada in Vietnam 123 Drs. Sasanasurya: The History of Buddhism in Indonesia 127 Mr. Olcott Gunasekara: The Spread of Buddhism Throughout the Ages 133 4 FOREWORD Buddhism is a doctrine appealing to the intellect. It is the path leading to Nibbāna, a way of life and a means of social upliftment. The world- wide spread of Buddhism, encompassing the means of spiritual as well as worldly advancement and happiness, can be divided into five broad periods, namely, 1. Buddha’s Lifetime, 2. The Asoka Period, 3. The Kanishka Period, 4. The Sailendra Period and 5. The Modern Period. 1. The Buddha’s Lifetime: In the forty-five years of his dispensation, the Enlightened One preached the Dhamma, travelling on foot from place to place, either at a brisk or a leisurely pace, within the three circles (mandalas) namely the Greater Circle, the Intermediate Circle, and the Inner Circle during nine, eight or seven months of each year respectively. 2. The Asoka Period: Emperor Asoka, on the advice of Arahant Moggaliputta Tissa, sent missions of Theras to 1. Kashmir and Gandhāra; 2. Mahisamaṇḍala i.e. the State of Mysore; 3. Vanavāsa i.e. the Northern Kanara state in South India; 4. Aparanta i.e. the region of Gujarat and Kathiawar; 5. Mahāraṭṭha i.e.Mahārāstra; 6. Yonaka-desa i.e. the Greek states of N. Western India; 7. Himavanta i.e. the Himālaya regions; 8. Suvaṇṇabhūmi i.e. the territories in Indo-China including Burma, Siam and Cambodia and 9. Tambapaṇṇi Dīpa i.e. Sri Lanka. The Emperor, through his ambassadors and Dharmamahāmātras spread the Dhamma to 1. Syria; 2. Egypt; 3. Macedonia; 4. Cyrene; 5. Epirus; 6. Central Asia; 7. Palestine and 8. Alexandria. 3. The Kanishka Period: The missionary activities initiated by Emperor Kanishka spread in the centuries following to 1. China, 2. Mongolia, 3. Manchuria, 4. Korea, 5. Vietnam, 6. Japan and 7. Tibet. Further, Buddhism spread within the territories under the Empire itself to 1. Kashmir, 2. Yarkhand, 3. Khotan, 4. Chinese Turkestan, 5. Afghanistan, 6. Bactria, 7. Kashgar, 8. Central Himālayas and other parts of Central Asia. 4. The Sailendra Period: The Sailendra Kings expanded the Sri Vijaya Empire which brought the whole of Indonesia and adjoining territories under one rule for the first time. During this period Buddhism spread to territories in the region namely, 1. Java, 2. Sumatra, 3. Bali, 4. Malacca, 5. Borneo, 6. Celebes, and 7 the Malay Peninsula. 5 It may be surmised that approximately seventy per cent of the world’s population were Buddhists by 1000 BE (456 CE). The populations of the continents of Europe and America began to expand gradually. As a result the number of non-Buddhists too had increased. However, according to a computation made by Professor Rhys Davids and others in 1877, even in that century nearly 40 percent of the World’s population was comprised of Buddhists. 5. The Modern Period: At present Buddhism is fast spreading in the continents of Europe and America. Scholars such as Victor Fausböll, Sir Edwin Arnold and Rhys Davids should be considered as pioneers in the spread of Buddhism to the West. Of the dharma-dhūtas (dharma messengers) from Sri Lanka the contributions made by Anagarika Dharmapala and Venerable Nārada Mahā Thera are unique. The details of the dharma-dhūta activities undertaken by the Ven. Nārada Mahā Thera are well-illustrated in this Felicitation Volume. It bears testimony to the fact that there is no other Buddhist monk who has been involved so much in Buddhist missionary activities during the modern period as the Ven. Nārada Mahā Thera. Many of the monks of the Vajirārāma Vihāra including Ven. Nārada Mahā Thera, received their ordination and higher ordination from the Ven. Veragampita Sri Revata Mahā Thera and Ven. Pelene Vajirañāna Mahā Thera as their preceptor and teacher respectively. Although commemorative ceremonies (pinkamas) are held annually to mark the birth anniversary of the late Ven. Pelene Vajirañāna Mahānāyaka Thera, an opportunity did not arise to hold a felicitation ceremony during his lifetime in appreciation of the great services rendered by him. It is indeed fortunate that on the occasion of the 81st birth anniversary of the Ven. Nārada Mahā Thera such a felicitation ceremony could be organized in recognition of the invaluable services he has rendered to the cause of Buddhism during his sixty years as a monk. This publication is a felicitation volume issued to mark that occasion. I sincerely thank the editor for compiling this volume and all others who helped in this venture. May the blessings of the Triple Gem be with all of them. Madihe Paññāsīha Mahānāyaka Thera The Buddhist Information Centre, 50, Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka. 6 EDITOR’S PREFACE The contribution of the Venerable Nārada Mahā Thera to the exposition and the propagation of the Buddhadhamma (Buddhism) has been immense. He has been an indefatigable World Dharmadūta (‘missionary’). He is also the author of several books on Buddhism, which have found their way, to perhaps, every corner of the world. In recognition of his signal service to the Dispensation of the Buddha (Buddhasāsana) and to the spread of Buddhism, the Ven. Madihe Paññāsīha Mahānāyaka Thera conceived the idea of presenting the Ven. Nārada with a Felicitation Volume on his completing eighty-one years on July 14, 1979, and entrusted the task to me. We were, however, faced with the problem of finding the means of publishing this volume. Fortunately for us the Buddhist Publication Society of Kandy, Sri Lanka, known the world over as the best distributor of books on various aspects of Buddhism, and which, during the last twenty-two years, has built up a circulation in not less than eighty countries, agreed to print it as a mark of esteem it has for the Ven. Nārada who has been one of its benefactors. It is my pleasant duty to express my sincere thanks first and foremost to the Buddhist Publication Society for magnanimously offering to print this volume. I must also thank those who sent inspiring messages and learned contributions to make the volume a success. Some of the well-wishers of the Ven. Nārada in Singapore supplied us with the paper needed for printing the volume for which act of kind generosity I am deeply grateful. The Venerable Chairman gave me much encouragement and Mr. Olcott Gunasekara attended the meetings and made valuable suggestions. I would be failing in my duty if I did not record here the unstinted co-operation I received from Mrs. Maya Senanayake and the great care she has taken in seeing the volume through the press. I am grateful to all of them. In conclusion let me thank all those who helped me in various ways, Mr. D. Munidasa, in particular, in bringing out this publication. Messrs. Colombo Apothecaries’ Co. Ltd., our printers, merit a word of praise for the interest shown in the publication. Piyadassi Thera 7 8 THE VENERABLE NĀRADA MAHĀ THERA A Biographical Sketch GUNASEELA VITHANAGE On two significant occasions, the Enlightened One made two very important exhortations to the Community of Monks (the Sangha) He founded. The first was at the very beginning of His public Ministry, when, having trained the first batch of sixty disciples in the Noble Eightfold Path, He exhorted them thus: “Released am I, monks, from all ties whether human or divine. You also are delivered from fetters whether human or divine. Go now and wander for the welfare and happiness of many, out of compassion for the world, for the gain, welfare and happiness of gods and men. Let not two of you proceed in the same direction.