Encyclopedia of Buddhism

Buddhist schools modeled on the successful mission-
ary schools administered by the Anglicans. Olcott wrote
a widely disseminated “Buddhist Catechism,” designed
and distributed a Buddhist flag, and helped to organize
a liturgical year celebrating full moon days as Buddhist
holidays. One of Olcott’s early and enthusiastic follow-
ers, the ANAGA
RIKADHARMAPA
LA(1864–1933), trans-
formed the religious revival into a religio-nationalist
cause by founding in 1891 the Maha
bodhi Society,
which sought to regain Buddhist control of Buddhist
holy sites in India. In addition, Dharmapa
la published
his influential Return to Righteousness(a detailed ex-
cursus on lay Buddhist conduct and spiritual realiza-
tion aimed at purifying Buddhism of its colonial and
popular “contaminations”), and he inspired the laity to
emulate their colonial masters’ work ethic. Some have
argued that Olcott and Dharmapa
la successively set
into motion a new lay Buddhist religious ethic compa-
rable to the lay-oriented religious culture of Protestant

Christianity, a “Protestant Buddhism,” so called be-

cause of its emphasis on unmediated individual lay re-

ligious practice and the importance attached to

integrating the significance of spiritual teachings into

everyday life.

Aside from “Protestant Buddhism,” at least three

other features marked the character of Buddhism in

twentieth-century Sri Lanka. The first is the re-

emphasis given to meditation for both monks and

laypersons, especially methods of insight (VIPASSANA


[SANSKRIT, VIPAS ́YANA
]) practice made popular by

Burmese masters. The second is the establishment of

Buddhist-inspired welfare institutions, such as Sarvo-

daya, founded in the 1950s by A. T. Ariyaratne

(1931–) to reawaken village culture and to stimulate

rural economies and social services. The third is the

increasing politicization of Buddhism in the post-

colonial era, most notably the patterns that can be

traced to the pivotal national elections of 1956 when

SRILANKA

A young novice monk bathes another after their heads were shaved as part of an ordination ceremony at a monastery in Colombo,
Sri Lanka. © Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi/Reuters/Getty Images. Reproduced by permission.