Dhammalok Mahasthavir

Statue of Dhammalok at the prayer room at Ananda Kuti Vihar, Swayambhu, Kathmandu.

Dhammalok Mahasthavir (Devanagari: धम्मालोक महास्थविर) (1892-1968) was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who played a leading role in the revival of Theravada Buddhism in Nepal.^[1] He was also a writer who contributed to the Nepal Bhasa renaissance. Dhammalok worked to promote Theravada Buddhism and Nepal Bhasa in the face of government persecution.^{[2] [3]}

Early life

Dhammalok (alternative names: Bhikkhu Dhammalok Mahathero, Dharmaloka) was born Das Ratna Tuladhar at Asan Dhalasikwa, Kathmandu to a trading family. His father was Tej Sundar and his mother Bekha Laxmi Tuladhar. Das Ratna engaged in business in Tibet during his early years. He was married to Dibya Laxmi with whom he had two sons and a daughter. He returned to Nepal after the death of his wife. Grief and his association with Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan of India drew him towards religion.^[4]

Imprisonment and ordination

In 1926, Das Ratna went to Sri Lanka and became a monk taking the name Dhammalok. Returning to Nepal, he lived at the monastery of Kimdol Vihar at Swayambhu. Here he conducted regular prayer meetings and distributed pamphlets written in Nepal Bhasa appealing for donations. On 6 November 1931, he was arrested and imprisoned for seven days as it was illegal to write in Nepal Bhasa^[5] or propagate Buddhism.

Subsequently, Dhammalok went to Rangoon, Burma (now Yangon, Myanmar) where he lived a year. Returning to Kathmandu, he was detained for six days on the charge of not possessing proper travel documents. In 1933, he went to Sarnath, India where he became a fully ordained monk.

The writer

Dhammalok returned to Kimdol Vihar where he began writing a series of books in Nepal Bhasa that challenged traditional thinking. Lokay Kuchal Kubyabahar Sudhar ("Reforming Ill Practices and Customs in Society") and Dharmaya Namay Pap ("Sinning in the Name of Religion") published from Varanasi, India are some of his well known works. Dhammalok has also translated ancient Buddhist texts into Nepal Bhasa. Following his return from Burma in 1932, he translated Buddha Charita, a biography of the Buddha by Asva Ghosh, into Nepal Bhasa from the Sanskrit.^[6] Among his notable books, the travelogue Mahachin Yatra ("A Journey to Great China") was published from Kalimpong in 1950.^[7]

Into exile

Ananda Kuti Vihar, Swayambhu, Kathmandu, the first Theravada Buddhist monastery in modern Nepal.

In 1943, Dhammalok established Ananda Kuti Vihar, the first Theravada monastery in modern Nepal, at Swayambhu. It became the center for the Theravada community.^[8]

The government declared that the activities of the Theravada monks of spreading Buddhism were illegal, and on 11 August 1943, all of them including Dhammalok were expelled from Nepal.^{[9] [10]} The exiled monks first went to Kushinagar, India and then to Sarnath. On the full moon day of December 1943 in Sarnath, they founded Dharmodaya Sabha (Society for the Rise of the Teaching) which published books and a magazine on Buddhism titled Dharmodaya.^[11] Dhammalok spent his exile in India and Tibet, and returned to Kathmandu on 5 June 1946 after the ban was lifted.

From 1946, following pressure from Indian Buddhist societies, the government also allowed publication of literature in Nepal Bhasa after being censored.^[12] Dhammalok devoted his later years to writing. He also worked to develop Lumbini and Kapilavastu, the Buddha's birthplace and family home in southern Nepal.^[13] Dhammalok died at Ananda Kuti Vihar.

References

1. ^ LeVine, Sarah and Gellner, David N. (2005). Rebuilding Buddhism: The Theravada Movement in Twentieth-Century Nepal. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674019083, 9780674019089. Page 41.
2. ^ "Theravada Buddhism in Modern Nepal". Lumbini Nepalese Buddha Dharma Society (UK). http://www.lumbini.org.uk/bd_n_thera_t.html. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
3. ^ Gellner, David N. (2004). "Three Buddhist Hymns from Nepal". Guthi (Newa Pasa Pucha UK). http://www.isca.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/ISCA/ACADEMIC/D_Gellner_publication_files/ThreeBuddhistHymnsfromNepal.pdf. Retrieved 17 March 2011. 
4. ^ Sudarshan, Bhikshu (1970). Lumankebahapin ("Memorable Figures"). Kathmandu: Chwasapasa. Pages 75-84.
5. ^ Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. ISBN 81-208-0963-7. Page 4.
6. ^ Kloppenborg, Ria. "Theravada Buddhism in Nepal". Kailash. http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/kailash/kailash_05_04_03.pdf. Retrieved 16 March 2011.  Page 305.
7. ^ Sthavir, Dharmalok (1 December 1977). "A Journey to Great China". Regmi Research Series. Regmi Research. http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/regmi/pdf/regmi_09.doc. Retrieved 19 June 2011.  Page 33.
8. ^ "Theravada Buddhism in Modern Nepal". Lumbini Nepalese Buddha Dharma Society (UK). http://www.lumbini.org.uk/bd_n_thera_t.html. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
9. ^ Gellner, David N. (1986). "Language, Caste, Religion and Territory". European Journal of Sociology. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5461620. Retrieved 13 March 2011.  Page 133.
10. ^ Dietrich, Angela (1996). "Buddhist Monks and Rana Rulers: A History of Persecution". Buddhist Himalaya: A Journal of Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods. http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BH/bh117536.htm. Retrieved 17 March 2011. 
11. ^ Sthavir, Dharmalok (1 December 1977). "A Journey to Great China". Regmi Research Series. Regmi Research. http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/regmi/pdf/regmi_09.doc. Retrieved 19 June 2011.  Page 51.
12. ^ Hutt, Michael (December 1986). "Diversity and Change in the Languages". CNAS Journal (Tribhuvan University). http://www.thlib.org/static/reprints/contributions/CNAS_14_01_01.pdf. Retrieved 15 March 2011.  Page 10.
13. ^ Sakya, Ratna Man. "Lumbini - The Birthplace of Lord Buddha". Non-Resident Nepali Association. http://www.nrn.org.np/speeches/rmshakya.html. Retrieved 18 March 2011.