Piyadassi Maha Thera

Piyadassi Maha Thera (1914-1998) is best known as a great preacher of the Dhamma [both in Sinhala and in English] and it was in this field that his popularity was foremost. Born on 8 July 1914 at Kotahena in Colombo, Sri Lanka, he was educated at Nalanda College Colombo, and thereafter at the University of Sri Lanka and the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University, as a research student.

At the age of twenty he entered the Buddhist Order and mastered the religion and philosophy of Buddhism under the erudite scholar monk Venerable Pelene Siri Vajiragnana Nayaka Thera, founder of the Vajirarama Bambalapitiya. Later he received his higher ordination under the tutorship of Venerable Vajiranna, founding superior of the Vajirarama Colombo, a most well-known authority on Buddhism.

Venerable Mahathera Piyadassi was one of the world's most eminent Buddhist monks having traveled widely carrying the message of the Buddha-Dhamma, both to the East and to West, he was able to write in a style that has universal appeal.

Ven. Piyadassi Maha Thera was the Sinhala editor at the Buddhist Publication Society until his death. ["Story of the Buddhist Publication Society" from "Buddhist Publication Society" at http://www.bps.lk/aboutus.asp.] Along with Ven. Nyanaponika Thera, he was one of the chief "kalyana mittas" of well-known American scholar-monk Bhikkhu Bodhi. [In Bodhi (2000), "The Connected Discourses of the Buddha", p. 5, Bodhi dedicates the volume to "the memory of my teacher Venerable Abhidhajamaharatthaguru Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Mahanayaka Thera (1896-1998) and to the memories of my chief kalyanamittas in my life as a Buddhist monk, Venerable Nyanaponika Mahathera (1901-1994) and Venerable Piyadassi Nayaka Thera (1914-1998)". ]

Venerable Piyadassi Maha Thera who lived to the age of 84 years and died on August 18, 1998.

References

* [http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/bud_lt33.htm Venerable Mahathera Piyadassi]
* [http://www.dailynews.lk/2001/08/18/fea04.html Ven. Piyadassi the great communicator]