Daranagama Kusaladhamma Thero (29 July 1963 – 3 March 2018) ( si, දරණාගම කුසලධම්ම හිමි) was a Sri Lankan
Sinhalese
Sinhala may refer to:
* Something of or related to the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka
* Sinhalese people
* Sinhala language
Sinhala ( ; , ''siṁhala'', ), sometimes called Sinhalese (), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language prima ...
Buddhist monk who founded the first Sri Lankan Buddhist media network and the television channel,
The Buddhist. He served as the chief incumbent of the Colombo Sri Sambodhi Viharaya and the Sambodhi Community Development Foundation in
London. He died on 3 March 2018 at the age of 54.
Biography
Daranagama Kusaladhamma Thero was born on 29 July 1963 in
Daranagama. He got the prefix name of "Daranagama" which was his birthplace. He educated at the
Royal College, Colombo
Royal College, Colombo is a selective entry boys' school located in Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Started as a private school by Rev Joseph Marsh in 1835, it was established as the Colombo Academy by Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton in Janua ...
and received his master's degree at the
University of Kelaniya.
Buddhist TV network
He went onto launch The Buddhist media network on 15 May 2011 with The Buddhist radio transmission. Ven. Daranagama Kusaladhamma Thero was instrumental in launching Sri Lanka's first primary Buddhist channel in January 2012 under the title
The Buddhist.
Death
After suffering from illness, Daranagama Kusaladhamma Thero died on 3 March 2018 when he was 54 years old. His funeral took place at the Sports Ministry Ground at the
Independence Square.
As a result of his death, the annual
Big Match between
Royal College and
St. Thomas College, which is known as
Royal-Thomian clash (Battle of the Blues), was postponed to 9 March 2018 as he was a past pupil of the Royal College.
See also
*
Buddhism in Sri Lanka
*
The Buddhist
*
Shraddha TV
*
Global Buddhist Network
The Global Buddhist Network (GBN), previously known as the Dhammakaya Media Channel (DMC) is a Thai online television channel concerned with Buddhism. The channel's taglines were "The secrets of life revealed" and "The only one", but these were ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kusaladhamma Thero, Daranagama
1963 births
2018 deaths
Sri Lankan Buddhist monks
Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhists
Alumni of Royal College, Colombo