Acharya Buddharakkhita (1922- 2013) was a Buddhist monk and prolific writer who established the

Maha Bodhi Society The Maha Bodhi Society is a South Asian Buddhist society presently based in Kolkata, India. Founded by the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and the British journalist and poet Sir Edwin Arnold, its first office was in Bodh Gaya. Th ...

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

and its sister bodies. It was inspired by the

Anagarika Dharmapala Anagārika Dharmapāla (Pali: ''Anagārika'', ; Sinhala: Anagārika, lit., si, අනගාරික ධර්මපාල; 17 September 1864 – 29 April 1933) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist revivalist and a writer. Anagarika Dharmapāla is not ...

, but is functionally independent. He was born in

Imphal Imphal ( Meitei pronunciation: /im.pʰal/; English pronunciation: ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (also known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the f ...

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of ...

, in 1922. His parents were Vishnupada and Sailavaladevi Bandopadhyaya. 1942, he took part in the Quit India Movement. He joined the Indian defence services after his graduation from the Institute of Engineering Technology, Calcutta. He participated in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, after which he resigned to find truth and freedom. He became a monk in 1948. He travelled all over India and also taught in Sri Lanka and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Finally he established the Maha Bodhi Society in Bangalore to propagate

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. In 1952, ''Moonasinghe'', niece of the Venerable ''Anagarika Dhammapala Maha Upasika'' —a well-known Buddhist in Bangalore, known to the ''Maharaja'' donated him a land for Maha Bodhi Society. He also established schools, hostels, hospitals and an

artificial limb In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

centre for the society. He had written 150 books and published two periodicals. He was honored with Abhidhaja Aggamaha Saddhammajotika award by the Myanmar government. He died at Maha Bodhi Society, Bangalore, on 23 September 2013.

Also see

Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan (5 January 1905 – 22 June 1988) was a Buddhist monk, scholar, traveller and a prolific writer from India. He is considered one of the great activists of Buddhism of the 20th century. He was influenced by the Buddhist ...

(1905 – 1988) * Rahul Sankrityayan (1893 – 1963)

Books

*
The Dhammapada: The Buddha's Path of Wisdom
'. Buddhist Publication Society, 1998. . * ''Die Weisheit des Lotus. Philosophie und Praxis buddhistischer Hingabe''. . * ''Buddhas lebendiges Erbe''. Schirner Verlag, 2005. . * ''Dem Buddha folgen. Geschichten vom Erleuchteten''. Schirner Publisher, . * ''Metta''. Schirner Verlag Publisher, 2004, . * ''Buddhist manual for everyday practice''. Paperback Publisher, 1996. *
METTA: The Philosophy and Practice of Universal Love
'. Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, . *
Positive Response: How To Meet Evil With Good
'. Publisher - Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 1987 *
What Meditation Implies
'. Publisher - Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy, Sri Lanka, 2008 * ''LIVING LEGACY OF THE BUDDHA''. 2002. *
Mind Overcoming Its Cankers: An In-depth Study of Mental Effluents in Buddhist Perspective
'. Publisher - Buddha Vachana Trust, Bangalore. . * ''Dem Buddha folgen. Geschichten vom Erleuchteten''. Schirner Verlag. * ''Invisible protection''. Publisher - Buddha Vachana Trust, 2002. * ''Dhammapada: a practical guide to right living''. Publisher Suki Hotu Dhamma. . * ''Unerschütterlicher Schutz''. Schirner, 2007. . * ''Halo'd Triumphs''. Publisher - Buddha Vachana Trust, Bangalore, 1976. * ''Dhamma. Vol. 2, No. 1'' (Editor). 1977 * ''An Unforgettable Inheritance Part II''. Publisher - Buddha Vachana Trust, Bangalore. * ''An Unforgettable Inheritance Stories of Dhammapada''. Publisher - Buddha Vachna Trust / Swayam Sahaya, Bangalore * ''Die Lehre von Karma und Wiedergeburt''. Schirner, 2004. .
Copy
of the Dhammapada translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddharakkhita, Acharya 1922 births 2013 deaths Indian Buddhist monks Theravada Buddhist monks Writers from Manipur Buddhist writers Indian National Army personnel Quit India Movement Indian independence activists from Manipur People from Imphal Indian religious writers 20th-century Indian non-fiction writers