St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (Aug 2025)
Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933)
Abstract
Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933) was a Buddhist speaker, activist, missionary, and founder of the Maha Bodhi Society. A complex and influential figure in modern Buddhism, multiple characterizations of his life are certainly possible. He cleverly crafted different images of what he stood for, and of what he wanted for each of his many constituencies – thus disorienting the many scholars who have written extensively about his career. Espousing a heterogenous rather than a homogenous identity throughout his life, Dharmapala is indeed exceedingly difficult to describe in straightforward terms. Categorized variously as a Buddhist fanatic, Sinhalese supremacist, Sri Lankan patriot, and a pioneering interlocutor between East and West, among countless other apt classifications, Dharmapala remains a figure of incomparable intrigue for those wishing to interpret developments across subcontinental Buddhist circles at the turn of the twentieth century. In terms of that which motivated him, however, a clearer picture emerges of what he believed was his purpose in life. Indeed, Dharmapala seemingly had two interconnected objectives in life, and both goals involved considerations of what it meant to be Buddhist and how Buddhist teachings and practice were best applied to wider society. Committed to achieving Buddhahood for himself, Dharmapala nonetheless augmented his personal mission with public campaigns to improve the lives of those around him based on what he believed were clear Buddhist principles. As an anagārika (‘one without a home’), he was of no fixed abode and moved between his native Ceylon and his adopted India with several global tours helping to greatly inform his wider outlook. As a dharmapāla (‘protector of the dharma’), he believed it his greater duty to safeguard and promote the Buddha’s teachings. Known also as Don David Hewavitarane at birth and Sri Devamitta Dhammapala at death, Dharmapala nonetheless found in Buddhism a system of values and beliefs which remained a constant during times of change, both in his own life and in the wider world around him. This article relates the various and novel ways in which Dharmapala engaged with Buddhism and what exactly the religion represented for him. For most of his life, Dharmapala straddled the traditional lay-clerical divide by carving out a new role for himself. In how he understood Buddhism’s concepts and communicated its practices, theosophical frameworks and Western mentors proved just as important as canonical texts and clerical instruction. His evaluations of the weaknesses and limitations of other religions complemented discourses on the strengths and boundless possibilities of Buddhism itself. An avid reader and a prolific writer and speaker, Dharmapala’s many tours and campaigns enabled him to maintain an incomparable influence on Buddhist developments across South Asia and beyond. Despite his contested legacy, his importance to global Buddhist discourses cannot be ignored.
