Caroline Rhys Davids

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids (1857–1942) was a Pali language scholar and translator, and from 1922-1942 president of the Pali Text Society which was founded by her husband T.W. Rhys Davids whom she married in 1894.

Her translations of Pali texts were at times idosyncratic but her contribution was considerable. From the Pali Canon, she translated the Samyutta Nikaya, the Therigatha and Theragatha (inspired verses by elder monks and nuns), the Jataka tales (birth stories of the Buddha's previous lives), and portions of the Abhidhamma (particularly the "Dhamma-Sangani," a key source of Theravada Buddhist psychology). She also wrote several popular books on the subject of Buddhism. Although earlier in her career she accepted more mainstream beliefs about Buddhist doctrine, later in life she rejected the concept of anatta as an "original" Buddhist teaching. She appears to have influenced several of her students in this direction, including A.K. Coomaraswamy, F.L. Woodward, and I.B. Horner.

Unlike her husband, Caroline became strongly influenced by Theosophy; the terminology and beliefs of the latter religion are evident in her more personal writing, and, to some extent, shaped her "psychological" interpretation of many key Pali terms. She became involved in spiritualism to a certain extent, attempting to communicate with her dead son through seances and automatic writing.

As well as her academic work in Indian philosophy and the history of Buddhism, Caroline did charitable work for women and children, and was a campaigner for women's suffrage.

Caroline and Thomas had three children, Vivien Brynhilda (1895), Nesta Enid (1900) and Arthur Rhys Davids (1897).

External links

• Photo and biographical stub
• Mrs. Rhys Davids' Dialogue with Psychology (1893-1924) By Teresina Rowell Havens. Philosophy East & West. V. 14 (1964) pp. 51-58