Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula

Category: Patriarchs of Buddhism

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

The Ven. Dr. Walpola Rahula (born 1907) is a scholar-monk who was trained and educated in the Theravadin tradition in Sri Lanka. The clear overviews of concepts provided in his written works are held in high regard and have become well used in the academic study of Buddhism in the West.

As a young man he entered the Ceylon University (now the University of Colombo), obtained a BA Honours degree (London), and then earned a Doctorate of Philosophy having written a thesis on the History of Buddhism in Sri Lanka.

At various times he held eminent positions in one of the leading seminaries in Sri Lanka, was chancellor of the University of Kelaniya in Sri Lanka and taught abroad at the University of Calcutta, Northwestern University, Swarthmore College, UCLA and the Sorbonne. It was during his time at the Sorbonne in the late-1950s that he produced What the Buddha Taught, a highly regarded introductory text on Buddhism for which Rahula is best known.

Bibliographies

• What The Buddha Taught, 1959, ISBN 0-8021-3031-3
• History of Buddhism in Ceylon: The Anuradhapura period, 3rd Century BC - 10th Century AD, 1966
• Humour in Pali Literature and Other Essays, 1997, ISBN 955-650-000-6
• The Heritage of the Bhikkhu: A Short History of the Bhikkhu in Educational, Cultural, Social, and Political Life, 1974, ISBN 0-394-49260-9
• Heritage of Bhikkhu, 1974, ISBN 0-394-17823-8
• Zen and the Taming of the Bull: Towards the Definition of Buddhist Thought: Essays, 1978, ISBN 0-900406-69-0
• The Heritage of the Bhikkhu: The Buddhist Tradition of Service, 2003, ISBN 0-8021-4023-8

Reference

• Remembering Dr. Walpola Rahula