Other Publications

In addition to his own daily records of his life and work, Anagarika Dharmapala, founded several seminal publications that are remarkable commentaries of his times, the politico-socio-economic-religious issues of his day and his mission. He founded the Mahabodhi and the United World Journal as a monthly journal of the Mahabodhi Society of India in 1893. In the United Kingdom, he launched The British Buddhist. These are today a repository of essays and commentaries by him and many thinkers and activists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1906, Anagarika Dharmapala founded the Sinhala Bauddhaya as a publication of the Mahabodhi Society in Sri Lanka to publicize his mission, especially the resistance to British colonial rule and the mission of reclaiming Buddha Gaya in India for the Buddhists of the world. Mary Foster Robinson, his benefactor, provided the initial capital for the newspaper while well-known writers in Sinhala contributed articles. Piyadasa Sirisena and Walisinha Harischandra were appointed by the Society as the editors. The Colonial Government in Sri Lanka sealed the Sinhala Bauddhaya in 1915 following the imposition of Martial Law. It was returned to the Mahabodhi Society in 1922.

In addition to these, Anagarika Dharmapala’s writings include pamphlets, contributions to journals/newspapers (several to the theosophical journals of his time) letters and speeches. While no complete compilation of his writings is available as one publication, there are several collections that have attempted to put together samples of a range of his writings. Dr. Ananda Guruge, scholar-diplomat's tome 'Return to Righteouness', a 1965 publication is arguably the best effort at consolidating most of Dharmapala's works into a single volume.