Acharya Buddharakkhita (; 1922–2013) was an Indian Buddhist monk and prolific writer who established the Mahā Bodhī Society of Beṅgaḷūru. It is affiliated with the Mahā Bodhī Society of Kolkātā founded by Anagarika Dharmapala, with both organizations functioning independently of each other. He was born in

Imphal Imphal (; , ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Manipur. The metropolitan centre of the city contains the ruins of Kangla Palace (officially known as Kangla Fort), the royal seat of the former Kingdom of Manipur, surrounded by a ...

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

, 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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

and

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

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

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. 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 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 (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 The ''Dhammapada'' (; ) is a collection of sayings of the Buddha in verse form and one of the most widely read and best known Buddhist scriptures.See, for instance, Buswell (2003): "rank among the best known Buddhist texts" (p. 11); and, "on ...

translated by Acharya Buddharakkhita

References

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