Vajirañāṇa Nayaka Thera, Medagama
Ven. Dr. Vajirañāṇa (1928–2006) was born in Sri Lanka. He was ordained as a novice monk (bhikkhu) in the village temple of Hippola on 23 March 1943 at the age of 14 years and received his higher ordination at the Malwatuvihara in Kandy on 11 May 1949 at the age of 20. He received his initial monastic education at Hippola, before proceeding to the Pratiraja Pirivena in Agalawatte for two years of further studies, followed by nine years at the Vidyodaya Pirivena in Colombo. In 1955 he attained the degree of Pandit from the Oriental Studies Society. He then studied for two years at the Pirivena Teachers’ Training College in Ratmalana, after which he was offered the post of principal at the Parama Dhamma Cetiya Pirivena in Ratmalana.
In 1961 he continued his education in India, completing a two-year diploma course at the Sanskrit University of Benares, and an M.A. in Sanskrit at the Jadavpur University of Calcutta. He returned to Sri Lanka to continue to teach at the Pirivena Teachers’ Training College in Ratmalana.
In 1966 he came to Europe for the first time, when he was appointed as Assistant Head of the London Buddhist Vihara, by the Anagarika Dharmapala Trust, which is the oldest Buddhist monastic institution in the West. He was now faced with the considerable challenge of teaching Buddhism in what was, for him, a foreign language (English) in a country where Buddhism was little known, little understood and certainly not the dominant force it was in Sri Lanka. Despite the many differences in culture and language, Ven. Vajirañāṇa established a programme of classes in Buddhism and the Pali language which attracted much interest from native British people who were not born as Buddhists. In 1974 he became the religious director of the British Buddhist Association. In 1980 he was invited to return to Sri Lanka as the principal of the Pirivena Teachers’ Training College in Ratmalana. Then in 1984 he came back to the United Kingdom as Head of the London Buddhist Vihara. One of his first duties was to revive and expand the teaching programme, and 1986 he was invited to start teaching a course on Buddhism at Birkbeck College, which is the extra-mural department of the University of London.
In the New Year’s Honours List 2006, Venerable Dr. M. Vajirañāṇa was appointed O.B.E. for his services to inter-faith relations. This is in recognition of the many years of service which he has devoted to improving understanding between followers of all faiths, and spreading greater toleration and harmony between all communities.
