The Venerable Narada Maha Thera, born Sumanapala Perera (14 July 1898 – 2 October 1983) was a Theravada

Theravada

Theravada ; literally, "the Teaching of the Elders" or "the Ancient Teaching", is the oldest surviving Buddhist school. It was founded in India...

n Buddhist monk and translator, the Superior of Vajirarama Temple in Colombo. He was a popular figure in his native country, Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, and beyond.

He was born in Kotahena, Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 to a middle-class family, educated at St. Benedict's College

St Benedict's College Colombo

St. Benedict's College is a Catholic school located in Kotahena area of Colombo, Sri Lanka. This school was founded in 1865 and is managed by De La Salle Brothers. The school is considered as one of the leading schools in Sri Lanka, with a history of over 145 years...

 and Ceylon University College, and ordained at the age of eighteen.

In 1929 he represented Sri Lanka at the opening ceremony for the new Mulagandhakuti Vihara monastery at Sarnath

Sarnath

Sarnath or Sārnātha is the deer park where Gautama Buddha first taught the Dharma, and where the Buddhist Sangha came into existence through the enlightenment of Kondanna. Sarnath is located 13 kilometres north-east of Varanasi, in Uttar Pradesh, India...

, India, and in 1934 he visited Indonesia, the first Theravadan monk to do so in more than 450 years. From that point on he travelled to many countries to conduct missionary work: Taiwan, Cambodia, Laos, South Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Nepal, and Australia. In 1956, he visited the United Kingdom and the United States, and addressed a huge crowd at the Washington Monument

Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington...

. On 2 November 1960 Narada Maha Thera brought a bodhi tree to the South Vietnam

South Vietnam

South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...

ese temple Thích Ca Phật Đài, and made many visits to the country during the 1960s.

Along with others (such as Piyadassi Maha Thera

Piyadassi Maha Thera

* By A. G. S. Kariyawasam...

) he contributed to the popularization of the bana style dharma talk

Dharma talk

A Dharma talk or Dhamma talk or Dharma sermon is a public discourse on Buddhism by a Buddhist teacher....

in the 1960s and brought the Buddhist teachings "to the day-to-day lives of the Westernized middle class in Sri Lanka."

Works

• The Buddha and his Teachings
• Buddhism in a Nutshell
• The Buddhist Doctrine of Kamma and Rebirth
• A Manual of Abhidhamma
• An Elementary Pali Course
• Life of Venerable Sariputta
• Everyman’s Ethics
• Facts of Life
• Dhammapada, Pali text and translation
• The Way to Nibbana
• The Mirror of the Dhamma: a manual of Buddhist recitations and devotional texts
• An Outline of Buddhism
• The Life of Buddha, in his own words

External links

• A Manual of Abhidhamma by Narada Mahathera
• Biography by Gunaseela Vihanage
• Pali course
• The Buddha and His Teachings