Walpola Rahula

Walpola Rahula Thero (1907–1997) was a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk, scholar, and writer. In 1964, he became the Professor of History and Religions at Northwestern University, thus becoming the first bhikkhu to hold a professorial chair in the Western world. He also once held the position of Vice-Chancellor at the then-Vidyodaya University (currently known as the University of Sri Jayewardenepura). 

He has written extensively about Buddhism in English, French, and Sinhala. He wrote the book What the Buddha Taught about Theravada Buddhism. He was born in 1907 in Walpola, a tiny village in southern Sri Lanka. At thirteen, he entered the Sangha. His education covered Sinhala, Pali, Sanskrit, Buddhism, history, and philosophy. He studied at the Vidyalankara Pirivena and the University of Ceylon, where he associated with E. F. C. Ludowyk, G.P Malalasekera, E. W. Adikaram, and other scholars. 

After his period at the Sorbonne, he became Vice-Chancellor of Vidyodaya University. He was noted not only for his erudition but also for his strong socialist views and his belief that monks have a duty to play a role in guiding the people's political consciousness. His book Bhikshuvakage Urumaya (Heritage of the Bhikkhu) was a strong voice in the Buddhist Nationalist movement that led to the 1956 electoral victory of Solomon Bandaranaike. 

He left Vidyodaya University in 1969 due to political differences with the government of the day. Thereafter, he returned to the West and worked in many academic institutions in Europe. He returned to Sri Lanka during his last days and lived in the temple near the New Parliament in Kotte until his death. Rahula Thero attended Ceylon University (now known as the University of Peradeniya). He obtained a B.A. Honors degree (London), and then earned a Doctorate of Philosophy, having written a thesis on the History of Buddhism in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). 

Then he went on to study Indian Philosophy at Calcutta University and later studied Mahayana at the Sorbonne. During his time at the Sorbonne in the late 1950s, he produced What the Buddha Taught, a widely read and highly influential introductory text on Buddhism, for which he is best known. Walpola Rahula Thero is the first Buddhist monk to become a professor at a Western University. 

When he became a Professor of History and Literature of Religions, there were no Theravada Temples in the United States. He later became a Professor Emeritus at the same university. Rahula also held positions at several other American Universities. He was a visiting lecturer at Swarthmore College and Regents Lecturer at UCLA. He became Vice-Chancellor of Vidyoda University (now Sri Jayawardhanapura University) in 1964. 

He was later instrumental in encouraging the formation of the first Theravada temple in the United States, the Washington Buddhist Vihara, located in Washington, D.C. Rahula Thero was awarded several titles during his lifetime. The highest honorary title, Tripitakavagisvaracarya (Supreme Master of Buddhist Scriptures), was given to him by Sri Kalyani Samagri Sangha-sabha (the Chapter of the Sangha in Sri Lanka) in 1965, with the qualification Sri (Gracious), a title held by only two or three scholars in Sri Lanka. 

He was also awarded the title "Aggamaha Panditha" from Burma. Rahula Thero wrote extensively about Theravada Buddhism. Apart from his world-renowned book What the Buddha Taught, he published an enormous number of papers on Buddhism. Notable books he wrote include History of Buddhism in Ceylon, Heritage of the Bhikkhu, Zen and the Taming of the Bull, and Le Compendium de la Super Doctrine (French).