Mohotiwatta Gunanand Thera
Mohotiwatta Gunananda or Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera (In Sinhala language: පූජ්ය මිගෙට්ටුවත්තේ ගුණානන්ද හිමි) (9 February 1823 - 21 January 21 1890) was Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka who is known for his oratory in debating the merits of Buddhism with Christian missionaries. He and Venerable H. Sri Sumangala participated in the Panadurawadaya, three days of debates that took place at Panadura in 1873. Gunananda built the Temple Mutwalward.
Involvement with Theosophical Society
After Theosophical Society founders H. P. Blavatsky and Colonel Henry Olcott heard about the debates, they wrote to Gunananda and Sumangala, who invited them to visit in Ceylon. Gunananda became an early member of the TS and remained such until his death. His membership certificate is serial number 116 of 1877.[1] He translated a portion of Isis Unveiled to Sinhalese.
Additional resources
- "Gunananda, Mohotiwatta" in Theosophy World.
Notes
- ↑ C. V. Agarwal, The Buddhist and Theosophical Movements (Sarnath, Varanasi: Maha Bodhi Society of India, 2001), 16.