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| Sunday, 23 January 2005 |
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10th death anniversary : Remembering Ven. Nyanaponika Maha Thera by Ven. Kosgoda Siri Sudhamma Thera The commemoration ceremony of the death of the German scholar turned Buddhist monk, who died 10 years ago was held on January 19 in several Buddhist societies in Germany and in Switzerland. The Maha Thera was born as Siegmund Feniger in Hanau in Germany. The only son of a family of businessmen, from Austria, Feniger, spent the greater part of his youth in former East Germany in Schlesion and East Prussia. After listening to a lecture on Christianity, Buddhism and Islam, he found his way to the Buddha. He discovered Buddhist societies and came to know such famous Buddhists as Paul Dahike and Martin Steinke in Berlin. In 1936 he visited Sri Lanka with a German friend. The Venerable Thera lived for several months at the Island Hermitage is Dodanduwa as Upasaka, a lay person observing the eight precepts. That year he received his ordination as a novice and in the following year in 1937, he received full ordination, taking the Buddhist monk's name Nyanaponika, "towards Gracious Knowledge." Soon after his arrival, he studied Pali, under his teacher, the first German Buddhist monk, Nyanatiloka for nine months and teachings of the Buddha, later continuing his studies alone. Before his final ordination he learned the Vinaya. Another of his teacher's students, Nyananaloka, helped him with the practical training of the rules of a monk's life. At the end of 1937, the Thera moved to Gampola. There he lived in a small hut provided for him on the banks of the Mahaveli River. This hut was once a brick kiln in the middle of a paddy field. Translation While living in this hut he began to translate the first part of the book Samyutta Nikaya into German. It was his first translation of original Buddhist texts into German. Up to then there had been no translation. Later he founded an Ashram with two of his friends Sri Lanka monks, outside the village on the banks of the Mahaweli River. An elderly Muslim man donated the thatch for the roof of the Ashram from his paddy fields and occasionally visited the monks in the evenings. They did not have many visitors as the people believed Mahasona the big devil lived in the graveyard near the Ashram and they were afraid. The three monks lived on charity in this new Ashram and learned the practice of Satipatthana. When an epidemic of malaria broke out in the village the two Lankan monks caught it too. Therefore the Maha Thera left the Ashram with them and moved to the highlands of Bandarawela. First they lived in a bungalow and then in an abandoned tea factory. At this time, the Second World War was raging and the English governed Sri Lanka. The Thera was interned for two years because he was a German. Later in 1941 after the Japanese had occupied Singapore and Sri Lanka was declared a war area, the Maha Thera, along with six other German monks, his teacher among them, were taken to an interment camp in Dehra Dun in North India. During this time of imprisonment, his teacher, Nyanatiloka continued with the translation of the Visuddhimagga, a Buddhist commentary on the original Buddhist texts and Nyanaponika Thera completed his translation of the third part of the Samyutta Nikaya. This book was published in Germany in 1967. It was only at the end of the war that the English answered the plea of Prime Minister D. S. Senanayaka, to release the German monks, who then returned to Polgasduwa Island Hermitage. Unfortunately they could not stay there long because they had to move to the highlands in Kandy for health reasons. In 1950 Maha Thera's well-known book 'Satipatthana' was published which was reprinted in 1970, 1975 and 1984 as revised and expanded editions with the title: "Spiritual Training through Satipatthana". In 1956, some laymen from Kandy, founded the publishing house Buddhist Publication Society with the aim of making Buddhism meaningful to modern people. After the death of his learned teacher Nyanatiloka Maha Thera, Nyanaponika Thera became the spiritual consultant for this society for many years. In 1984 the formal handing over of the publication office of the BPS took place with the Venerable Bodhi named as its successor. Publications The publishing house put out two books, The Wheel and Bodhi Leaves as well as several publications. 1,500,000 English Buddhist publications were published in about 95 countries altogether. The Maha Thera published the remaining writings of this long-time friend and helper, Francis Story, the English layman, who died in 1971, as well as those of his deceased English Order brother, the Ven. Nyanamoli who died in 1960. Nyanaponika thera wrote nine volumes and many essays in German. He even wrote some works in English, many of which have been translated into other languages. His works resulted in making the old honourable name of Sri-Lanka-Dhammadipa, Island of Buddha teachings, a living name once more. The German Oriental Society elected Siegmund Feniger, Ven. Nyanaponika Maha Thera as an honourary member on 30 April 1978. They honoured him as an outstanding expert on Theravada Buddhism, the translator of texts, the author of numerous books and essays on the spiritual and systematics of the Theravadins. In appreciation of his marvellous achievements, the University of Peradeniya awarded him an honourary Doctorate on Literature. On his spiritual path of peace, the Venerable Nyanaponika left his home at the age of 35 and visited Europe in 1968 for the first time in over 30 years in the saffron yellow robe of a Buddhist monk as a representative of Buddha's teaching, and promulgator of peace for the whole world. This was on the invitation of his childhood friend, Dr. Max Kreuzberger who invited him to Tessin. He met several European Buddhists in Switzerland. Communities Since 1970, the Ven. Nyanaponika Thera travelled to Europe every year to visit the Buddhist Seminar in Hamburg, the Buddhist Society there, the Haus der Stille in Rose-burg, the Haus de Besinnung in Dicken in Switzerland and again and again the Buddhist communities in London, Paris, Vienna, Zurich and other cities. The Ven. Maha Thera devoted his strength and time to the study of the Buddha's teaching for over half a century and has done much for the Buddhists of the whole world. It is impossible for me to compare his virtuous life and learning with the life of another monk. When I look back on the Maha Thera's long life I wonder how it has been possible for a representative of a European culture and philosophy to feel so much at home in a totally strange country, culture, climate, food, accommodation customs and the language. All these things were strange, in addition to the hard life of a monk. Despite this, he succeeded to settle down and understand old original, Buddhist texts and to translate them. I believe the Thera must have lived in Sri Lanka many times before. He left Germany to find his former spiritual Motherland. |
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