The Further Consequences of the Contribution of Sri Lankan Monks to British Buddhist Studies: What Happened Next in the Childers Family?

Abstract

Such studies as have been done on the interaction between scholar monks of Sri Lanka and western academics in the emerging field of Buddhist Studies in the West in the 19th century have looked at these matters in the context of the development of Buddhist studies and the consequences of the interaction for Sri Lankan Buddhism and Sri Lankan political developments, particularly the independence movement and resistance to the impact of British colonial rule. This paper will look at the subsequent impact of the input of Buddhist scholar monks of Sri Lanka on UK politics more broadly by looking at the on-going fortunes of the Childers’ family, who had received assistance particularly from Waskaduwe Subhuti Thera, and how each generation reflected the unraveling of British colonial rule.