Who was Venerable Walpola Rahula?

VENERABLE Walpola Rahula Thero’s 118th death anniversary fell on 9 May. On 24 May, a commemorative event is being organised by the Walpola Rahula Foundation Trust chaired by his only Monk pupil Venerable Galkande Dhammananda at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. It is timely and of significant relevance to today’s societal practices in the name of Buddha and Buddhism, to examine the life and times of Venerable Rahula and his philosophy and approach to Buddhism.

- By Raj Gonsalkorale

In Venerable Rahula’s seminal work, What the Buddha Taught, he says, “The question has often been asked; Is Buddhism a religion or a philosophy? It does not matter what you call it. Buddhism remains what it is whatever label you may put on it. The label is immaterial. Even the label ‘Buddhism’ which we give to the teachings of the Buddha is of little importance. The name one gives is inessential. In the same way Truth needs no label: it is neither Buddhist, Christian, Hindu nor Moslem. It is not the monopoly of anybody. Sectarian labels are a hindrance to the independent understanding of Truth, and they produce harmful prejudices in men’s minds.”

The above citation describes the philosophy that Venerable Walpola Rahula Thero embodied throughout his life. It was very much in line with the dictum Bahujana sukhaya bahujana hitaya or “for the happiness of the many, for the welfare of the many” and it was his guiding principle. His philosophy won him many friends and followers in Sri Lanka and internationally, and also some who disagreed with him. No doubt, if Buddha was alive today and graced the commemorative occasion, he would have readily agreed with Venerable Rahula.

In his book “The Heritage of the Bhikkhu” Ven Rahula gives a vivid account of a Buddhist monk’s role as a servant to people’s needs as a follower and teacher of the basic Buddhist principles. In this informative volume, Ven Rahula emphasises Buddhism as a practical doctrine for daily living and spiritual perfection, not simply a monastic discipline.