Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero

Biography The birth name of Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera was Don Niculus Gunawardhana. Thus at the age of 9, he was ordained under Arungamuwe Rewatha Thera of Thotagamuwa Raja Maha Vihara at Hikkaduwa and was given the Dharma name of "Hikkaduwe Sumangala". Ratmalane Sri Dharmaloka Thera was one of his contemporaries at Parama Dhamma Chetiya Pirivena. After gaining the higher ordination of Upasampada, he dedicated his life for the betterment of the world. He provided his services as a teacher at Parama Dhamma Chethiya Pirivena, Hikkaduwe Thilakaramaya, Bogahawatte Sudarshana Paramananda Viharaya, Kotahene Paramananda Viharaya. In 1872, in accordance to an invitation made by the Kotahena Paramananda Viharaya, he came to Colombo. thumb Most Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera and Colonel Henry Steel Olcott in Colombo, 1889

In 1864, he was appointed as the Chief priest of the Sripada (Adam's peak), the holy mountain of Sri Lanka. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala thera was well versed in Sinhala, Pali, Sanskrit and English languages and also had a very good knowledge in Buddhism, history, arithmetic and archaeology. He wrote many books in these subjects and was a leading figure of the Panadura debate (Panadurawadaya) held in 1873. It was after reading a report of this debate that Colonel Henry Steele Olcott visited Sri Lanka. Colonel Olcott learned Buddhism and Pali under Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, who guided him to establish many Buddhist schools in Sri Lanka, such as Ananda College, Colombo (1886), Mahinda College, Galle (1892) and Dharmaraja College, Kandy (1887). It was also in the presence of Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, C. W. Leadbeater, an influential member of the Theosophical Society repeated the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts of Buddhism and became a Buddhist.

In 1885 with the donation of a land area in Hunupitiya Colombo by, H. L. De Mel, a non-Buddhist, he was able to establish the Gangarama Temple. He also took measures to bring down a part of the Sri maha bodhi from Anuradhapura and plant it amidst the Gangarama Temple premises for worship. He was the chief monk of the Gangarama Temple and upon his demise, he was succeeded by Rev. Devundara Sri Jinarathana Thera. Most Ven. Thera's Walking Stick kept in Galle National Museum Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera was the chairman of the 'Colombo Committee' which originally designed the Buddhist flag in 1885. Sri Sumangala thera was also a pioneer in Buddhist newspaper journalism in Sri Lanka. The paper "Lankaloka" was started by him, and afterwards, he assisted the local Buddhist community to publish papers such as "Sarasavisandaresa" and "Sinhala Bauddhaya". He was well honored and awarded many titles by Sri Lankans as well as the people of many other countries in the East and the West. Reputed and renowned institutions in Ireland, Italy, Hungary and Germany also bestowed felicitation degrees on him. Sathya Margaya Rivirasa Bhuddha Addahilla