A Buddhist Monk’s Journey from Ceylon to Oxford

I, Reverend Wadigala Samitharathana, am currently reading for an MPhil in Buddhist Studies as a Glorisun Scholar at St Cross College, University of Oxford.

What lay on my path to Oxford? 

Ever since I took the ordination as a Theravāda Buddhist monk in Ceylon in 2009, I have been immersing myself in the fertile grounds of Buddhism - until the present time. In fact, it depicts a rite de passage in life, wherein I started learning and practising the key doctrinal tenets in depth; that led me to an intellectual perusal of life. In effect, I studied oriental languages (Sinhala, Pāli, and Sanskrit) and other co-related literature (philology, etymology, grammar, semantics, metrics and prosody, logic and reasoning, ethics, epistemology, metaphysics, etc.) at Siri Sunanda Pirivena, Beliatta and Mahāvihāra Maha Pirivena, Kandy in Sri Lanka. As a result, I was awarded the ‘National First Prize’ (with a Korean Government Scholarship) for the highest marks in the Buddhist Religious Final Examination in 2013 and the academic honour of ‘Royal Paṇḍita’ remarking the successful completion of oriental studies in Ceylon in 2016. I was then admitted to the University of Peradeniya in 2019 that is the oldest and largest university in the country. I thereby started reading for a BA (Hons) in Philosophy, whilst studying the Pāli canon, exegetical commentaries, Vedic, non-Vedic, and Buddhist Sanskrit texts. Further, in recognition of exceptional achievements in Buddhist studies, the International Buddhist College in Thailand offered me the ‘Outstanding Young Buddhist Scholar Award’ in 2017. During this time, I also received an offer from Oxford Brookes University, along with an International Student Scholarship Award to complete the final two years of the current programme. I accordingly took the opportunity and earned a BA (Hons) in Philosophy in submitting a dissertation titled ‘Aristotle and Buddhism: A Comparative Study between the Aristotelian Concept of Eudaimonia and the Buddhist Perspective of Nibbāna’ in 2023. In fact, this research led me into a comparative scrutiny in Greco-Roman philosophy vis-à-vis Theravāda Buddhism - setting up a cross-cultural bridge in-between Eastern and Western scholarship. I thereupon received the Tibet Foundation Award, whereby I pursued an MA in Buddhist Studies at SOAS University of London in 2024. Herein, I carried out a breakthrough study on ‘Buddhaghosa’s Critique of Meditation (Visuddhimagga): An Emphasis on Ethics, Epistemology, and Metaphysics in Buddhist Meditation’. By all means - this helped me reach a common ground in which Buddhism and ancient Greek philosophy can show a good amount of consonance in scholarship.   

Reverend Wadigala Samitharathana giving a talk on Mindfulness and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Moreover, I gave several paper presentations at International Research Conferences worldwide held in Zürich, Paris, Oxford, Cambridge, Madrid, Berlin, New York, Colombo, and Kandy, over the past years. In consequence, I made room for key application of Buddhist principles to tackle some traumatic global issues in modern times - such as the ecological crisis vs climate change, COVID-19 pandemic vs global resilience, mindfulness vs student well-being, plus individual welfare vs planetary peace and harmony. Rather, as being a member of the esteemed professional bodies (UK Association for Buddhist Studies, Pāli Text Society, International Association of Buddhist Studies, British Association for South Asian Studies, American Philosophical Association, and The Royal Institute of Philosophy, etc.), I attended a number of global conferences, seminars, workshops, and roundtable discussions - for the seeds of great erudition to sprout in scholastic Buddhism. Additionally, I have had several peer-reviewed journal and newspaper articles, as well as a couple of books published in multiple languages across Europe, USA, and Sri Lanka; therein lies a volume of work on Eastern and Western philosophy, ancient Buddhist thought, and classical literature. Over the last several years, I, as a Buddhist intellectual, conducted a series of invited talks and open discussion forums on Buddhism and its philosophical application - at the mass of general and scholarly bodies in Norway, Switzerland, France, Germany, UK, USA, Canada, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Latterly, I founded the Oxford Buddhist Society to preserve Theravāda Buddhism for the sake of human well-being, and am now playing a vital role as the Founding President; it tailors me to widely study, practise, and awaken myself about the central teachings of Buddhism, while practising calm (samatha) and insight (vipassanā) meditation at large.   

In all, this unflagging effort and indefatigable works on scholarship paved the way for me to Oxford. In Michaelmas Term 2024, I matriculated to the University of Oxford (alongside the membership at St Cross College) as a Glorisun Scholar - since I was awarded the Glorisun Graduate Scholarship towards the MPhil in Buddhist Studies this year.

Reverend Wadigala Samitharathana before his matriculation at St Cross College.

A Buddhist monk at St Cross College, Oxford 

In history, Venerable Suriyagoda Sumangala was the first-ever Sri Lankan Buddhist monk to earn a scholarship at Oxford. In Michaelmas Term 1919, he enrolled as a ‘non-collegiate’ student, and then studied for a BLitt at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. Whilst shedding light on this history, I was also delighted to matriculate at the University of Oxford in Michaelmas Term 2024 - along with the collegiate membership at St Cross College, Oxford. This de facto provides me with an astounding opportunity to learn and grow in modern scholarship. Herein, my key interests lie upon early Buddhism vis-à-vis ancient Greek philosophy, Pāli canonical-cum-exegetical literature vs hermeneutics in the Greek and Hellenistic culture, philosophy of religion, language, and science, as well as comparative religious literature in Southern, Eastern, and Northern Buddhism. Rather, as a scholarly-practitioner Buddhist monk, I intend to take an all-inclusive training of Buddhist canonical languages and elite observations of far-reaching fields of Buddhism at Oxford, viz., Western philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, comparative literature, ministerial practice, and suchlike. Above all, I am intent on working on the annotated translations, editions, and comparative critiques for the Pāli commentarial literature since there is a large paucity of work thereof. I am, ipso facto,  beyond a shadow of a doubt - I have arrived in the best avenue of research in the world; it has the vast strength in academia to serve me in the field. Indeed, it carves out a niche for the future of Buddhist scholarship across the world. Besides that, I was elected as the Welfare Representative (male) at St Cross College for the next academic year. In support of communal well-being, I set up the first Oxford Mindfulness Society. By establishing such a ministry, I attempt to help all fellow students find calm, peace, joy, and wisdom in everyday life - in the vicinity of a frantic world. Thus, my life as a Buddhist monk at Oxford, will solely be dedicated to the growth of Buddhist scholarship and societal well-being - far beyond all cross-sectional boundaries ex post facto.  

Acknowledgment 

My journey, yet as a Buddhist monk, was never easy, wherein nature has brought me along thus far; it was full of craggy, foggy, and misty surroundings that I had to traverse until I saw the light of hope on Earth. Ergo, I would remain grateful to my beloved parents, siblings, monastic preceptor, venerable and honourable teachers, and friends. Indeed, I am thankful to all of them for showing me such compassion and loving-kindness for today and always.  

Thank you!