Chief Reverend Venerable Dr K. Sri Dhammananda

March 18, 1919 -- Aug 31, 2006

Death is not sorrowful, but to have lived and not be of service to others is sorrowful.

- Ven. Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera

The Star Online, September 6, 2006

Rev Dhammananda was involved in Buddhist missionary work for 54 years. He was born in Sri Lanka on March 18, 1919. When he was 12, he was ordained as a novice monk and given the name Dhammananda meaning "Bliss of the Dhamma" as well as the first name Kirinde after his village.

At 26, he graduated from the Vidyalankara Pirivena College in Colombo with a Diploma in Pali and Sanskrit, Buddhist philosophy and the Pali Cannon. He continued post-graduate studies at the Benares Hindu University in North India for four years and graduated with a Masters degree in Indian Philosophy in 1949.

In 1952, he was invited to Malaya to reside at the Buddhist Vihara in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur to teach Buddhism. In 1962, he established the Buddhist Missionary Society (BMS) for a more organised missionary work in the country. Under BMS, he wrote many booklets and books on Buddhist teachings. To-date, he had written 70 books, which have been translated into no less than 16 languages worldwide.

In 1965, Rev Dhammananda was appointed the Chief High Priest of Malaysia and Singapore.

Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia (BMSM) president Ang Choo Hong said: "The Chief Reverend wrote his last book at his sick bed. And on the day of his funeral, 60,000 copies of the book, Where is the Buddha? were published for free distribution as his last legacy."