Irishman U Dhammaloka (Laurence Carroll), The Dharma Bum; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; TheDharmaBum.eu, Dana.IO/thedharmabum
First Western Buddhist monk: Irish U Dhammaloka (Wisdom Quarterly) |
I think I'll be a Buddhist monk |
- Any relation to Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland? Of course not, because "Lewis Carroll" is the nom de plume (pen name) for Irish-connected Oxford don Dodgson, the author of classic literature for little Alice Liddell.
Laurence Carroll was born in Dublin in 1856 and spent his early life as an alcoholic hobo drifter bumming his way across the United States of America.
This freethinking, un-Catholic, un-Christian, atheist activist worked the shipping route from San Francisco, California, to Japan.
Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind |
He eventually made his way to Theravada Buddhist Burma, where he was helped by compassionate local Buddhist monks.
After five years as a monastic apprentice, he became the first Western man to ever don the saffron robes of a Theravada Buddhist monk.
After five years as a monastic apprentice, he became the first Western man to ever don the saffron robes of a Theravada Buddhist monk.
- Carroll was not the only amazing Irish-American Buddhist monastic: There was also Zen Buddhist "saint" (bodhisattva) Maura Soshin O'Halloran
- American Buddhist Journal: POEM: "Finnegan's Awake"
Irish-American female Zen Buddhist saint (bodhisattva) in Japan: Soshin O'Halloran |
I'm glad I became a Buddhist and did so much to spread freethinking against the British Empire. |
.
Ven. U Dhammaloka: First Westerner to ordain as a Buddhist monk
UK-occupied Northern Ireland |
U Dhammaloka was erased from history. His existence lay dormant for over 100 years. Why? The reasons are explored in the film.
This Irishman caused quite a stir in his life, as he singlehandedly took on the might of the Christian British Empire in colonial Burma.
Teach those Brits not to mess with the Celts |
- [George Orwell was also decrying British colonial crimes against humanity in Burma and England for which he wrote Nineteen-Eighty-Four, and he wrote about the city monks of Burma -- eviscerating the layabouts -- in an essay "Shooting an Elephant"].
The Legend of the 6th Century Irish monk who may have sailed so America (grunge.com) |
.
Happy St. Paddy's Day?
Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit
The Patrician Roman Patriarch Pat |
Saint Patrick (Gaelic Pádraig, Latin Patricius, "father of the people") was a 5th-century Romano-British anti-pagan, Christian missionary, and patriarch named bishop of Ireland by an outside entity.
Known as the "Apostle of Ireland," he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba. Patrick was never formally canonized [2], having lived before the current laws of the Catholic Church on these matters.
We may have been better off as pagans. |
He was a slave in Ireland for years, escaped back to England then seems to have returned to extract his revenge as a patriarch to impose Roman church law on the Emerald Isle.
Patrick is credited with forcing Christianity on Ireland, converting a pagan society in the process, despite evidence of an earlier Christian presence [7].
We defend Catholicism b/c the British don't like it |
After becoming a cleric, he returned to spread Christianity in northern and western Ireland. In later life, he served as a bishop, but little is known about where he worked.
By the 7th century, he had already become the "patron saint of Ireland." His feast day is observed on March 17th, the date of his death not his birth. It is celebrated in Ireland and among the worldwide Irish diaspora as a cultural holiday celebrating all things Irish.
It is hardly as a religious observance nowadays, but in the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, even if pagans mourn the genocide he wrought upon the island.
Good John Riley's flag of the Mexican regiment |
So much is this connection felt that there are Los Patricios ("The Patricks" not Patricians), who were US mercenaries ordered to fight Mexico, but when they understood the fight, led by John Riley, they took the side of Mexico and fought against the US, as anyone who champions the underdog might well have done. More
- Who wrote the Vulgate?
No comments:
Post a Comment