By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, July 1: A book on a Tibetan monk named S. Mahinda Thero referred to as the “savior of the Sinhalese language, restorer of Buddhism in Sri Lanka” and also revered as national hero was launched by noted historian Tashi Tsering at the library of Kirti Monastery in McLeod Ganj.
“Most of the younger Tibetan generations do not know about S. Mahinda or have heard of him or his works. My main objective for writing this book was to raise awareness about him and bring his works to our community,” said Alak Jaytul Lodoe Choesang, Author of the book titled ‘The greatest Tibetan of Sinhalese history’.
Also known as Pempa Dhundup, the monk was born in 1901 in Sikkim when it was part of Tibet and arrived in Ceylon (Now known as Sri Lanka) in 1912. The author displaying his family tree showed that his ancestors were from the l Kham region of traditional Tibet.
According to the author, the writing and research for the book took around a year and 10 months to complete, which all began from his trip to Sri Lanka where he discovered the no-so-familiar personality.
“The book is all based on the documents I have received from his direct descendent living in Bhutan and Sikkim and from the national archive center of Sir Lanka. I also have some help from the books written by Gendun Chomphel,” said Alak Jaytul, who has also authored ‘Beyond the Brain and Death: Analysis Between Buddhist Science and Modern Science’ in Tibetan.
The major talking point of the book is about how the monk from Tibet helped revive Buddhism in the country and also how he took an active part in the Sri Lanka’s freedom struggle from British.
“He has written over forty books, which mostly consist of patriotic poems to inspire the people. The country after gaining independence recognized his work and acknowledged him as a national hero for his works,” the author said while adding that his story and poems are taught in schools of Sri Lanka.
The Director of Amnye Machen Institute, Tashi Tsering, while congratulating the author suggested that they might be more documents to research from his descendants and also from documents collected by the British secret service on him as freedom fighter in Sri Lanka.
“If Alak can manage time and expenses in future, it will be beneficial if you can explore these options as well,” said Tashi Tsering.
