Abstract

Anagarika Dharmapala was the most important reformer of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 19th century. He espoused a Protestant Buddhism that blurred the traditional roles of monk and layman. It advocated right of lay people to engage in the high soteriological religion, and to strive for nirvana. One of his foremost legacies is inventing the role of the Anagarika, the person between the order of monks and the laity.