Henry Steel Olcott
1832 CE–1907 CE · Modern · Galle
August 2, 1832 – February 17, 1907
Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907) was an American who, with H. P. Blavatsky, co-founded the Theosophical Society (1875) and became one of the first Westerners to formally take Buddhist precepts, doing so in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1880. He played a significant organizing role in the late-19th-century Sinhalese Buddhist revival, helping found Buddhist schools and writing a widely translated 'Buddhist Catechism.' His engagement was framed through Theosophy, an esoteric movement of his own, which colored his interpretation of Buddhism; he is presented here as an early Western convert and organizer rather than a traditional lineage figure.
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Galle
What they did here
DOCUMENTED: in 1880 he and H. P. Blavatsky publicly took the Five Precepts in Ceylon; he became a leading organizer of the Sinhalese Buddhist revival, promoting Buddhist schools and writing a 'Buddhist Catechism' (1881).
About Galle
Galle, a historic port city on the southern coast of Sri Lanka, was a centre of the late-nineteenth-century Buddhist revival. The American Theosophist Henry Steel Olcott, a Western convert who campaigned for Buddhist education and revival on the island, was active in the Galle area, where he and Helena Blavatsky formally took the Buddhist precepts in 1880.
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