Since the death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities have periodically convened to settle doctrinal and disciplinary disputes and to revise and correct the contents of the sutras. These gatherings, referred to by historians as 'Buddhist councils', are recorded in the Buddhist sutras as having begun immediately following the death of the Buddha and have continued into the modern era.
Theravada Buddhism is the State religion of Sri Lanka practiced by 70.2% of the Sri Lanka's population. Buddhism has been given special privileges in the constitution and also declared country's official religion by 2nd president of sri Lanka J.R Jayawardene. Sri Lanka is traditionally oldest religious Buddhist country where Buddhist aryan culture is protected and preserved. The island has been a center of Buddhist scholarship and learning since the introduction of Buddhism in the third century BCE producing eminent scholars such as Buddhaghosa and preserving the vast Pāli Canon. Throughout most of its history, Sri Lankan kings have played a major role in the maintenance and revival of the Buddhist institutions of the island. During the 19th century, a modern Buddhist revival took place on the island which promoted Buddhist education and learning. There are around 6,000 Buddhist monasteries on Sri Lanka with approximately 15,000 monks.
It is said that Buddha once in his life came to this region East Bengal to spread Buddhism and he was successful to convert the local people of East Bengal to Buddhism. Buddhism is now the third largest religion in Bangladesh with about 2% of population adhering to Theravada Buddhism. Over 65% of the Buddhist population is concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, where Buddhism the predominant faith of the Chakma, Marma, Tanchangya, other Jumma people and the Barua, while the remaining 35% of the population are from the Bengali Buddhist community. Buddhist communities are present in the urban centers of Bangladesh, particularly Chittagong and Dhaka.
Shivaram Hari Rajguru was an Indian revolutionary from Maharashtra, known mainly for his involvement in the assassination of a British Raj police officer. On 23 March 1931 he was hanged by the British government along with Bhagat Singh.
Piyadassi Maha Thera is best known as a great preacher of the Dhamma both in Sinhala and in English and it was in this field that his popularity was foremost. He was born on 8 July 1914 at Kotahena in Colombo, Sri Lanka and was educated at Nalanda College, Colombo, thereafter at the University of Sri Lanka and the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard University as a research student.
The Tanchangya people or Tanchangyas are indigenous ethnic group living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh.
Narada Mahathera, born Sumanapala Perera was a Theravadan Buddhist monk and translator, the Superior of Vajiraramaya in Colombo. He was a popular figure in his native country, Sri Lanka, and beyond.
Prakash Rajguru was an Indian cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and right-arm off-break bowler who played for Maharashtra. He was born in Poona and died in India.
Śrī Kalyāṇī Yogāśrama Saṃsthā, also known as the Galduwa Forest Tradition is an independent part of the Sri Lankan Ramañña Nikāya Buddhist ordination line, with their headquarters in Galduva, Kahawa - Ambalangoda. They are keeping a strict standard of Vinaya, recognised as the strictest standard of any major organisation in Sri Lanka. It is the largest forest sect of the Sri Lankan Sangha. Their monks are easily recognised by the palm-leaf umbrella they are using and by the habit of wearing the Sanghati whenever they walk outside the monastery boundaries. Remarkably for Sri Lanka, all castes are accepted for ordination. Foreign monks, who wish to become resident at one of their monasteries, are usually expected to undergo the so-called "Dalhi-Kamma" at Galduva, a short ceremony meant to reconfirm the validity of their original Upasampada according to Galduva standard. After that they are accepted according to their normal seniority.
Jyotipala Mahathera was the 10th Sangharaja of Bangladesh. He succeeded Nagasena Mahathera, the 9th Sangharaja. Jyotipala Mahathera has written several books on Buddhist philosophy and translated some Pali texts like Puggalapaññatti into Bengali. The Karmatatva authored by Jyotipala has been recommended for M.A. syllabus in the Chittagong and Dhaka Universities of Bangladesh. During the 1971 War in Bangladesh he went to many Asian countries to report on injustices to Bengali civilians.
Aniruddha or Anirudh is an Indian masculine given name that derives from the mythological character Aniruddha. The meaning of the Sanskrit word is "unobstructed", "self-willed". It has been used as one of the names of Shiva.
Most Ven. Nauyane Ariyadhamma Maha Thera was a Sri Lankan bhikkhu and a senior meditation teacher. He was the spiritual advisor of the Sri Kalyani Yogasrama Samstha, and for many years resided at the Na Uyana Aranya. In 2011 he moved to Meetirigala Dharmayatanaya to help revitalize this long-standing place of learning and dhamma practice.
Nilakantheswar Temple at Padmapur, standing on the Jagamanda hills makes the village well known for the Buddhist temple. The temple is built on only seven rocks. There are also three other shiva temples, i.e. Pudukeswar, Dhabaleswar, and Mallikeswar, on the hillock. This 7th century old buddhist temple makes Padmapur a tourist center of Rayagada district. The temple is very often referred as shrine of Manikeswar Siva. Recently a small cemented front hall has been added to the original structure.
The Ti-Sarana Buddhist Association is a Buddhist organisation for the English speaking Buddhist Community in Singapore. The President of the group as of 2014 is Khemaka David Chew. Notable resident monks include Venerables Pategama Gnanarama Mahāthera, Welipitiye Ratanasiri Mahāthera and Ridiyagama Ānanda Thera.
Satyanarayana Rajguru was an Indian litterateur, epigraphist and historian. He was a curator and epigraphist at the Odisha State Museum and was a recipient of Sahitya Akademi Award, Bharati Bhushan award, Ganjam Sahitya Sammilani award, Odisha Sahitya Academy Award and Sarala Sanman. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian award of Padma Shri in 1974.
Hari Rajguru is an Indian former cricketer. He played two first-class matches for Bengal in 1960/61.
Prerana Mahadev "Rinku" Rajguru is a Marathi film actress best known for her role in the film Sairat. She was born in Akluj. She met the director of Sairat, Nagraj Manjule, in 2013 and he asked her to audition for the role. She won a National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention at the 63rd National Film Awards for her performance in Sairat.
