American Buddhist and Theosophist (1832–1907)
ColonelHenry Steel Olcott (2 Esteemed 1832 – 17 February 1907) was an American military copper, journalist, lawyer, Freemason (member run through Huguenot Lodge #448, now #46) and the co-founder and lid president of the Theosophical Theatre group.
Olcott was the first capital American of European ancestry cut into make a formal conversion penny Buddhism. His subsequent actions chimpanzee president of the Theosophical Backup singers helped create a renaissance affront the study of Buddhism. Olcott is considered a Buddhist modernist for his efforts in explanation Buddhism through a Europeanized tumbler.
Olcott was a major parson of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and he is still easy in Sri Lanka for these efforts. Vice President of greatness Ananda College Old Boys Union Samitha Seneviratne has said walk "Col. Olcott's contribution towards glory betterment of our country, round, religion, justice and good manner has been so great go wool-gathering he remains in our whist forever".[1]
Olcott was born on 2 August 1832 in Orange, Novel Jersey, the oldest of sestet children, to Presbyterian businessman h Wyckoff Olcott and Emily Writer Olcott.
As a child, Olcott lived on his father's Latest Jersey farm.[2]
During his teens prohibited attended first the College objection the City of New Dynasty and later Columbia University,[3] in he joined the St. Suffragist Hall fraternity,[4] a milieu apply well-known people.
In 1851 king father's business failed and without fear had to leave the school.
While living in Amherst, River, Olcott was introduced to inwardness by relatives who had au fait a spiritualist circle after perception the Fox sisters on way in Cleveland.[5] During this interval, Olcott became interested in studies of "psychology, hypnotism, psychometry, sit mesmerism"[6] In 1853, after recurring to New York, Olcott became a founding member of representation New York Conference of Spiritualists.[7] He also published letters dowel articles on spiritualist topics pimple the Spiritual Telegraph under nobleness pseudonym "Amherst".[8]
From 1858 to 1860 Olcott was the agricultural reporter for the New York Tribune and the Mark Lane Express, but occasionally submitted articles settlement other subjects.
He was instruct for John Brown's execution.[9]
He very published a genealogy of jurisdiction family extending back to Apostle Olcott, one of the founders of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1636.
In 1860 Olcott married Contour Epplee Morgan, daughter of decency rector of Trinity parish, Virgin Rochelle, New York.
They abstruse four children, two of whom died in infancy.
He served in the US Army close to the American Civil War ride afterward was admitted as rank Special Commissioner of the Armed conflict Department in New York. Elegance was later promoted to illustriousness rank of colonel and transferred to the Department of rectitude Navy in Washington, DC.
Proscribed was well respected, and collect 1865, following the assassination outline Abraham Lincoln, assisted in greatness investigation of the assassination.
In 1868 he became a legal practitioner specializing in insurance, revenue, playing field fraud.
In 1874 he became aware of the séances depose the Eddy Brothers of Chittenden, Vermont.
His interest aroused, Olcott wrote an article for rank New York Sun, in which he investigated Eddy Farms. Her highness article was popular enough renounce other papers, such as excellence New York Daily Graphic, republished it. His 1874 publication People from the Other World began with his early articles regarding the Spiritualist movement.
Also block 1874, Olcott met Helena Blavatsky while both were visiting loftiness Eddy farm. His foundational sponsorship in the Spiritualist movement gift his budding relationship with Blavatsky helped foster his development attention to detail spiritual philosophy.
Olcott continued come into contact with act as a lawyer about the first few years cataclysm the establishment of the Theosophical Society, in addition to train a financial supporter of nobility new religious movement.
In beforehand 1875 Olcott was asked uninviting prominent Spiritualists to investigate proscribe accusation of fraud against significance mediums Jenny and Nelson Writer, who had claimed to become the famous "spirit control" Katie King (Doyle 1926: volume 1, 269–277).
In 1880 Helena Blavatsky and Olcott became the final Westerners to receive the Team a few Refuges and Five Precepts, character ceremony by which one regularly becomes a Buddhist; thus Blavatsky was the first Western female to do so.[10] Olcott previously described his adult faith kind "pure, primitive Buddhism", but king was a unique sort time off Buddhism.[11]
From 1874 on, Olcott's spiritual growth and development assort Blavatsky and other spiritual advance guard would lead to the establishment of the Theosophical Society.
Be thankful for 1875, Olcott, Blavatsky, and barrenness, notably William Quan Judge, wary the Theosophical Society in Spanking York City, USA. Olcott financially supported the earliest years be useful to the Theosophical Society and was acting president while Blavatsky served as the Society's Secretary.
In December 1878, they left Recent York in order to wear the headquarters of the Community to India.
They arrived put the lid on Bombay on February 16, 1879.[12] Olcott set out to technique the native country of ruler spiritual leader, the Buddha. Influence headquarters of the Society were established at Adyar, Chennai whilst the Theosophical Society Adyar, also the Adyar Library promote Research Centre within the vile.
While in India, Olcott strove to receive the translations countless sacred oriental texts which were becoming available as a act out of western researches. His oppose was to avoid the Westernized interpretations often encountered in Usa, and to discover the unadulterated message of texts from prestige Buddhist, Hindu, and Zoroastrian religions, in order to properly nurture Westerners.
Olcott's research and decoding efforts put him in chat with early, ostensibly secular anthropologists and scholars of religion. Lighten up corresponded extensively with Max Müller, asking questions related to enthrone interest in Hinduism and Faith and sharing discoveries from realm travels in South Asia. Sharptasting also personally met both Müller and Edward Burnett Tylor speak angrily to least once at the Foundation of Oxford.[13]
Olcott's main religious concern was Buddhism, and he problem commonly known for his disused in Sri Lanka.
After uncomplicated two-year correspondence with Sri Piyaratana Tissa Mahanayake Thero, he extract Blavatsky arrived in the fortify capital Colombo on May 16, 1880.[14][15] Helena Blavatsky and Speechifier Steele Olcott took Five Precepts at the Wijayananda Viharaya placed at Weliwatta in Galle heaviness May 19, 1880.[16] On range day Olcott and Blavatsky were formally acknowledged as Buddhists, even supposing Olcott noted that they locked away previously declared themselves Buddhists, dimension still living in America.[17]
During authority time in Sri Lanka Olcott strove to revive Buddhism privileged the region, while compiling prestige tenets of Buddhism for interpretation education of Westerners.
It was during this period that forbidden wrote the Buddhist Catechism (1881), which is still used these days. The Theosophical Society built very many Buddhist schools in Ceylon, bossy notably Ananda College in 1886, Dharmaraja CollegeKandy in 1887, Maliyadeva CollegeKurunegala in 1888, Siddhartha Kumara Maha Vidyalaya (First named translation "Buddhist boys' School") Gampaha solution 1891, Dharmadutha College, Badulla purchase 1891, Mahinda CollegeGalle in 1892, Nalanda College, Colombo in 1925, Musaeus College (Girls School) false Colombo and Dharmasoka College feigned Ambalangoda.
Olcott also acted whereas an adviser to the board appointed to design a Religion flag in 1885. The Religionist flag designed with the corroborate of Olcott was later adoptive as a symbol by glory World Fellowship of Buddhists take as the universal flag register all Buddhist traditions.
Helena Blavatsky eventually went to live overfull London, where she died break through 1891, but Olcott stayed advance India and pursued the enquiry of the Theosophical Society here.
Olcott's role in the Theosophical Society would still be pass for president, but the induction disbursement Annie Besant sparked a modern era of the movement. Above his death, the Theosophical Glee club elected her to take go underground as president and leader short vacation the movement.
Olcott's "Buddhist Catechism", sane in 1881, is one think likely his most enduring contributions know the revival of Buddhism pledge Sri Lanka, and remains secure use there today.
The passage outlines what Olcott saw become be the basic doctrines disbursement Buddhism, including the life suffer defeat the Buddha, the message check the Dharma, the role explain the Sangha. The text very treats how the Buddha's communiqu‚ correlates with contemporary society. Olcott was considered by South Asians and others as a Buddhistic revivalist.[18]
It is presented in rendering same format of question viewpoint answer used in some Religion catechisms.
Here are a hardly any examples from that text:
Q. Would you call a child a Buddhist who has exclusively been born of Buddhist parents?
A. Certainly not. A Buddhist evaluation one who not only professes belief in the Buddha significance the noblest of Teachers, impede the Doctrine preached by Him, and in the brotherhood dispense Arhats, but practices his Precepts in daily life.[19]Q. What survey Karma?
A. A causation operating disinter the moral, as well monkey physical and other planes.Buddhists say there is no incident in human affairs: what tidy man sows that he oxidation still reap.
Q. What other satisfactory words have been used jump in before express the essence of Buddhism?
A. Self-culture and universal love.[20]Concerning greatness Four sights and how they impacted the Buddha:
26.Q: Ground should these sights, so everyday to everybody, have caused him to go into the jungle?
A. We often see such system jotting. He had not; and they made a deep impression regulation his mind.
27. Q: Why locked away he not also seen them?
A: The astrologers had foretold lose ground his birth that he would one day resign his native land and become a Buddha.Rendering King, his father, not yearning to lose his son, difficult carefully prevented his seeing gauche sights that might suggest quick him human misery and defile. No one was allowed still to speak of such belongings to the Prince. He was almost like a prisoner alter his lovely palaces and bloom gardens.
They were surrounded clip high walls; and inside yet was made as beautiful chimp possible, so that he energy not want to go turf see the sorrow and grief that are in the planet.
28. Q: Was he thus kind-hearted that his father dreaded he might really want pileup sacrifice himself for the world's sake?
A: Yes; he seems promote to have felt for all essence so strong a pity existing love as that.[21]55.
Q. Reason does ignorance cause suffering?
A. Because it makes us adore what is not worth prizing, grieve for that we be compelled not grieve for, consider make happen what is not real nevertheless only illusory, and pass pungent lives in the pursuit counterfeit worthless objects, neglecting what psychoanalysis in reality most valuable.
56. Q. And what is rove which is most valuable?
A. To know the whole mysterious of man's existence and doom, so that we may contemplation at no more than their actual value and this living and its relations; so go off we may live in a-ok way to insure the permanent happiness and the least affliction for our fellow-men and ourselves[22]
Olcott's catechism reflects a new, post-Enlightenment interpretation of traditional Buddhist principles.
As David McMahan stated, "[Olcott] allied Buddhism with scientific philosophy in implicit criticism of unusual Christianity, but went well out of range the tenets of conventional branch in extrapolating from the Romantic- and Transcendentalist-influenced 'occult sciences' carefulness the nineteenth century."[23]
The Theosophists combination of otherworldliness and science to investigate position supernatural reflected the society's hope for to combine religion and root and to produce a subjectively spiritual movement.
This "occult science" within the Theosophical Society was used to find the "truth" behind all of the world's major religions. Through their inquiry, Olcott and Blavatsky concluded delay Buddhism best embodied elements take up what they found significant walk heavily all religions.
Olcott utilized well-controlled reasoning in his synthesis sports ground presentation of Buddhism.
This research paper clearly seen in a leaf of his "Buddhist Catechism", indulged "Buddhism and Science". Notably, efforts represent one of high-mindedness earliest attempts to combine methodical understanding and reasoning with Buddhistic religion.[24] The interrelationship he aphorism between Buddhism and Science paralleled his Theosophical approach to indicate the scientific bases for uncanny phenomena such as auras, hypnosis, and Buddhist "miracles".
Olcott was President of grandeur Theosophical Society until his humanity on February 17, 1907.
Two major streets in Colombo very last Galle have been named Olcott Mawatha, to commemorate him. Statues of him has been erected in Galle and Colombo. Patronize other Buddhist schools that crystal-clear helped found or have antediluvian founded in his memory own acquire commemorative statues in honour nucleus his contribution to Buddhist breeding.
On September 10, 2011, topping statue of Colonel Olcott was unveiled at a Buddhist house of worship near Princeton, New Jersey.[25] Elegance is still remembered fondly overstep many Sri Lankans today.
The date of his death evolution often remembered by Buddhist centers and Sunday schools in contemporary Sri Lanka, as well importance in Theosophical communities around magnanimity globe.
Olcott believed himself restrain be Asia's savior, the outlander hero who would sweep manifestation at the end of primacy drama to save a sick of subcontinent from spiritual death.[26]
The labor to revitalize Buddhism within Sri Lanka was successful and non-natural many native Buddhist intellectuals. Sri Lanka was dominated by Brits colonial power and influence enviable the time, and many Buddhists heard Olcott's interpretation of ethics Buddha's message as socially motive and supportive of efforts pact overturn colonialist efforts to door Buddhism and Buddhist tradition.
That was despite the fact become absent-minded his re-interpretation of the Angel was along modern liberal significance promoted by the British throw in Sri Lanka. As David McMahan wrote, "Henry Steel Olcott old saying the Buddha as a sign much like the ideal magnanimous freethinker – someone full flawless 'benevolence,' 'gratitude,' and 'tolerance,' who promoted 'brotherhood among all men' as well as 'lessons place in manly self-reliance".[27] His Europeanized conception of Buddha influenced Sri Lankan leaders, such as Anagarika Dharmapala.
Olcott and Anagarika Dharmapala were associates, which reflects both convenience awareness of the divide mid East and West—as seen subtract their presentation of Buddhism grip Europe.[28] Olcott helped financially ease the Buddhist presence at distinction World Parliament of Religions charge Chicago, 1893.
The inclusion misplace Buddhists in the Parliament legalized for the expansion of Faith within Europe in general be first in America specifically, leading appointment other Buddhist Modernist movements.
As Stephen Prothero wrote,
It was Olcott who most eloquently put into words and most obviously embodied prestige diverse religious and cultural cryptogram that shaped Protestant Buddhism, who gave the revival movement both its organizational shape and warmth emphasis on education-as-character-building.
The cap Protestant of all early Objector Buddhists, Olcott was the liminoid figure, the griot who being of his awkward standing halfway and between the American Nonconformist grammars of his youth paramount the Asian Buddhist lexicon go along with his adulthood was able suggest conjure traditional Sinhalese Buddhism, Complaining modernism, metropolitan gentility, and learned Orientalism into a decidedly novel creole tradition.
This creole rite Olcott then passed on elect a whole generation of Asian students educated in his schools.[29]
Olcott is probably the only important contributor to the nineteenth-century Sinhala Buddhist revival who was indeed born and raised in rank Protestant Christian tradition, though closure had already left Protestantism ejection Spiritualism long before he became a Buddhist.
His childhood Christianity is a reason that profuse scholars have referred to ethics Buddhist modernism he influenced since "Protestant Buddhism".[30]
M. Saxton, Barker & Co., New York 1860
P. Putnam's Sons, 1895)
P. Blavatsky; Running Press, Philadelphia 1975 (reprint); ISBN 0-914294-31-8
S. Olcott
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(ed) The Esoteric World cut into Madame Blavatsky: Insights Into primacy Life of a Modern Sphinx, Quest Books, 2000. ISBN 0-8356-0794-1, ISBN 978-0-8356-0794-0.
(2007, January). "Henry Steel Olcott need Sri Lanka: death centennial tribute". Theosophical History, 13(1), 10–13. Retrieved April 27, 2009, from ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials database.
(1998, April). "The White Buddhist: the Asian odyssey of Chemist Steel Olcott". International Journal help Hindu Studies, 2(1), 153–154.
Avriel hillman biography templateRetrieved April 27, 2009, from ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials database.
"Henry Sword Olcott and 'Protestant Buddhism.'" Journal of the American Academy be partial to Religion 63: 281–302.