This article provides an introduction to the special issue of Contemporary Buddhism entitled 'U Dhammaloka, “The Irish Buddhist”: Rewriting the History of Early Western Buddhist Monastics'. Traditional accounts of pioneer western Buddhist monastics begin with the 1899 ordination of H. Gordon Douglas (Asoka), and highlight gentleman scholars writing for a European audience. They consign to obscurity a pre-existing world of western Buddhist monastics of all social classes. To open a window onto this hidden history, this issue presents new material relating to the extraordinary career of U Dhammaloka (?1856-?1914), widely known as 'The Irish Buddhist'. A working-class autodidact, freethinker and temperance campaigner from Dublin, Dhammaloka became renowned throughout colonial Asia as an implacable critic of Christian missionaries and tireless transnational organiser of Asian Buddhists from Burma to Japan. The research described in this issue is innovative not only in content but also in method and approach, having advanced through collaborative, international research employing web-based research tools and online resources. These offer new possibilities for other translocative and interdisciplinary research projects.
目次
Buddhism among the ‘beachcombers’ 126 The known and the unknown 127 Dhammaloka among the beachcombers 131 The quest for the historical Dhammaloka? 133 Rediscovering Dhammaloka 135 New research tools for the study of religions 136 Dhammaloka’s life in outline 138 Overview of the articles in this issue 141 Conclusion 142 Acknowledgements 144 Notes 144 References 146
