Rediscovering Edith Holland

Edith Holland does not seem much a household name for the world audience, let alone Sri Lanka. She is put to the backbenches of the history even on the Internet, since Google hardly produces effective results. Holland may still be cornered in an over-the-hill library.

I discovered Holland first in my father’s bookshelf. I was mesmerised by her writing as a teenager. For today’s reader however, the language may seem old world. At a later stage I thought it better to preserve this valuable book for younger generation. Her archaic language is left as it is, since it deals with a particular era.

Studying Edith Holland, though resources are quite inadequate, is important, since it reflects the Western viewpoint of the Buddhism. The Western interest in Buddhism can be traced as far back as the 16th century when the Europeans first occupied the Asian region, especially Sri Lanka.

The European opinion on Sri Lanka was quite negative that they took the country for a land of primitives. They tried the maximum to implant their culture and religion which is Christianity. Luckily the theory fighters on Buddhism were – though not abundantly present – were sharply witted. Ven Migettuwatte Gunanda pioneered this clan. What is famously known to have taken place at Panadura is the reconnaissance of Buddhism in the face of Christianity’s challenge. Colonel Henry Steel Olcott’s arrived in Sri Lanka. Sir Edwin Arnold authored ‘The Light of Asia’. So to say, the Buddha was born in India, and paradoxically his teachings were expanded in the neighbouring country, Sri Lanka.

It is common belief that the European monks enter priesthood out of genuine interest on the religion, whereas in Sri Lanka most of the priesthoods are a result of ‘force’, as some interpret. Most of the British monasteries are headed by White monks. This also resulted in Allan Bennett who arrived in Sri Lanka in 1898 and to return as Ananda Metteyya, the first English monk.

Of all the English scholars Rhys Davids deserves a special appreciative mention, since they translated the whole Thripitaka into English. Davids’ version is a little ancient and the three canons are again translated into modern English by several monks. However the full translation still comes under the authorship of Davids.

When we look at Holland’s we see an alienated outlook on Buddhism. It is quite visible in the way Holland starts Chapter 2.

“The people in India have always been religious, their religion is very real to them, and has a great influence over their lives.”

These lines indicate Holland’s attempt to introduce the background of Buddhism to the Western world. This is partly because Asian countries such as India and Sri Lanka much lesser known to the Western audience.

Holland elucidates her interpretation in the Christian perspective:

“Though they never had the opportunity of coming to a full knowledge of God, enough light was given them to enable them to lead noble lives and to guide them into the paths of truth and self denial.”

A closer look at Sidney Stanley’s illustration show the influence of Christian arts. The king and the people are always drawn in the way most of the Christian stories are illustrated.

What is most admirable in Holland’s work is that she rarely interprets what took place in antiquity except for in the first three chapters. She lets the events flow like a novel, which makes a reader unfamiliar with the Buddhism interesting on the religions.

What most of us know about Buddhism is confined to certain events and are in dark over most of the teachings save fundamental ones such as five precepts. Holland gives out the teachings by building up situations. Some have a close relation to Christianity though not equal. Best example is the situation where Ajatasatta admits he has sinned and the Buddha says what he has to suffer will be a little less but would not be totally absent. Holland sometimes has a tendency to use Christian related words like ‘sinned’ which is unavoidable since she must have been brought up in a non-Buddhist environment.