Works of Henry Steel Olcott on Buddhism and His Buddhist Catechism

Year 2019, Issue: 13, 495 - 534, 30.12.2019

Ali Gül

https://doi.org/10.18498/amailad.551093

Abstract

Henry Steel Olcott (1832-1907) is a name who is
remembered with Theosophical Society, which has an important place in the
history of modern occultism and esotericism. His encounter with Russian-born
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) was a turning point in Olcott's career.
The duo soon set in motion a modern occultist structure under the name of
Theosophical Society (1875). The society which is nourished by many doctrines
in terms of its syncretic structure was born out of modern spiritualism and
then turned to the Western esoteric tradition. Main objective of the society is
to reveal the occult forces that claimed to be exist in the nature of human
beings and to explain these abilities with modern science and to establish a
theoretical structure.

Blavatsky and Olcott, who had been operating in the
USA for a few years, went to India in 1879, and moved the international center
of the society to Madras (today Chennai) in 1882.
Following this development, Indian beliefs and thoughts gained weight in the
teachings of the society. The Society carried out social, cultural and
political activities in India. After Blavatsky returned to Europe, Olcott took
the lead in the Indian-based work of the Theosophical Society. Olcott spent the
last twenty-eight years of his seventy-five-years life in India, carrying out
significant activities especially in India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Olcott
toured India almost every inch, opened branches of Theosophical Society and
shared the targeted works with the Indian people. Accordingly, the community
will work to revive Indian religion and culture, strive to translate Indian
scriptures into Western languages, and endeavor to compile books and catechisms
containing Indian religions, philosophies and traditions. The society carried
out successful works on these issues and has been an important tool in
transferring Indian beliefs and ideas to the West. One of Olcott's important
fields of study is education. Many schools were opened in India and Ceylon
under the leadership of Olcott; some of these schools continue their activities
today. The Adyar Library and Research Center, founded by Olcott in 1886, has
made great progress in the process and nowadays it is become an important
center for Oriental studies.

Olcott, also had a significant impact on the Parsi
community in India. In 1882, Olcott gave a conference to Parsies, entitled “The
Spirit of the Zoroastrian Religion”. The conference, which called on the
Parsies to revive their religion and traditions, resonated within the Parsi
community and the text of the speech was reproduced and distributed by the
community. As a result of the work of both Olcott and his successor Annie
Besant, a group has emerged within the Bombay Theosophical Society which
describes themselves as “Parsi theosophists”.

Olcott's activities, especially towards Buddhism, are
remarkable. Olcott conducted studies for Buddhists in Ceylon, Burma and Japan.
In particular, he had a major impact on the revival of Buddhism in Ceylon.
Olcott, who visited the lands of Ceylon with Blavatsky
firstly in 1880 and declared that he was a Buddhist during this visit, was
honored by the island’s Buddhists on several occasions as a result of his work
in the following years. Known as “White Buddhist” in Ceylon, Olcott was told
“Bodhisattva of 19th century”. Even today, in Sri Lanka, Buddhists view Olcott
as a saint and a hero. Every year on February 17, they commemorate his memory
under the name of "Olcott Day". On the other hand, on the 60th
anniversary of his death, Olcott was commemorated in Sri Lanka with special
stamps. By the time Ceylon was a British colony. Missionary activities on the
island were extensive and Buddhist culture was weakened. At the end of the 19th
century, in Ceylon, under the above-mentioned conditions, it is seen that
Buddhism began to regain vitality. It is stated that Olcott's influence in this
revival is remarkable. One of Olcott's important contributions to the Buddhist
world was the design of the Buddhist flag, which is still in use today and
accepted as an universal symbol. Olcott also worked on the unification of
Buddhist sects. He helped Vesak to be recognized by the British and to be
declared as a holiday. Olcott also traveled to Japan, one of the important
centers of the Buddhist world. Visited Japan three times, where he was revered
as a result of his work in Ceylon and he gave speeches to Buddhist communities.

The Buddhist Catechism, which he wrote in 1881, has an
important place among his works. In the form of question and answer model based
on Christian catechism, Olcott gave short answers to 383 short questions and
presented information about the Buddha, Buddhist beliefs and Buddhist history.
In this work, Olcott tried to reconcile traditional Buddhist teachings with
theosophical teachings. In the text; spiritualistic, esoteric and occultist
approaches of theosophical movement are clearly revealed. In addition, the
evolutionist understanding that dominates the scientific world of the time is
perceived. Moreover, it is seen that the claims of Buddhist doctrines are
combined side by side with the controversial claims that are sometimes
considered to be false science. Some information that contrasts with historical
and statistical information is also prominent in the text.

This article, on the one hand aims to evaluate
Olcott's work on Buddhism and his Buddhist Catechism and on the other hand to
contribute to the Turkish literature on Buddhist studies.

Keywords

History of Religions, Henry Steel Olcott, Buddhism, Buddhist Catechism, Occultism

Henry Steel Olcott’un Budizm Üzerine Çalışmaları ve Budist Kateşizm’i

Abstract

Henry Steel
Olcott modern spiritüalist (ruhçu) akımdan etkilenmekle beraber Teosofi
Cemiyeti ve Helena Petrovna Blavatsky ile birlikte yeni bir kariyere yelken
açmıştır. Cemiyetin kurucularından olan Olcott hayatı boyunca resmi başkanlık
görevini yürütmüştür. Teosofi Cemiyeti modern okültist hareketler içinde önemli
bir yere sahiptir. Amerika’da kurulan cemiyet bir süre sonra Hindistan’a
taşınmıştır; bu andan itibaren cemiyetin öğretilerinde Hint inanç ve
düşünceleri ağırlık kazanmıştır. Cemiyet Hindistan topraklarında sosyal,
kültürel ve siyasi çalışmalar yürütmüştür. Hint inanç ve düşüncelerinin Batı’ya
aktarılmasında cemiyet önemli bir araç olmuştur. Blavatsky’nin Hindistan’ı terk
etmesinden sonra Teosofi Cemiyeti’nin Hindistan’daki faaliyetlerinde Olcott’un
ismi tam anlamıyla öne çıkmıştır. Olcott’un özellikle Budizm’e yönelik
faaliyetleri dikkat çekicidir. Olcott, Seylan başta olmak üzere Burma ve
Japonya’da Budistlere yönelik çalışmalar yapmıştır. Onun hususen Seylan'da
Budizm’in canlanmasında büyük etkisi olmuştur. Kaleme aldığı Budist Kateşizm’in
(Budist İlmihal) ise çalışmaları arasında önemli bir yeri vardır. Olcott bu
eserinde geleneksel Budist öğretiler ile teosofik öğretileri bağdaştırma
gayreti gütmüştür. Bu makale bir yandan Olcott’un Budizm üzerine çalışmalarını
ve Budist Kateşizm’ini değerlendirmeyi diğer yandan Budist çalışmalar hakkında
Türkçe literatüre katkı sunmayı amaç edinmektedir. 

Keywords

Dinler Tarihi, Henry Steel Olcott, Budizm, Budist Kateşizm, Okültizm

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