Works of Henry Steel Olcott on Buddhism and His Buddhist Catechism

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

Öz

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. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

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

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