The Origin and Early Spread of the Buddhist Flag
Preface
On 14 May 2022, the eve of Wesak Day, Bodhi Buddhist Fellowship Malaysia (BBFM) celebrated Wesak Day in advance. Volunteers has decided to decorate the centre with Buddhist flags, hanging all the way from the entrance on the ground floor up to the entrance to the centre on the fifth floor. It is evident that the Buddhist flag is indispensable for a Buddhist celebration as important as Wesak Day.
Last year, I read a book titled “Wesak as a Public Holiday and Its Social Psychological Significance” by Dato Ir. Ang Choo Hong, which has sparked my curiosity towards the design process of the Buddhist Flag.
The search results that came up on the Internet, especially the information in Chinese, generally explained that the designer of the Buddhist flag is Colonel Henry Steel Olcott (1832–1907). But after some researching, I found that to be someone else instead.
Colonel Olcott created the preconditions for the design and spreading of the Buddhist flag
In 1880, Colonel Olcott established the Buddhist Publications Fund, to print the Sarasavi Sandaresa (translated to English as “The Ray of Words”) newspaper, it gave voice for two million Ceylon Buddhists.
On 27 January 1884, Colonel Olcott led the Buddhist leaders of Ceylon to form the Buddhist Defence Committee. He also became an honorary member of the committee at the suggestion of the committee’s vice-chairman, Don Carolis, to assist the committee in fulfilling the mission of the organization.
The forgotten designer of the Buddhist flag: Carolis Pujitha Gunawardena
Carolis Pujitha Gunawardena (1854–1926) was the secretary to the Buddhist Defence Committee (1884) and Colombo Committee (1885). At that time, he was around 30 years old, one of the very small number of the Commission’s youth.
In 1885, the Colombo Committee, which was lead by Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, started to have the idea of wanting to design a Buddhist flag during their Wesak event preparation. It was the committee’s wish that the flag will become the international symbol of Buddhism.
(According to the Centenary Volume of the Buddhist Theosophical Society in 1980, Gunawardena is credited as the designer of Buddhist flag.)
“The Buddhist Theosophical Society in its Centenary Volume in 1980 paid a tribute to Carolis Pujitha Gunawardena who was the Secretary of the Colombo Committee as the designer of the Buddhist Flag.”
— — K. D. G. Wimalaratne, “Flag, The Buddhist”
On 17 April of the same year, the Buddhist flag was first published on Sarasavi Sandaresa newspaper, making its public appearance to Ceylon Buddhists.
Two weeks later, during Wesak Day on 28 April, the Buddhist flag is first hoisted by Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda, the winner of the debate between Buddhists and Christians, at the Deepaduththaramaya temple.
In the following year, 1886, Colonel Olcott felt that the long initial flag design is not suitable to be used for processions or to be decorated inside rooms.
“As the Colombo Committee had sketched the flag, it was of the inconvenient shape of a ship’s long, streaming pennant, which would be quite unsuitable for carrying in processions or fixing in rooms. ”
— Henry Steel Olcott, “Old Diary Leaves” (Chapter XXV. Establishing A Buddhist Flag), p.g. 351–352
Therefore, he proposed to modify the shape of the Buddhist flag to follow the common size of national flags.
“My suggestion that it should be made of the usual shape and size of national flags was adopted, and when we had a sample made, it was unanimously approved of.”
— Henry Steel Olcott, “Old Diary Leaves” (Chapter XXV. Establishing A Buddhist Flag), p.g. 352“Miss Müller is in error in saying that I devised the Buddhist flag; the credit for this goes to the members of the Colombo T. S. Of course I was consulted after the colors were chosen, and all I did was to prescribe the shape in which the flag should be made.”
— Henry Steel Olcott, “Old Diary Leaves” (Chapter XXVII. Buddhist Ceremony At Darjeeling)
In the same year, on 8 April, the modified flag is published again on the Sarasavi Sandaresa newspaper.
Buddhist Flags to Spread around the World
In 1889, Anagarika Dharmapala (1864–1933) followed Colonel Olcott to promote the Buddhist flag at Japan and Myanmar, where he was only 25 years old at the time. He was the grandson of the president of Buddhist Defence Committee (1884), Muhandiram A.P. Dharma Gunawardena (1809–1890), also the son of the vice president, Don Carolis Hewavitarana (1833–1906).
60 years later, on 25 May 1950, Professor Gunapala Piyasena Malalasekera initiated the first World Fellowship of Buddhists which was held in Columbia.
Professor Malalasekera proposed to use the current Buddhist flag as the international Buddhist flag. The fellowship accepted his proposal.
In 1951, the Buddhist flag arrived in Malaysia by air.
Conclusion
Colonel Olcott has helped Buddhist leaders to form the Buddhist Defence Committee and created the preconditions for the design of the Buddhist flag in terms of human resources. He has also set up the Buddhist Publications Fund which allowed the propagation of Buddhist flag after the completion of design.
Colonel Olcott mentioned in his diary that he was not the designer of Buddhist flag, but only contributed in the modification of the flag’s shape. In the Centenary volume of Buddhist Theosophical Society, which was founded by himself has also given credits to Gunawardena, as the designer of the Buddhist flag.
Reference
I used two main references in this research:
- Old Diary Leaves, the diary of Colonel Olcott
- Chapter X. Successful Issue of Buddhist Mission, p.g. 117–118
- Chapter XXV. Establishing A Buddhist Flag, p.g. 351–352
- Chapter XXVII. Buddhist Ceremony At Darjeeling
2. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism: fasc. 1. Earth, edited by Professor Malalasekera
- Flag, The Buddhist, K. D. G. Wimalaratne, p.g. 251
