Both a Buddhist religious leader and a writer, Dharmapala helped create the peaceful Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism movement; revived Buddhism in India; and taught the principles of the faith throughout the Asian, European, and North American continents. After attending several elite, English-language schools in his native Sri Lanka, he made a pilgrimage to India's Mahabodhi Temple and subsequently founded the Maha Bodhi Society with the aim of reinstating Buddhist principles and practices in India.
