Dear Arlo,
many thanks for this.
I gave it a quick look and it does not appear to have any information directly relevant to the supposed sîmâ/uposathagâra which the Mahâ Bodhi Society should have had established within the premises of the Műlagandhakutivihâra, from what I understand. The vihâra was and is under the administration of Sri Lankan monks of the Siam Nikâya (I do not know which sub-chapter as of now).
Upinder Singh’s The Idea of Ancient India: Essays on Religion, Politics, and Archaeology might also have relevant information, and I am waiting for a copy to reach our library.
Other publications concerned with Anagârika Dharmapâla inheritance (broadly understood) do not seem to include such details, but I haven’t checked the recent The Lion’s Roar, Anagarika Dharmapala and the Making of Modern Buddhism by Sarath Amunugama (Vijitha Yapa Publications, Sri Lanka, 2016).
Based on eye-witness accounts, there appears to have been an unfinished uposathagâra/sîmâ in the early seventies and an actual uposathagâra/sîmâ in existence in the nineties, but the details of the construction are not known to me.
I hope the archive of the Maha Bodhi Society might have some relevant document, but have not been able to receive a response from them so far.
Many thanks again and best wishes,
Dhammadinnâ
From: Arlo Griffiths [mailto:arlogriffiths@hotmail.com]
Sent: 22 January 2018 13:05
To: bhikkhuni Dhammadinna <dhammadinnaa@gmail.com>; INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: Re: [INDOLOGY] Maha Bodhi Society uposathagara/sima
Dear Dhammadinna,
Could this be relevant?
Singh, Upinder. 2010. “Exile and Return: The Reinvention of Buddhism and Buddhist Sites in Modern India.” South Asian Studies 26 (2):193–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2010.514744.
I am trying to attach the pdf (2.8 MB), hope it comes through.
Best wishes,
Arlo Griffiths
EFEO
From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of bhikkhuni Dhammadinna via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2018 11:01 PM
To: Indology
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Maha Bodhi Society uposathagara/sima
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
does anyone have access to archival information or secondary sources on the history of the establishment, inauguration and historical use of the uposathagara/sima of the Sarnath centre of the Maha Bodhi Society?
Images (including contemporary) would also be most welcome.
With thanks in advance and all best wishes,
Dhammadinna