|
Nyanatiloka Mahathera (19 February 1878, Wiesbaden, Germany – 28 May 1957, Colombo, Ceylon), born as Anton Gueth, was one of the earliest westerners in modern times to become a Bhikkhu, a fully ordained Buddhist monk.〔Bhikkhu Nyanatusita & Hellmuth Hecker, p. 25, endnote 26〕〔(Bullitt (2008). )〕〔(Turner et al. (2010) )〕 ==Early life and education== Nyanatiloka was born on 19 February 1878 in Wiesbaden, Germany as Anton Walther Florus Gueth. His father was Anton Gueth, a professor and principal of the municipal Gymnasium of Wiesbaden, as well as a private councillor. His mother's name was Paula Auffahrt. She had studied piano and singing at the Royal Court Theatre in Kassel.〔Bhikkhu Nyanatusita & Hellmuth Hecker,pp.13–15〕 He studied at the Königliche Realgymnasium (Royal Gymnasium) in Wiesbaden from 1888 to 1896. From 1896 to 1898 he received private tuition in music theory and composition, and in playing the violin, piano, viola and clarinet. From 1889 to 1900 he studied theory and composition of music as well as the playing of the violin and piano at Hoch’sches Conservatorium (Hoch Conservatory) in Frankfurt. From 1900 to 1902 he studied composition under Charles-Marie Widor at the Music Academy of Paris (Paris Conservatoire).〔Bhikkhu Nyanatusita & Hellmuth Hecker, p.15–16, 20〕 His childhood was happy. As a child Nyanatiloka had a great love of nature, of solitude in the forest, and of religious philosophical thought. He was brought up as a Catholic and as a child and adolescent he was quite devout. He went to church every evening and absorbed himself in the book ''The Imitation of Christ'' by Thomas à Kempis. As a child he wanted to become a Christian missionary in Africa and as an adolescent he ran away from home to become a Benedictine monk at Maria-Laach monastery but soon returned. From then on his “belief in a personal God gradually transformed into a kind of pantheism” and was inspired by the prevailing atmosphere of weltschmerz (world-weariness). From the age of seventeen he was a vegetarian and abstained from drinking and smoking.〔Bhikkhu Nyanatusita & Hellmuth Hecker, p.17〕 Around the age of fifteen he began to have an “almost divine veneration for great musicians, particularly composers, regarding them as the manifestation of what is most exalted and sublime” and made friends with musical child prodigies. He composed orchestral pieces and in 1897 his first composition called “Legende” (“Legend”) was played by the Kurhaus Orchestra of Wiesbaden.〔Bhikkhu Nyanatusita & Hellmuth Hecker, p.18〕 At about the same time he conceived a great love for philosophy. He studied Plato's ''Phaedo'', Descartes, Kant’s ''Critique of Pure Reason'', von Hartmann and especially Schopenhauer. He also had a great interest for languages, foreign countries and peoples.〔 While visiting a vegetarian restaurant he heard Theosophical lecturer Edwin Böhme give a talk on Buddhism which made him immediately an enthusiastic Buddhist. The following day his violin teacher gave him ''Buddhist Catechism '' by Subhadra Bhikshu and another book on Buddhism that gave him the desire to become a Buddhist monk in Asia.〔Bhikkhu Nyanatusita & Hellmuth Hecker, p.19〕 After studying composition with the well-known composer Charles-Marie Widor in Paris, he played in various orchestras in France, Algeria, and Turkey. In 1902, intending to become a Buddhist monk in India, he travelled from Thessaloniki to Cairo by way of Palestine. After earning the necessary money by playing violin in Cairo, Port Said and Bombay, he travelled to Sri Lanka.〔Bhikkhu Nyanatusita & Hellmuth Hecker, pp.23–24.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Nyanatiloka」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|