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Sister Uppalavanna (Else Buchholtz) was a German violinist who converted to Buddhism, becoming the first European Buddhist nun. She lived as an ascetic in Sri Lanka from 1926 until her death.〔Walter Schmidt, 'Die Fremdreligionen in Deutschland: Hinduismus – Buddhismus – Islam', Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen Information Nr. 15 Stuttgart IV/1965, 2. Ergänzte Auflage VIII/1965 http://www.ekd.de/ezw/dateien/EZWINF15.pdf〕 ==Early life== Else Buchholtz was born in Hamburg in 1886. Both her parents died in a Cholera epidemic soon after.〔''The Inspiring and Remarkable Life story of Sister Uppalavannaa the German Buddhist Nun (1886-1982) who was Ordained In Sri Lanka'', Sir Lalita Rajapakse Charitable trust (n.d) http://web.archive.org/web/20150415123704/http://metta.lk/english/sister-uppalavanna.html〕 Adopted by wealthy foster parents, she was brought up in the Tiergarten quarter of Berlin. She led a carefree life, with all the comforts of German high society, and music, singing, dancing and horseback riding were an important part of her upbringing. She was proficient in the violin and possessed a trained musical voice. In 1912, her foster parents also died and she inherited a considerable fortune from them. She moved to Odenwald, in the Schwarzwald. Here she found many poor and needy people, whom she helped financially. The loss of her parents and foster parents caused her to question the concept of the All Merciful God. She immersed herself in philosophical works and became interested in the philosophy of Buddhism. Amidst the chaos and destruction of The First World War she taught herself Meditation.〔 In 1919, she gave shelter at her home to two German Buddhist monks, Ven Nyanatiloka (the first non-British European to become a Buddhist monk) and Ven Vappa. The former, before his ordination, had been a violinist. Their common musical background helped bring about her conversion to Buddhism.〔Tessa J. Bartholomeusz, ''Women under the Bo Tree'', Cambridge University Press, 1994; ISBN 0-521-46129-4, ISBN 978-0-521-46129-0〕 Buchholtz determined to go to Sri Lanka to renounce worldly desires, since she felt that the country's Buddhism represented the original teachings of the Buddha.〔 In 1920, she paid for the passage of the two monks and herself to the island. However, the country was still a British colony and the three were denied entry as enemy aliens.〔 They therefore decided to go to Japan. Here Buchholtz studied Mahayana Buddhism for five years. In 1926, she went once again to Sri Lanka and was this time allowed to enter. She was befriended by Marie Musaeus Higgins, a German Educationalist and founder of Musaeus College a school for Buddhist girls, who gave her help and encouragement. On 20 May 1926 Buchholtz was ordained a Buddhist nun beside the Sri Maha Bodhi ( the tree that grew from a sapling of the Bo Tree under which the Buddha attained Enlightenment) at Anuradhapura, probably by Ven. Nyanatiloka.〔 It may have been her beautiful blue eyes which inspired her Teacher to name her Uppalavanna (Blue Lotus).〔 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「Sister Uppalavanna」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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