In his lifetime the early western Buddhist monk Henri van Zeyst was a pioneer writer and teacher of Buddhism, who lived in Sri Lanka for around 50 years, from 1938 till his passing in 1989.
In 1938 he ordained as Ven Dhammapāla (Protector of the Dhamma) and was in robes for around 10 years, during which time he was an ardent teacher and defender of Buddhism, and he also started his writing career.
Eventually he was to write around 25 books, innumerable essays, and was one of the main contributors to the early volumes of the Sri Lanka Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, of which he was an Assistant Editor.
In 2015 these texts have been transcribed by Manfred Wierich, and I published them online at the links above and below. Manfred has now provided updated versions, and we have also added one or two books missing before.
The site is divided into two main sections, Introductory texts, and Expositions of some of the main teachings in Buddhism. His writings are clear and authoritative, and remind me of the similar work of Ven Ñāṇatiloka.
His knowledge was broad also and he wrote on meditation, Dhamma and Abhidhamma with equal understanding and authority, and in a clear and comprehensible style.
Do give his works a look if you are interested in knowing more about Buddhism from a reliable source. The website also contains Tributes from some of the people who knew him.
Let us remember and honour those who went before us!
