Asoka Weeraratna අසෝක වීරරතන | |
|---|---|
 Asoka Weeraratna | |
| Born | 12 December 1918 |
| Died | 2 July 1999 (aged 80) Mitirigala, Sri Lanka |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan (Sinhala) |
| Other names | Alfred Weeraratna Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thera |
| Education | Mahinda College, Galle[1] |
| Known for | Propagation of Buddhism |
Asoka Weeraratna (December 12, 1918 – July 2, 1999) was a Sri Lankan (Sinhala) Buddhist missionary, who founded the German Dharmaduta Society in 1952.[2] He is also the founder of the Berlin Buddhist Vihara, one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Europe and Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya, a famous meditation monastery in the Western Province, Sri Lanka.[2] Asoka Weeraratna later entered the Order of Buddhist monks in 1972 as Ven. Mitirigala Dhammanisanthi Thera and spent his later life as a forest monk at the Mitirigala Nissarana Vanaya for a period of 27 years.[3]