This Sinhala recension of the Anagatavamsa, here translated into English for the first time, is but one of several texts forming a genre of Buddhist apocalyptic literature generated by the cult of Maitreya in South and South-east Asia. It is a prophetic text revealing a rich religious imagination focussed upon the advent of the future Buddha in a time when those who have long persevered in the religious quest will gain an opportunity to realize the highest spiritual attainment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Udaya Meddegama
Udaya Meddegama is Associate Professor in the Department of Sinhalese at the University of Sinhalese in Sri Lanka. He graduated (First Class with Gold Medal) from the University of Ceylon and with a Ph.D from the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies. He has been a visiting professor of South Asian Studies in the USA at Swarthmore, Bowdoin and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He is the author of many studies focussed on Sinhalese literature and has published two anthologies of poetry. He is currently writing a novel based upon his many and varied experiences as a Theravada Buddhist bhikkhu.
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