As a Buddhist “noble man,” Anagarika Dharmapala first made a pilgrimage to Sarnath in 1891.
Finding the conditions of the sites “deplorable,” he determined to restore India’s places|
of Buddhist worship in an ambitious plan to “regenerate Buddhism” in that country. He was
encouraged by the then British rulers of India. In the course of forty years he succeed in
establishing centers of the Maha Bodhi Society of India (for the purpose of resurrecting
Buddhism in India and of restoring its ancient Buddhist shrines) with the support of Indian
authorities and the assistance from kings of Buddhist countries. In 1893 Anagarika traveled
to Chicago to participate in the Parliament of the World’s Religions and in that forum, it
is claimed by his followers, he “introduced Buddhism to the West.” Anagarika died in Sarnath.