Buddhaghosa Mahasthavir

Sapta Ratna was born to father Purnananda and mother Surjamaya Vajracharya in Kwa Baha, Kathmandu. In 1940, he went to Kushinagar, India, and was ordained as a novice monk. He was given the Dhamma name Buddhaghosa. He then went to Burma, where he studied Buddhism and meditation, and in 1943 received higher ordination as a full monk in Mandalay. He was the first from a Vajracharya family to become a Theravada monk.^[1]

Returning to Nepal, Buddhaghosa (alternative names: Bhante Buddhaghosa, Buddhaghosa Mahathero) lived at the monastery of Sumangal Vihar in Lalitpur and dedicated himself to spreading the Buddha's message.^[3] The 1940s were bad times for Buddhist monks, and a number of them had been expelled for preaching and producing Buddhist literature.^[4]

After the fall of the Rana regime and establishment of democracy in Nepal in 1951,^[5] Theravada Buddhist monks could preach freely. In 1963, Buddhaghosa started Pariyatti Shiksha and revolutionized Buddhist education by teaching it in a scientific manner.^[6] The weekly Dhamma classes attracted large numbers of youths, and the study of Buddhism progressed beyond sermons and services.^[1][2]

Buddhaghosa authored, translated, or edited 22 books in Nepal Bhasa and Nepali on the Tripitaka, which consists of the Theravada Buddhist scriptures.^{[citation needed]}

In 1999, Buddhaghosa was decorated with the title of Aggamahasaddhammajotikadhaja (light of supreme teaching) by the government of Myanmar for his contribution to Buddhism.^[2][7]