sermon delivered on the 12th of June 1873 by Rev. David Silva on the teachings of the Buddha with reference to the human soul. On the 19th of the same month it was taken exception to by the Buddhists, denounced as untrue and a debate was initiated by the Christians.
The Christians were represented by able men, the ablest debaters in the island whom their church could have summoned. Arrayed against Rev. Gunananda Thera were Revs. David Silva, S. Langdon, Principal of Richmond College. S. Tab, S. Cauls, C. Jayasinghe, F. Rodrigo, the catechist Sirimanne, Mudliyar de Soysa, Dunupola Nilame among others. Before this formidable opposition alone and undaunted rose the militant Rev. Gunananda Thera, his reasoning was so powerful, eloquence so convincing, that he annihilated his opponents. At this debate for the side of the Buddhists were Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera, Waskaduwe Sri Subhuti Thera, Potuwila Indrajoti Thera, Koggala Sangatissa Thera, Talhena Amaramoli, Mulleriyawe Gunaratana and Gunananda Theras. The debate ranged from the nature of God, the Soul and resurrection on the one hand, to the concept of Karma, Rebirth, Nirvana and the principle of Paticca - Sumuppada or dependent origination. The impact of the debate was phenomenal, Locally, it was the major force behind re-establishing the identity and pride of Sinhala Buddhists that was dwindling fast under the devious and oppressive practices of the ruling British, Internationally, it was instrumental in creating awareness about Buddha Dhamma in the West, a wealth of knowledge that was highly appreciated by the intelligentsia. Edward Perera, prepared a summary of the whole debate in the English language as arranged by the Editor of ‘Ceylon Times’ John Cooper. Thousands of copies of the translation were published and distributed. When Mr. Feeble came to Sri Lanka, he received a copy of that translation in Galle and took it to America and published it with an introduction explaining how the Buddhists in Sri Lanka have shown the real position of Christianity and named the book ‘Buddhism and Christianity face to face’. One of the copies published by Mr. Feeble fell into the hands of Colonel Henry Steele Olcott and it was after he read it that he become interested in Buddhism. He felt this is one of the religions he was looking for to unearth the secret of the Universe after which he came to the island and formed the Theosophical Society. With the arrival of Sir Henry Steele Olcott, the Buddhist revival movement got a dynamic leader who could deal with the colonial rulers on level ground.
What is significant here is that it was Ven. Gunananda Thera’s eloquent presentation of the Buddhist point of view that attracted Sir Henry Steele Olcott, who came to Sri Lanka on the 17th May 1880, and consequently accelerated the activities of the revival movement. As a result, Buddhist high schools such as Ananda College, Colombo, Dharmaraja College, Kandy and Sri Sumangala College in Panadura were started. Ven. Gunananda passed away in September 1880.