y 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.