Mrs. C. A. F. Rhys Davids

 

Mrs. C. A. F. Rhys Davids

Prof. Rhys Davids was perhaps excelled only by his wife, Mrs. C. A. F. Rhys Davids, who brought her mighty contributions to Pali studies as a crowning glory to her husband’s work. As a life-long companion and a co-worker of her husband, she took active part in the publications of the Pali Text Society and, after the death of the founder, conducted the affairs of the Society admirably in spite of adverse circumstances. Even as early as 1909, she had translated into English the Theri-gatha (Psalms of the Sisters), which, for lyrical beauty, is next only to Sir Edwin Arnold’s Light of Asia (1885). This book was soon followed by an English translation of the Thera-gatha (Psalms of the Brethren, 1913). In 1917 she gave another fine English translation of the Sagathavagga of the Samyutta-nikaya. The credit for bringing the abstruse Abhidhamma-pitaka to light also goes to her. In addition, she gave readable editions of otherwise difficult texts, such as the Vibhariga (1904), the Patthana (1921), the Yamaka (1912) and the Visuddhimagga (1920). She also translated into English the Dhammasangani (Buddhist Manual of Psychological Ethics, 1923), the Abhidhammattha-sangaha {Compendium of Philosophy, 1910) and the Katha-vatthu (Points of Controversy, 1915), the last two in collaboration with Z. Aung.

Apart from these editions and translations, Mts. Rhys Davids wrote a number of original books dealing with the history of early Buddhist thought. The impact of the researches in Mahayana Buddhism on the one hand, and the repulsion caused by the dogmatic Anatmavada of the Southern Buddhists on the other, inspired Mrs. Rhys Davids to look for the original teachings of the Buddha, and she brought out her thought-provoking Sakya or Buddhist Origins in 1931. She was a lady of astonishing energy and wrote a number of articles. These have been collected in Wayfarer’s Words in three volumes which were published posthumously in 1942. Whatever she wrote, she wrote with conviction and every word of her writing bears the stamp of her unique personality.

reference;

1. 2500 years of Buddhism, P.V. Bapat