Event details
- Saturday | February 1, 2025
- 9:00 am - 10:30 am
- Via Zoom (and in New York City and London)
Recalling Mary Foster:
The Hawaiian Royal Who Transformed the Buddhist World
with Professor Kate Crosby, University of Oxford
Saturday, Feb. 1 — 9 a.m.–10:30 a.m. Hawaii time
Via Zoom (and in-person in London and New York City)
Mary Foster was Hawaiian royalty who, in October 1893 in Honolulu, met with Anagarika Dharmapala, the renowned Buddhist missionary from Sri Lanka. Thus began a friendship and collaboration that endured throughout their lives and led to the modern transformation of Buddhism as a world religion across three continents.
Join us to learn about the remarkable Mary Mikahala Robinson Foster, a 19th-century native Hawaiian Buddhist, global philanthropist, and social activist.
Hear the forgotten story of this pioneering woman, including the exceptional biography Searching for Mary Foster by Patricia Lee Masters. Discover ongoing research by Buddhist scholars about Mary Foster’s lasting impact on Buddhism in India, Britain, Sri Lanka, and Hawaii.
This narrative details how Buddhism was introduced to the West at the height of colonial domination and recounts the founding of the first Buddhist monastery outside Asia—the London Buddhist Vihara—in 1926. Speakers include Prof. Kate Crosby, Dr. Amal Gunasena, Bishop Toshiyuki Umitani, Ms. Hoshina Seki, and Dr. Amefil Agbayani. The British MahaBodhi Society hosts the event in collaboration with the American Buddhist Study Center.
More information on this Zoom and In-Person Event
ABSC events page | Eventbrite page | Register for Zoom Link