Soma Thera

Ven. Soma Thera (1898-1960) (Victor Emmanuel Perera Pulle) was educated at St. Benedict's College in Kotahena. After traveling widely in Burma, Thailand, China, and Japan, studying and translating Buddhist texts, he returned to Burma where he was ordained in 1936. He was a member of the Buddhist Mission of Goodwill to India in 1940, and the Buddhist mission to China in 1946. In 1946 he led the first Buddhist mission to Germany. He died suddenly of pulmonary thrombosis in 1960.

Buddhist publications

• Kalama Sutta: The Buddha's Charter of Free Inquiry, translated from the Pali by Soma Thera (Buddhist Publication Society Wheel Publication No. 8; 1981; 20k/6pp.)
• The Removal of Distracting Thoughts, by Soma Thera (Buddhist Publication Society Wheel Publication No. 21; 1981; 46k/15pp.)
• The Way of Mindfulness: The Satipatthana Sutta and Its Commentary, by Soma Thera (1999; 440k/147pp.)
• Words Leading to Disenchantment & Samsara: Two Essays, by Soma Thera (Buddhist Publication Society Bodhi Leaves No. 79; 1978; 24k/8pp.)