Sumangalo

Venerable Sumangalo was a Buddhist monk ordained in both Theravada Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism, and actively involved in Dhamma propagation works in both Singapore and Malaysia.

Biography

Venerable Sumangalo(1903–1963) was born as Robert Stuart Clifton in Birmingham, Alabama in the United States in 1903. After receiving his Doctorate in Literature, he lectured on Buddhism in the United States before moving to Asia to further his study of Buddhism. He received his first ordination (tokudo) on February 12, 1933, from Rev. Kenju Masuyama, bishop of the Buddhist Mission of North America (later reorganized as the Buddhist Churches of America). In 1934 he served as the director of the San Francisco Buddhist Society, under the sponsorship of the BMNA. He received his second tokudo ordination in Kyoto from Nishi Honganji, on October 17, 1934, and full kaikyoshi certification from Honganji on December 19, 1934. He returned to the United States, where he published often in BMNA and other Buddhist publication, including a stint as the editor of the Golden Lotus, a Theosophy-influenced Buddhist magazine. In 1952 he requested for a letter of authority from Nishi-Honganji to found a “Western Buddhist Order.” This request was denied. Nevertheless, Clifton created the Western Buddhist Order on October 24, 1952, with two other Caucasian Buddhists who had been ordained in the Nishi Honganji tradition: Ernest Hunt of Honolulu and Jack Austin of London.

In 1957, he re-ordained into the Theravada Order in Laos and received the monastic name "Sumangalo", meaning "very auspicious".