Faculty of Humanities/Department of Pali & Buddhist Studies

Dr. Udita Garusinha

Dr. Udita Garusinha was born in Southern Hambantota District on 29 May 1965.  He entered the University of Kelaniya in 1985 and offered Sinhala, Pali and Buddhist Philosophy at the General Arts Qualifying.  Later he entered the Special Degree Course offering Buddhist Philosophy as his major with Pali as subsidiary subject and at the end of the Course he obtained Bachelor of Arts First Class Honours Degree.  After that he was appointed a Temporary Assistant Lecturer in Buddhist Studies and Pali language in the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies of the University of Kelaniya in 1992 and in the same year he obtained his MA from Post Graduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies of the University of Kelaniya.  That year he was appointed a Visiting Lecturer in Buddhist Studies at Vidyodaya and Vidyalankara Institutes of Sri Lanka Buddhist and Pali University.

In 1995 he was appointed a probationary lecturer in the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies of the University of Kelaniya.  In 1997 he was awarded the Monbusho Scholarship by the Japanese Government to pursue Post Graduate Studies.  In April 1997 he entered the Kyoto University to acquire language skills and after completing the course he obtained Japanese Language Certificate.  In the same year he joined as a researcher of the Otani University in Kyoto, Japan.

In 1999 he entered for Master's Course in same university and completed the course after submitting the thesis on "A Comparative Study on Ordination (pabbajja) in Theravada and Soto zen Buddhism" and obtained the Master degree in 2001.    In the same year he entered the Doctoral Course and the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy was conferred on him by Otani University in 2004 for his thesis "The Ancient Buddhist Constitution  in Japan and Sri Lanka: A Comparative Study on Soniryo and Polonnaru; Dambadini Katikavat with reference to Pali Vinya Pitaka" (in Japanese).

            In April 2004 he came back to his Department at the University of Kelaniya and was appointed a Senior Lecturer.  At present he is a Senior Lecturer of the Department of Pali and Buddhist Studies at the University of Kelaniya as well as a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Buddhist Philosophy and Buddhist Culture at the Sri Lanka Buddhist and Pali University in Homagama.

He has contributed a considerable number of articles on Buddhist Studies in national and international journals.

    He resides in Kadawatha, Sri Lanka with his wife and two children.

Telephone +94112925191
E-mail    garu@kln.ac.lk