Pali Text Society

• 1. Founding And Early History

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  In 1864, Thomas William Rhys Davids arrived in Sri Lanka as a British civil servant. He served as an administrator in Galle and Anuradhapura until 1872. During this decade, he studied the Sinhala language with Ceylon Monk Yatramulle Sri Dhammarama. The monk taught him about the Pali Canon, which later became the foundation of his public career. At that time, Buddhism in Sri Lanka struggled under foreign rule and intense Christian missionary activity. Public debates between Anglican clergy and Buddhist monks were common but often backfired by increasing interest in Buddhism among locals. Rhys Davids was an atheist yet found deep academic value in the culture around him. In 1881, he founded the Pali Text Society to foster and promote the study of Pali texts. The society modeled itself after the Early English Text Society. It relied on support from European scholars and Sri Lankan scholar monks. The work of publishing Roman script editions of the Pali Canon was not financially rewarding. However, the Buddhist clergy in Sri Lanka underwrote the printing costs. Robert Caesar Childers published the first Pali-English dictionary in 874.

• 2. Scholarly Publications And Translations

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  By 1922, when Thomas William Rhys Davids died, the Pali Text Society had issued 64 separate texts in 94 volumes exceeding 26,000 pages. These included commentarial exegetical texts and histories alongside the Pali Canon. The society also produced dictionaries concordances books for students and the Journal of the Pali Text Society. A new dictionary largely compiled by T.W. Rhys Davids over 40 years was superseded in 1925. His student William Stede finished this work. Currently another dictionary is being compiled by Margaret Cone with the first volume published in 2001. The society publishes translations of many Pali texts as well as ancillary works like journals and student materials. In 1996, the society signed an MoU between the Dhammakaya Foundation Thailand to collaborate on projects. They also published the entire PTS edition of the Pali canon on CD-ROM. This effort helped spread academic merit across Europe while preserving ancient religious knowledge.

• 3. Carolina Augusta Foyley Leadership

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  Following her husband's death in 1922, Carolina Augusta Foyley Rhys Davids took over the presidency of the society. Her educational background was in economics which allowed her to manage finances effectively. By 1936, the society lost financial support due to the Great Depression. Foyley pulled the organization out of debt through careful management. She dedicated her career to completing her late husband's unfinished work. Under her leadership, two editions of the Journal of the Pali Text Society were published taking roughly three years each. She continued translating classic Pali texts including Apadana volumes released in 1925 and 1927. A 1926 annual report revealed that funding for a new dictionary came from donors in Japan. That same report noted how donations and subscriptions kept the society financially stable despite high costs. The subscription plan listed one Guinea per year for texts or translations at ten shillings annually payable in advance. Back issues dating prior to 1901 saw payments increased by 50 percent. In a diary entry she wrote it was unlikely she would live long enough to finish re-issuing original translations of Vinaya Milinda and Jataka before dying in 1942.

• 4. Preservation Of Palm Leaf Manuscripts

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  In 1994, the Pali Text Society inaugurated the Fragile Palm Leaves project. This initiative aimed to catalogue and preserve Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts from Southeast Asia. Before printing presses arrived, texts were inscribed on specially preserved leaves from palm trees bound together into complete manuscripts. Existing examples date from the 18th century though likely used since before the 5th century CE. Most created during the 19th century these artifacts suffered damage due to tropical climates and material fragility. During colonial eras many manuscripts were disassembled sold as decorative objects to Western collectors. The society began scanning them electronically to make access possible without threatening preservation. In 2001 the project formalized as a nonprofit called the Fragile Palm Leaves Foundation in Thailand. By February 2013, partners including Sendai University and the University of Toronto started digitizing Myanmar's palm-leaf manuscripts. Collections from U Pho Thi Library in Thaton and Bagaya Monastery in Inwa joined this ongoing effort. Digitized versions now reside within the open-access Myanmar Manuscript Digital Library available globally.

• 5. Evolution Of Society Presidency

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  Thomas William Rhys Davids served as president from 1881 until his death in 1922. Caroline Augusta Foley Rhys Davids led from 1922 through 1942 after taking over following her husband's passing. William Henry Denham Rouse succeeded her serving from 1942 to 1950. William Stede held office between 1950 and 1958 having co-authored the Pali-English Dictionary with T.W. Rhys Davids. Isaline Blew Horner OBE presided from 1959 to 1981 producing new translations like Milindapañha upon election. Kenneth Roy Norman FBA remained on council longest out of all members leading from 1981 to 1994. Richard Francis Gombrich took charge from 1994 to 2002 followed briefly by Lance Selwyn Cousins who served until 2003. Rupert Mark Lovell Gethin has been president since 2003 continuing the tradition established decades earlier. Each leader contributed unique scholarly achievements ranging from dictionary compilation to translation projects ensuring continuity across generations.