IN MEMORIAM  

Professor Y. Karunadasa

Scholar of Early Buddhism  ·  Colleague  ·  Teacher

Dear All,

It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Professor Karunadasa, one of the most distinguished scholars of Early Buddhism of his generation, and a beloved member of this Centre for 14 years.

Professor Karunadasa brought to Buddhist studies a rare combination: encyclopaedic learning worn lightly, and an intellectual seriousness that never tipped into arrogance. His published works — many produced in close collaboration with this Centre — reshaped how scholars approach the Abhidharma and the philosophical architecture of the Pāli canon. But scholarship, for him, was never an end in itself. It was a deep conversation about what the Buddha taught, and he wanted everyone to join him.

Those of us fortunate enough to work alongside him know what his colleagues always said: he was as generous in person as he was rigorous on the page. He remembered names. He returned emails with care. He stayed after every lecture to talk — not out of obligation, but because he genuinely wanted to know what you thought.

His loss leaves a silence that is hard to describe. Not just in the literature of early Buddhist thought, but in the corridors, the seminar rooms, and the informal exchanges that are, in the end, what a Centre like ours is really built on.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, his students, and to all those whose understanding of the Dhamma was deepened by his life’s work. He will not be replaced. He will be read, remembered, and missed.

With deep sadness,

The Director and Staff of HKU Centre of Buddhist Studies