Sumangalo

Sumangalo (born Harold Amos Eugene Newman on September 2, 1903 in Birmingham; died February 6, 1963 in Penang, Malaya) was a Buddhist monk, missionary and honorary abbot of Poh Ern Shih Temple in Singapore.

Newman grew up in Birmingham but became a "wanderer" early in life. He studied briefly at several universities, including Columbia University, the University of Chicago, the University of California, Mexico's National University and the Language Institute of Paris. He became fascinated with Eastern philosophy and began living among San Francisco's Japanese community in 1928. He was ordained a priest at the Honpa Hongwaji Temple there in 1933, and again, in Japan, a year later.

Sumamgalo returned to the United States after his ordination and served as a probation officer under the name Robert Stuart Clifton.

Newman founded the Western Buddhist Order in 1951. In 1956 he took the orders of a Theravadin monk in Thailand. He took the name "Sumangalo", meaning "very auspicious" and engaged in missionary work, establishing schools and youth groups in Southeast Asia. In January 1959 he accepted the honorary abbotship of the Poh Ern Shih Temple in Singapore. He assisted in the translation of Buddhist texts into English and was active in the Penang Buddhist Association.

Sumangalo was hospitalized in late January 1963. He seemingly recovered, but succumbed to a relapse in early February. His body was cremated.

References

• Morgan, Diane (2004) The Buddhist Experience in America. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing ISBN 9780313324918