Aramika
I was searching for Bhante Samahita and was informed through the grapevine of some of his Sri Lankan supporters that he took his own life about 2 weeks ago in Denmark, which was a few weeks after his father passed away with cancer.
Nobody seems to have posted any comments on his websites or social media.
I am not close enough to know any detailed information but I am hoping that someone closer will gives us confirmation of this event.
Namo tassa bhagavato arahato sammā-sambuddhassa
Dhajagga Paritta
The Top-of-the-Banner-Staff Protection
Itipi so bhagavā arahaṁ sammā-sambuddho,
He is a Blessed One, a Worthy One, a Rightly Self-awakened One,
Vijjā -caraṇa-sampanno sugato lokavidū,
consummate in knowledge & conduct, one who has gone the good way,
knower of the cosmos,
Anuttaro purisa-damma-sārathi satthā deva-
manussānaṃ buddho bhagavāti.
unexcelled trainer of those who can be taught, teacher of human & divine
beings; awakened; blessed.
Svākkhāto bhagavato dhammo,
The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One,
Sandiṭṭhiko akāliko ehipassiko,
to be seen here & now, timeless, inviting all to come & see,
Opanayiko paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhīti.
pertinent, to be seen by the observant for themselves.
Supaṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,
The Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples who have practiced well,
Uju-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,
the Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples who have practiced
straightforwardly,
Ñāya-paṭipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,
the Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples who have practiced methodically,
Sāmīci-patipanno bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho,
the Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples who have practiced masterfully,
Yadidaṃ cattāri purisa-yugāni aṭṭha purisa-puggalā :
i.e., the four pairs—the eight types—of Noble Ones:
Esa bhagavato sāvaka-saṅgho —
That is the Sangha of the Blessed One’s disciples—
Āhuneyyo pāhuneyyo dakkhiṇeyyo añjali-karaṇīyo,
worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect,
Anuttaraṃ puññakkhettaṃ lokassāti.
the incomparable field of merit for the world.
"...I learnt the sad news from his brother (Robin Hansen) on Facebook that he had passed away on October 12th, sorry for the sad news.
If you know anyone in the Buddhist community of Sri Lanka, who might know him please could you pass on this sad message.
The funeral will be held in Denmark on October 25th.
He was fifty nine I believe...."
Again no specific details.
I suppose anyone intersted could contact his brother on facebook.
I have emailed, and just now received a reply, from a personal friend of Bhante Samahita in Denmark and can sadly confirm it is true.
He took his own life two weeks ago. His funeral and cremation were Friday. His ashes will be interned at Buddhist part of Bispebjerg Kierkegaard in Copenhagen.
His friend has no notion of why Bhante decided to take his own life, even though he considered himself a close friend and spoke with Bhante shortly before his suicide.
This is all very sad for me
He could have been depressed over the recent passing of his father, only a few weeks before he took his own life.
Or perhaps more likely, he was still suffering the effects from an illness he had about a year and a half ago. He had some serious parasites or bacteria infections in his mouth. As a doctor, he appears to have been self-medicating with steroids and other medicines. The bacteria and parasites could have gone to his brain, causing some delusions and paranoia. He made several cryptic, strange posts on his google group, some claiming Muslims were doing bio-warfare to do genocide to the rest of the world. Note; I am mentioning this not to disparage him but rather to show there most likely is a physical illness explanation (from the parasites and effects of steroids).
A few days later after that incident, he removed those posts from his google group and made a video, explaining about his health problems and the effects of Mara.
See: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=31873
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=31873&start=15#p471449
After that or perhaps due to that illness he returned to Denmark. He said he wanted to establish a vihara / temple in Denmark.