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Mary Elizabeth Mikahala Foster
Mary Elizabeth Mikahala Foster born Robinson ( Honolulu, 20 September 1844 - Honolulu, 20 December 1930) was an American philanthropist.
Mary Foster was the eldest daughter of James Robinson, the first owner of Hawaii of English origin (arrived in the islands in 1820) and Rebecca Prever, descendant of King Kamehameha I. She was a friend of Queen Liliuokalani of whose government her brother was a minister, until the Kingdom of Hawaii was demolished by conspirators supported by the United States in 1895 and the Republic of Hawaii was proclaimed, followed by annexation to the USA in 1898.
Biography
Married to the Canadian shipowner Thomas Foster (born May 19, 1835, died August 20, 1889 in San Francisco) [1], in 1889 he was widowed [2] and endowed with great economic means and many landholdings in Hawaii. Since then he lived at the home of his sister Victoria Ward and her husband Curtis Perry Ward, a great landowner [1].
In 1860, Mary Robinson married Thomas R. Foster (1835-1889) of Nova Scotia, who had arrived in the Islands just three years earlier. He founded the Interisland Steam Navigation Company, and owned a shipyard, a shipping agency and a number of schooners. He died in 1889, leaving her a very wealthy widow, as she had also inherited substantial property from her father following his death in 1876.
-- Mary E. Foster, by Theosophy Wiki
The turning point in the life of Mary Foster came when Anagarika Dharmapala, the great reformer of the practice Buddhist of Ceylon, returning from the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1893 where he had attended the first meeting of the World Parliament of Religions on a journey that from San Francisco was taking him to Yokohama made a stop in Honolulu [3] and converted it to Buddhism.
From that moment on he promoted a large number of activities that are part of the revitalization of Buddhism, of which Anagarika Dharmapala was the most famous exponent of southern Buddhism and Taixu of Buddhism in China.
The Mulagandhakuti Vihara in Sarnath.
In 1899 he promoted the construction of the new temple of the Honpa Hongwanji, a mission of the Pure Land Buddhism formed in Hawaii by Japanese immigrants [4], at whose inauguration Henry Steel Olcott of the Theosophical Society took part. He then sponsored the construction of the Sri Dharmarajika Vihara and Mulagandhakuti Vihara monasteries in Sarnath [5], a place where the historical Buddha had preached the first inoculation to the Pañcavaggiyā. The interiors of the Mulagandhakuti Vihara (imitated in 1904 and completed in 1931) were frescoed by the Japanese painter Nosu Kosetsu [6](野生 司 香雪Nousu Kōsetsu ) (1885-1973) [7] with a hybrid style, which drew inspiration both from the paintings of the Ajanta Caves and from the Art Nouveau.
The Foster Botanical Garden in Honolulu.
Sponsorships at the Maha Bodhi Society included the purchase of the Calcutta and Madras headquarters, the first headquarters, in 1926, of the London Buddhist Vihara and the construction of a hospital in Ceylon. Anagarika Dharmapala returned to Hawaii twice more to meet her, in 1913 and 1925. Mary Foster asked to be considered her adoptive mother.
Mary Foster's last donation was 5 hectares of land in the center of Honolulu, bought years before with her husband by the German botanist William Hillebrand [8], offered to the city of Honolulu together with a fund of ten thousand dollars for its maintenance as a garden botanist. Currently the Foster Botanical Garden is the oldest in Hawaii and preserves a Ficus religiosa derived from a sucker of Sri Maha Bodhi brought to it in 1913 by Anagarika Dharmapala [9].
Upon the death of Mary Foster, Christian relatives, contrary to her latest provisions, celebrated a Christian rather than a Buddhist funeral [10].
Notes
1. http://www.islandregister.com/foster1.html
2. Foster Community Garden [ broken link ]
3. Michael C. Howard, Transnationalism and society, an introduction , McFarland, 2011, p. 199
4. Ho'okuleana: Buddhism in Hawai'i
5. The Island
6. Life of Buddha in frescoes [microform], Mulagandhakuti vihara, Sarnath (1900) https://ia600802.us.archive.org/15/item ... 00nosu.pdf
7. http://id.ndl.go.jp/auth/ndlna/00176140
8. The Walking Hawaiian
9. Ayya Vimala, Bodhi Trees Around the World: Hawaii Foster Botanical Garden http://www.shindharmanet.com/wp-content ... -Bodhi.pdf [ broken link ]
10. Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Innovative Buddhist Women: Swimming Against the Stream , Routledge, 2000, p.243 ISBN 9780700712533
Other projects
• Wikimedia Commons contains images or other files on Mary Foster
External links
• ( EN ) Mary Foster , on Find a Grave .
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Mary E. Foster
by Theosophy Wiki
Accessed: 8/19/20
Mrs. Mary E. Foster was a Hawaiian Theosophist who was close to the Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala and was a great benefactor of the Maha Bodhi Society of India.
Early life
Mary Elizabeth Makahala Robinson was born in Honolulu on September 20, 1844. Her parents were John James Robinson, a shipwrecked English sailor, and Rebecca Kaikilani Prever, who was a descendant of the famous Hawaiian king Kamehameha I. Thus, Mary was related to Queen Liliʻuokalani, who was six years older, and was one of the monarch's closest friends. Mark P. Robinson, Mary's brother, served as Queen Lili'uokalani's Minister of Foreign Affairs. [1] It was a difficult time to be royalty in the Islands. During the period 1893-1896, the queen was forcibly and illegally deposed by agents of the American government, and eventually Hawai'i was made a protectorate of the United States.
Mary was educated at the O'ahu Charity School, which provided English-language instruction to children of foreign residents married to Hawaiians.
In 1860, Mary Robinson married Thomas R. Foster (1835-1889) of Nova Scotia, who had arrived in the Islands just three years earlier. He founded the Interisland Steam Navigation Company, and owned a shipyard, a shipping agency and a number of schooners. He died in 1889, leaving her a very wealthy widow, as she had also inherited substantial property from her father following his death in 1876.[2]
Theosophical Society involvement
After her husband's death, Mary became interested in Theosophy, joining the Theosophical Society on May 12, 1882.[3] Initially a member of the Golden Gate branch in San Francisco, she soon organized lectures and classes in Honolulu. She helped to organize the Aloha Branch in February 1894, with Dr. Auguste Marques as lodge President.
Dr. Auguste Jean Baptiste Marques was a scientist, diplomat, and writer who lived in Hawai'i. He was President of the Aloha Branch and served as General Secretary of the Australian Section of the Theosophical Society based in Adyar, Chennai, India.
Dr. Marques was born at Toulon, France on November 17, 1841. His father John, a general in the French army, was half Spanish and half French. His mother, Augusta Cooke, was half English and half Scottish, the daughter of a British general. Marques spent some of his boyhood in Morocco and Algiers. He completed study of medicine at the University of Paris, but his mother persuaded him for some unknown reason not to take the degree. He did complete a doctorate in science from the University of Lisbon. For a time he worked at the bureau of agriculture in Paris, but "after his mother's death in 1875, when he was 34, he began a prolonged world tour."
During his travels, he arrived in Hawai'i on December 30, 1878 on the City of Sydney, and decided to stay. He became a naturalized American citizen after Hawai'i became a protectorate of the United States.
After arriving in Hawai'i,He soon helped found the Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association, later Honolulu's first public library, and he actively promoted fund-raising efforts, purchased books, and organized a music department. A self-proclaimed advocate of Portuguese interests in his early years in Hawai'i, Marques established the Anti-Asiatic Society to work for the restriction of the immigration of Japanese and Chinese laborers. After reading Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled in 1885, he became interested in Theosophy, traveling to Europe in 1888 to further his research on the topic.
After his exposure to Theosophy, he dropped his anti-Asiatic activities. He taught music, then French at Oahu College and Punahou Preparatory School during the years 1883-1891. An active supporter of the Hawaiian royalty, he served a one-year term as a member of the Hawaiian legislature in 1890. He was director of the Honolulu Symphony Society, and played the viola. He wrote for many periodicals about Hawaiian culture and mythology...
In February 1894, Dr. Marques worked with Mrs. Mary E. Foster to establish the Aloha Branch of the Theosophical Society, and he became its first President and host of weekly meetings. Mrs. Foster's brother Mark Robinson, a prominent banker and invester, was also involved; he hosted Theosophical gatherings at his home. They organized lectures and classes, and several other study groups. During the 1890s, Dr. Marques frequently contributed articles to Mercury and other Theosophical periodicals.
Mercury was published in San Francisco from 1894 to 1899, with William John Walters as the editor. It was initially written for children, since Walters was Conductor of the Lotus Circles children's group in San Francisco. However, following the split in the American Theosophical movement, the August 1895 issue announced that Mercury was "'A Theosophical Magazine'. Now the monthly magazine of the newly established American Section." In 1897, the Mercury Publishing Company produced a cookbook that included an advertisement for Mercury, calling the periodical "A Theosophical monthly, dedicated to the study of Oriental philosophy, the Occult Sciences and the Brotherhood of Man."
-- Mercury (periodical), by Theosophy Wiki
From 1899-1901, Dr. Marques served as General Secretary of the Australian Section, and he traveled to India as a delegate.
In December, 1901, Alexander Fullerton reported that Dr. Marques had resigned his membership. The reason is not known.
King David Kalākaua sent Marques on a diplomatic mission to Russia in 1886. Around 1907, Dr. Marques became Acting Consul in Hawai'i for France, and Vice Consul for Spain. For over 20 years, he represented the interests of France as Consular Agent and then Consul. He also became, at the same time, Consul for Panama (1909); and Vice Consul for Belgium (1914) and Russia (1908-1918). He worked out of his residence at 1928 Wilder Avenue in Honolulu.
Dr. Marques wrote numerous articles for Theosophical journals, mostly during the 1890s. The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists 42 articles by or reviews of books by A Marques.
-- Auguste Marques, by Theosophy Wiki
They also established several other study groups. Her brother Mark Robinson, a prominent banker and invester, became a member on May 23, 1884; he hosted Theosophical gatherings at his home.[4][5] Theosophical lecturers came to Honolulu. Countess Wachtmeister arrived in 1896. She and Mrs. Foster had been corresponding cordially.
The Countess Wachtmeister was the companion and coworker of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (H.P.B.) from 1885 until Blavatsky's death in 1891. She lectured widely in the 1890s, and helped Annie Besant to form lodges in the United States.
-- Constance Wachtmeister, by Theosophy Wiki
From February 13-19, 1901, the President-Founder Colonel Olcott visited, and his lecture on "The Divine Art of Healing" was attended by the former queen Liliʻuokalani, who was a good friend of Mrs. Foster. It was fortunate for him that he chose to remain in Hawai'i a few days. The ship Rio de Janeiro on which he had arrived, struck a rock and sank while leaving harbor. He continued his journey on the S.S. Coptic. [6]
Anagarika Dharmapala
Following his remarkable success as a speaker at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago, the Anagarika Dharmapala traveled by the steamer S.S. Oceanic via Honolulu, Japan, and Thailand as he returned to Ceylon. His ship stopped for a day in Honolulu in mid-October 1893, and a few local Theosophists met him:
Greeted and offered fresh fruit and flowers by Mary Foster, Auguste Marques, and an unidentified woman Theosophist, possibly Marie de Souza Canavarro, Dharmapala embarked on a short tour of Honolulu. Foster confided in Dharmapala about her uncontrollable temper and asked for advice. His counsel was evidently of great value to her as she commenced studying Theravadan Buddhism in conjunction with her Theosophical interests. A number of later newspaper accounts refer to Foster's traveling to Ceylon in 1893 and studying with the Buddhist monks at Anuradhapura, thereby horrifying her large kama'dina [native Hawaiian] family, who kept this fact secret.[7]
Dharmapala visited Hawai'i again in 1913, bringing Mrs. Foster the gift of a "Bo" tree for her garden. They met in person one final time in 1925.[8]
Support of Buddhist causes
Mary Foster provided funding for repairs to Buddhist temples in India and Ceylon, and to numerous schools, hospitals, and training programs in South Asia and Hawai'i. By some accounts she donated over $300,000 dollars to Buddhist causes.
Why a dollar today is worth only 3% of a dollar in 1893
Updated: August 12, 2020
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index, today's prices in 2020 are 2,778.90% higher than average prices since 1893. This means that a dollar today only buys 3.47% of what it could buy in 1893. The U.S. dollar experienced an average inflation rate of 2.68% per year during this period, causing the real value of a dollar to decrease.
In other words, $100 in 1893 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $2,878.90 in 2020, a difference of $2,778.90 over 127 years.
[$300,000 in 1893 = $8,636,700 in 2020]
https://www.in2013dollars.com/us/inflation/1893
These are some of the projects supported:
• Construction of Mulagandhikuti Vihara at Sarnath in India.
• English-Sinhala free school at Rajagiri near Colombo.[9]
• Hewawitharana Weaving School.
• [b]Maha Bodhi Press in Colombo, and its journals in Sinhala and English.[10]
• Industrial School at Sarnath.[11]
• Foster-Robinson Hospital for the Poor - a free ayurvedic hospital that remains part of Colombo General Hospital in Sri Lanka.
• Dharmarajika Vihara in Calcutta.
• Foster House at 86 Madeley Road, Ealing, London - opened on July 24, 1926 as the first missionary vihara to be founded outside the Asian continent. This also marked the birth of the British Mahabodhi Society.[12][13]
In Hawai'i, Mrs. Foster also gave land on Pali Highway to the Japanese Buddhists' Honpa Hongwanji Mission, where the first Buddhist temple in Honolulu was built in 1889; and she supported the Hongwanji High School.[14]
Foster Botanical Garden
The garden at Mrs. Foster's residence was planted with indigenous flora and ornamental specimens. She lived at 50 North Vineyard Boulevard, Honolulu for several decades after she and Captain Foster purchased the property in 1884 from a German botanist, who had nurtured the collection of flora for 30 years. Mrs. Foster purchased additional land and consulted with botanists to identify the varieties of plants.[15]
Giant lumbering Galápagos tortoises used to make their way amid the tropical terraced trails, with a niece or nephew of Mrs. Foster on their wide, smooth backs. The tortoises were a gift, like many of the plants, from visiting sea adventurers. When Mary Foster passed away the Galápagos tortoises went to the zoo.[16]
Dharmapala brought Mrs. Foster a cutting from an ancient tree planted in 288 B.C. at the Mahabodhi temple in Anuradhapura, Ceylon, that is a direct descendant of the famous "Bo" tree (Ficus religiosa) under which Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment. From the tree that took root in her garden, several other bo trees were provided to other gardens at Hawaiian Buddhist viharas and to the University of Hawaii - Manoa campus.[17][18] At her death in 1930, the property was bequeathed to the city of Honolulu as its first botanical garden.
Later years
At times Mrs. Foster traveled to San Francisco, and she may have also visited South Asia again. She spent time in Oahu, as well, where she established a land trust to save ahupua'a 'o Kahana, a beautiful wooded tract, from ranchers who wanted to burn it to create grassland. "Today it is run as a state park, which embraces and teaches Hawaiian culture."[19]
In her final year she lived with her younger sister, Victoria Ward, and the sister's three middle-aged daughters, in Honolulu.[20] Mary died on December 20, 1930.
Legacy
Mary Foster is remembered through the Foster Botanical Garden and many institutions named after her. "Mary Foster Day" was proclaimed by the mayor of Honolulu in 2006, and a Facebook account called Discover Mary Foster Day was established. A variety of hibiscus was named "Mary Foster."[21] A prayer service honoring Foster is held every month at the Foster-Robinson Hospital in Colombo.[22]Foster Lane in Colombo was named after her.
An author, Patricia Lee Masters, wrote a biographical novel in 2017 entitled Searching for Mary Foster: Nineteenth-Century Native Hawaiian Buddhist, Philanthropist, and Social Activist and published by the American Buddhist Study Center.[23]
Mrs. Foster is also mentioned in the song, "Beautiful Kahana" in these lines:
This is the home of the lady
Of the loving heart of India[24]
Notes
1. Frank Karpiel, "Theosophy, Culture, and Politics in Honolulu, 1890-1920," Hawaiian Journal of History 30 (1996), 172. Available at this website.
2. Frank Karpiel, "Theosophy, Culture, and Politics in Honolulu, 1890-1920," Hawaiian Journal of History 30 (1996), 172. Available at this website.
3. Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 8246 (website file: 1C/ 59).
4. Theosophical Society General Membership Register, 1875-1942 at http://tsmembers.org/. See book 1, entry 11199 (website file: 1D/43).
5. Frank Karpiel, "Theosophy, Culture, and Politics in Honolulu, 1890-1920," Hawaiian Journal of History 30 (1996), 172. Available at this website.
6. Anonymous, "Hawaii," The Theosophist 22.9 (June, 1901), 566-567.
7. Frank Karpiel, "Theosophy, Culture, and Politics in Honolulu, 1890-1920," Hawaiian Journal of History 30 (1996), 183. Available at this website.
8. Frank Karpiel, "Theosophy, Culture, and Politics in Honolulu, 1890-1920," Hawaiian Journal of History 30 (1996), 185. Available at this website.
9. Kumari Jayawarden, "The White Woman's Other Burden: Western Women and South Asia During British Rule" (Routledge, 2014), 165.
10. Kumari Jayawarden, "The White Woman's Other Burden: Western Women and South Asia During British Rule" (Routledge, 2014), 165.
11. Anāgārika Dharmapāla A Biographical Sketch Available at Wisdom Library.
12. "Anagarika Dharmapala," London Buddhist Vihara web page. Available at [http://www.londonbuddhistvihara.org/Dharmapala.htm LondonBuddhistVihara.org
13. M. P. Amarasuriya, "London Buddhist Vihara: Impetus and Consolidation 1925-28," Anagarika Dharmapala Trust. Available at Anagarika.org.
14. Mary Adamski, "Buddhist Roots," Star Bulletin (September 15, 2007). Available at Star Bulletin.
15. Nancy Arcayna, "Mysterious Mary Foster," Star Bulletin [Honolulu] (September 22, 2006). Available at this website.
16. Heidi Bornhorst, "Mary Foster Deserving of Celebration in Her Honor," Honolulu Advertiser (September 22, 2006). Available at HonululuAdvertiser.com.
17. Ven. Ayya Vimala, "Bodhi Trees Around the World: Hawaii – Foster Botanical Garden," Shin Dharm Net. Available at ShinDharmaNet.com].
18. Mary Adamski, "Buddhist Roots," Star Bulletin (September 15, 2007). Available at Star Bulletin.
19. Vinod Moonesinghe, "George Clooney, Mary Foster and Anagarika Dharmapala," Daily News [Sri Lanka] (February 29, 2012). Available at Daily News.
20. U. S. Census, 1930.
21. Heidi Bornhorst, "Mary Foster Deserving of Celebration in Her Honor," Honolulu Advertiser (September 22, 2006). Available at HonululuAdvertiser.com.
22. Nancy Arcayna, "Mysterious Mary Foster," Star Bulletin [Honolulu] (September 22, 2006). Available at this website.
23. Searching for Mary Foster in Better Hawai'i blog. October 6, 2018.
24. Vinod Moonesinghe, "George Clooney, Mary Foster and Anagarika Dharmapala," Daily News [Sri Lanka] (February 29, 2012). Available at Daily News.