Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero

Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thero ( Sinhala: බලංගොඩ ආනන්ද මෛත්‍රෙය මහනාහිමි ) (August 23, 1896 – July 18, 1998) was a Sri Lankan scholar monk and a personality of Theravada Buddhism in the twentieth century. He is regarded as one of the most respected Sri Lankan Buddhist monks, who has achieved a higher level of spiritual development through meditation. Ananda Maitreya Thero lived a modest life and did a great service for the propagation of Buddhism in the world. Sri Lankan Buddhists widely considered him as a Bodhisattva.