While in India, Henry Steele Olcott (1832-1907) strove to receive original translations of texts which had grown in popularity as a result of colonialist collections of sacred Oriental texts. His intent was to avoid the Westernized interpretations often encountered in America, and to discover the pure message of texts from the Buddhist, Hindu, and Zoroastrian religions, in order properly to educate Westerners. The Buddhist Catechism, composed by Olcott in 1881, represents one of his most enduring contributions to the revival of Buddhism in Ceylon (Sri Lanka), and it remains in use there still today. The text outlines what Olcott saw to be the basic doctrines of Buddhism, including the life of the Buddha, the message of the Dharma (Buddha's teachings), the role of the Sanga (monastic assembly or following). The text also treats how the Buddha's message correlates with contemporary society. Olcott was considered by South Asians and others as a Buddhist revivalist.
