Allan Bennett, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya Biography and Collected Writings – serie

This is the first biography of Allan Bennett, one of the first British men to gain higher ordination as a Buddhist monk and one of the seminal figures in the development of Buddhism in the UK.Bennett rejected Christianity early in his life and turned to late nineteenth century new religious movements, namely theosophy and the Order of the Golden Dawn. His involvement in the latter led to friendship with Aleister Crowley. His main spiritual interest at this point in his life was the occult and the esoteric. After he travelled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1899 for health reasons – he had chronic asthma – he was attracted to Buddhism. Believing Buddhism in Burma (Myanmar) was purer than in Sri Lanka, he opted for ordination there in 1902.From Burma, he created an international Buddhist network, founding an international Buddhist association, the Buddhasāsana Samāgama and starting a journal, Buddhism – An Illustrated Quarterly Review. In 1908, he led a Buddhist mission to England. Convinced that the West needed Buddhism as an antidote to growing materialism, he became a prolific writer. Two volumes of his writings were published. The first recorded a series of talks he gave in London in 1917-1918, published just two months before he died (The Wisdom of the Aryas). The second was published posthumously (The Religion of Burma and Other Papers). Controversy has surrounded his life, particularly in western Buddhist circles, because of his early involvement with the occult.

This is the first edited, annotated collection of the writings of Allan Bennett, one of the first British men to gain higher ordination as a Buddhist monk and one of the seminal figures in the development of Buddhism in the UK. Bennett’s view of Buddhism reflects the intellectual history of his day and the debates that were happening between different religious groups in late Victorian and early Edwardian imperial Britain. His work represents some of the first writings by English converts to Buddhism, efforts which mobilized British Buddhists and sympathizers. Controversy has surrounded his life, particularly in western Buddhist circles, because of his early involvement with the occult.His major publications consist of two volumes. The first recorded a series of talks he gave in London in 1917-1918, published just two months before he died, The Wisdom of the Aryas. The second was published posthumously, The Religion of Burma and Other Papers. Both of these are included in this volume as well as excerpts from his esoteric notebooks, essays published in the journal he established Buddhism – An Illustrated Quarterly Review, the prospectus of the international Buddhist society he founded Buddhasāsana Samāgama, and excerpts from his letters and lectures as well as other publications.

This is the first biography of Allan Bennett, one of the first British men to gain higher ordination as a Buddhist monk and one of the seminal figures in the development of Buddhism in the UK.Bennett rejected Christianity early in his life and turned to late nineteenth century new religious movements, namely theosophy and the Order of the Golden Dawn. His involvement in the latter led to friendship with Aleister Crowley. His main spiritual interest at this point in his life was the occult and the esoteric. After he travelled to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1899 for health reasons – he had chronic asthma – he was attracted to Buddhism. Believing Buddhism in Burma (Myanmar) was purer than in Sri Lanka, he opted for ordination there in 1902.From Burma, he created an international Buddhist network, founding an international Buddhist association, the Buddhasāsana Samāgama and starting a journal, Buddhism – An Illustrated Quarterly Review. In 1908, he led a Buddhist mission to England. Convinced that the West needed Buddhism as an antidote to growing materialism, he became a prolific writer. Two volumes of his writings were published. The first recorded a series of talks he gave in London in 1917-1918, published just two months before he died (The Wisdom of the Aryas). The second was published posthumously (The Religion of Burma and Other Papers). Controversy has surrounded his life, particularly in western Buddhist circles, because of his early involvement with the occult.