Ananda Metteyya

Ananda Metteyya (8 December 1872 – 9 March 1923) was the ordination name of the British Buddhist monk, born as Charles Henry Allan Bennett. Before becoming a Buddhist monk, he was member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and a friend and teacher of occultist Aleister Crowley.

He travelled to Asia in 1900 and ordained as novice monk (sramenera) in 1901 in Burma. In 1902, he became a fully ordained monk ((bhikkhu), receiving the name Ananda Metteyya at his ordination. He was the second Englishman to be ordained as a Buddhist monk (Bhikkhu) of the Theravāda tradition and was instrumental in introducing Buddhism in England.

He spent years studying and practising Buddhism in the East. He established the first Buddhist Mission in the United Kingdom and sought to spread Theravada Buddhism to the West. Co-founder of international Buddhist organisations and publications, he was an influential Buddhist advocate of the early 20th century.