Charles Henry Allan Bennett
- This article is about a Thelema personality
Charles Henry Allan Bennett (1872–1923) was a fascinating figure in the intersection of Western occultism and Eastern spirituality. He was a British esotericist, a pioneering Buddhist, and an early associate of Aleister Crowley. His life bridged two significant spiritual movements: Thelema and Theravāda Buddhism.
Early Life and Connection to Thelema
Bennett was an early member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a prominent occult organization in late 19th-century Britain. During this time, he befriended Aleister Crowley, who later became the founder of Thelema. Bennett introduced Crowley to ceremonial magic and was instrumental in Crowley’s early occult education.
Despite their close association, Bennett eventually moved away from Western occultism, including Thelema, and pursued a path rooted in Eastern spirituality.
Conversion to Buddhism
In the late 19th century, Bennett became deeply interested in Buddhism. He traveled to Southeast Asia, where he was ordained as a Theravāda Buddhist monk in 1902 in Sri Lanka. He took the monastic name Ananda Metteyya ("Blissful Friend"), making him one of the first Englishmen to become a Buddhist monk.
Bennett embraced Buddhism because of his philosophical interest and desire to escape the constraints of Victorian England. He sought the profound peace and liberation he found lacking in Western spiritual traditions.
Legacy in Buddhism
Bennett played a crucial role in introducing Buddhism to the West. In 1907, he helped establish the Buddhist Society of Great Britain and Ireland, one of the first organizations to spread Buddhist teachings in the West. Bennett emphasized meditation, mindfulness, and ethical living through his writings and public talks, which later influenced the Western understanding of Buddhism.
Thelema and Buddhism: Contrasts and Influences
Bennett's life represents an intriguing juxtaposition of two spiritual paths:
Thelema, with its focus on individual will, ceremonial magic, and esoteric mysticism.
Buddhism, emphasizing selflessness, meditation, and liberation from suffering. Although Bennett distanced himself from Thelema, his early collaboration with Crowley left an indelible mark on the movement. Conversely, his efforts to introduce Buddhism to the West highlighted his dedication to a more universal and accessible spirituality.
Health and Later Years
Bennett's health was fragile throughout his life, compounded by chronic asthma and financial difficulties. He returned to England in his later years, where he continued to write and teach, though his health limited his activities. He passed away in 1923, leaving a legacy that bridges Eastern and Western spiritual traditions.
Bennett remains a symbol of cross-cultural spiritual exploration, embodying a unique synthesis of Western esotericism and Eastern wisdom.
|
Charles Henry Allan Bennett (8 December 1872 – 9 March 1923) was an English Buddhist and former member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. He was an early friend and influential teacher of occultist Aleister Crowley.
Bennett received the name Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya at his ordination as a Buddhist monk and spent years studying and practising Buddhism in the East. He was the second Englishman to be ordained as a Buddhist monk (Bhikkhu) of the Theravāda tradition[6] and was instrumental in introducing Buddhism in England. He established the first Buddhist Mission in the United Kingdom and sought to spread the light of Dhamma to the West. Co-founder of international Buddhist organisations and publications, he was an influential Buddhist advocate of the early 20th century.
Early life
Allan Bennett was born in London on 8 December 1872, his full name at birth was Charles Henry Allan Bennett. His only sister, Charlotte Louise was born in Brighton about a year before. His childhood was difficult and filled with suffering. His father died when he was still a boy, and his mother struggled to support the family, who nevertheless raised him as a strict Roman Catholic. During his youth he was plagued with bouts of acute asthma, which were debilitating even for weeks at a time.
According to Crowley, he had early experiences of an "unseen world". As a young boy, about the age of 8, he overheard some gossip among superstitious servants that if you recited the "Lord's Prayer" backward, the Devil would appear. Bennett went into the back garden to perform the invocation, and something frightened him. At sixteen, he was disgusted at a discussion of childbirth; becoming furious, he stated, "Children were brought to earth by angels". After being confronted with a manual of obstetrics, accepting the facts, he said: "Did the Omnipotent God whom he had been taught to worship devise so revolting and degrading a method of perpetuating the species? Then this God must be a devil, delighting in loathsomeness." At this moment he lost his belief in God and relinquished his faith announcing himself an 'agnostic'. In his biographical notes on Bennett, Crowley once stated, "Allan never knew joy; he disdained and distrusted pleasure from the womb."
Bennett's father had been a civil and electrical engineer; following in his footsteps, Bennett was a keen natural scientist. Bennett was educated at The Colonial College at Hollesey Bay, Suffolk, and later at Bath, England, with a keen interest in Chemistry and Physics. Upon leaving school, he trained as an analytical chemist and achieved some success in that field. Bennett also conducted his experiments, while no inventions or patents were fruitful. Possibly true, in a fictional work, Crowley depicts Bennett as working on one process, "trying to make rubies from ruby dust," also stating a precisely similar process was in commercial use by others only years later. Bernard Dyer, a London-based public analyst and consulting chemist with an international reputation, eventually employed Bennett. Dyer was also an official analyst of the London Corn Trade and invited Bennett to participate in an expedition to Africa. In the end, Bennett turned down the offer to go and stated to an occultist colleague and friend, Frederick Leigh Gardner, that he was rather glad for this because he could focus on furthering his esoteric practices. It is said that Bennett was Bernard Dyer's most promising student, though his shocking health prevented him from holding a job. Bennett also asked Gardner if he could obtain a chemistry or electrical science teaching position at local day schools.[9] His electrical knowledge was profound, extending into the "higher branches of Electricity, Hertz waves, Röntgen rays, etc." this and his talent for experimental science, mathematics, and physics would stay with him throughout his life. Cassius Pereira mentions that Bennett had "done much electrical work, which was just coming to fruition when his health broke down...".
Bennett's constant sickness created a heavy lens of suffering towards life. He was disenchanted with the illusions of pleasure and love and saw these as the hidden enemy of mankind, binding each being to the curse of existence.
Search for spiritual truth
Bennett's lifetime inspiration: Sir Edwin Arnold. Having left Catholicism in his teens, Bennett was still in search to fill the void that had formed from this parting as he ever wished to find his place in the spiritual spectrum.[14] Having a heart and intellect that sought cause and effect, analytical knowledge, and wisdom, he wanted to apply scientific analysis to religion and uncover true spiritual gnosis. When Bennett was eighteen he fell in love with Sir Edwin Arnolds' book The Light of Asia (1879), which at the time was said to cause "an enormous upsurge in awareness of, and interest in, Buddhism". This was a real turning point in Bennett's life, and made a revolutionary impression that lasted his lifetime. He was so deeply moved by the pure and rational faith experienced through Arnold's poetry. This religious experience lead the way for Bennett to develop a closer association with the existing English translations of Buddhist Scriptures. Thus at this tender age of eighteen, having been inspired by The Light of Asia, Bennett announced himself a Buddhist by Faith.
Biographer Elizabeth J. Harris states Bennett "was a man of his time, born when the British Empire was at the height of its power and the wish to probe new religious pathways was gripping many young minds." Bennett searched for the height of Ultimate Truth and sought spiritual realization through the doors of religious and mystical practices and teachings available to him. One notable experience that occurred, also at the age of eighteen, where all at once Bennett spontaneously attained to the cosmic yogic state of annihilation Shivadarshana, literally meaning "to have sight of Siva." Even though he was immediately thrown out, Crowley comments it was "a marvel that Allan survived". Even after years of hard practice the effect on him was transformative, he said to himself referring to that lofty state: "This is the only thing worthwhile, I will do nothing else in all my life but find out how to get back to it." Crowley further noted "It is a marvel that Allan survived and kept his reason," as this extraordinarily high state of yogic attainment can be dangerous, a potential cause for madness. Crowley further explained the cross reference that Shivadarshana is the same experience as one of the formless arupa jhana's in Buddhism.
On 24 March 1893, Bennett applied to join the Theosophical Society. This society was a known path to spiritual exploration covering mystical traditions from east to west; yoga, religion, and the esoteric and exoteric were all seen as things to be studied and practiced. It is notable also that the founders both had declared themselves as Buddhists in Ceylon in 1880.
Shortly before his 21st birthday in November 1893, Bennett wrote a letter to F. L. Gardner stating "I have been ill - had an attack of apoplexy, which laid the body up..." going on to request a set of astrological Ephemerides so he could track back a horoscope of his exact time of birth. During his time, Bennett also lectured the Lodge on Egyptian mythology. By 1895, Bennett had lost interest in the Theosophical Society and had turned his full attention to the esoteric gnosis.
- More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Charles_Henry_Allan_Bennett ]
Sources
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root