On The Culture of Mind (Edited and reprinted as ‘Training the Mind’ by Aleister Crowley) (1902)
Selected Essays of Allan Bennett, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya - (Volume 2 of Allan Bennett, Bhikkhu Ananda Metteyya: Biography and Collected Writings) - Elizabeth J. Harris
Allan Bennett [+]
Allan Bennett (1872-1923) was 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.
Description
Allan Bennett wrote this article in Akyab (now Sittwe) in colonial Burma after his novice ordination as a Buddhist monk (bhikkhu) in December 1901. He sent it to friends in Ceylon for publication. Aleister Crowley later published an edited version. It draws on Metteyya’s understanding of the sixth century CE Buddhist commentary, the Visuddhimagga (Path of Purification) and key parts of the Pali Canon concerning mental culture. It seek to fill a lacuna that Metteyya saw in the practice of Buddhism in Ceylon, namely transformation of the mind, through giving practical advice about how to meditate and the objects that could be used in meditation.