Animism and Law (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. At the time, he was learning Pali and following the traditional Burmese training for novices. The article entered the debates in Ceylon between Buddhists and Christian missionaries. It argued that the belief that events were caused by gods or demons, as in Christianity, was a form of animism. He contrasted this with one of the facets of Buddhism that attracted him most, namely that the principle of karma (action) made Buddhism a religion of ‘law’, which nurtured compassion rather than anger.