In the Shadow of Shwe Dagon (1903-1904)
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
‘In the Shadow of Shwe Dagon’ was serialised in Buddhism and focusses on Buddhist monastic practice in colonial Burma. It begins with a description of an evening visit by Metteyya, with an unnamed friend, to the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Rangoon (now Yangon). The atmosphere is described in a vivid and poetic style, demonstrating Metteyya’s sensitivity to Burmese lived religion. The second instalment focuses on the novice ordination of a twelve year old boy, son of a rich paddy merchant. The third describes novitiate training at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda under an experienced, meditating monk, whom Ananda M calls U Paññajoti. The fourth moves to Paññajoti himself and his journey back to his home monastery in Sagaing, a monastic centre near Mandalay.