Ananda Metteya

British Buddhist, born Charles Henry Allen Bennet, who subsequently adopted the surname McGregor, possibly under the influence of McGregor Mathers or because it was the name of a foster-parent. Bennet was inspired to seek ordination as a monk (bhikṣu) after reading Sir Edwin Arnold's poem The Light of Asia. He travelled to Sri Lanka and Burma, and received the higher ordination in Burma in 1902 at which point he took the name Ānanda Metteya. The following year he founded the International Buddhist Society (Buddhasāsana Samāgama) in Rangoon, and later opened a branch in England.