Gordon Douglas has traditionally been seen as the first European to become ordained as a

Bhikkhu A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics (" nun", '' bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhi ...

in Southeast Asia, although Laurence Carroll (

U Dhammaloka U Dhammaloka ( my, ဦးဓမ္မလောက; c. 1856 – c. 1914) was an Irish-born migrant worker turned Buddhist monk, strong critic of Christian missionaries, and temperance campaigner who took an active role in the Asian Buddhist ...

) and others are now understood to have been earlier. He was ordained in

Siam Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

in 1899 or 1900 and assumed the name Bhikkhu Asoka or Ashoka.Stephen Batchelor. 1994. ''The Awakening of the West: The Encounter of Buddhism and Western Culture'', p. 41 There are conflicting accounts of what happened after his ordination. One account is that he died six months later, the cause being cholera. The other account is that he relocated to

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

(now

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

) and lived there until his death in 1905. The latter is more likely because Dr.

Cassius Pereira Cassius may refer to: People * Cassius, an ancient Roman family name, see Cassia gens **Gaius Cassius Longinus (died 42 BC), Roman senator and a leader of Julius Caesar's assassination ** Avidius Cassius (130–175), usurper Roman Emperor * Cassi ...

, later

Bhikkhu Kassapa Thera A ''bhikkhu'' (Pali: भिक्खु, Sanskrit: भिक्षु, ''bhikṣu'') is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male and female monastics ("nun", ''bhikkhunī'', Sanskrit ''bhikṣuṇī'') are members of the Sangha (Buddhist ...

, gives an account of him in Ceylon and interacting with his family.Cassius A. Pereira. 1947. Why Do I Renounce the World. ''Ceylon Daily News'', Vesak 2491 (March 28), Colombo, p. 67.

References

English Buddhist monks Year of birth missing Year of death missing {{UK-reli-bio-stub