Christmas humphreys

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Travers Christmas Humphreys (born February 15, 1901 in London , England , † April 13, 1983 ) was an English lawyer , judge , theosophist , author and Buddhist . He was one of the founders of the Buddhist Society .

life and work

Childhood, school, marriage, job

Humphreys was born in London on February 15, 1901. Sir Travers Humphrey's father was a lawyer and judge. He attended Malvern College at Malvern and Trinity Hall , Cambridge , graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and 1922 Bachelor of Laws . In 1927 he married Aileen Faulkner , who shared an interest in theosophy and Buddhism with him . It is unclear whether he had children.

In 1924 he was admitted to the Inner Temple and practiced this profession in succession. In 1934 he was appointed to the Central Criminal Court as Junior Treasury Counsel . From 1962 until his retirement he worked there as a commissioner . He also acted as a justice of the peace . He was awarded the title of Crown Attorney (QC) for his services .

As a theosophist and Buddhist

As early as 1918, at the age of 17, he converted to Buddhism . After reading Helena Blavatsky's work The Secret Doctrine , he saw many parallels to Buddhism and in 1920 he joined the lodge of the Theosophical Society Adyar (Adyar-TG) in Cambridge . A little later he became president of the lodge. In the same year he met his future wife Aileen Faulkner , who shared with him the inclination towards theosophy and Buddhism. With some like-minded people, he and Faulkner set up a study group within the Cambridge Lodge in April 1923 - to deepen this topic together. On November 19, 1924, it became its own theosophical lodge, the official Buddhist Lodge of the Theosophical Society, based in London with Humphreys as president. This organization was later called the Buddhist Society . [1], [2], [4]

Soon there were differences with other theosophists because of his primary focus on Buddhism and thus neglect of other theosophical topics as well as his rejection of the Order of the Star in the East . In 1926 he therefore left the Adyar-TG, and his Buddhist Lodge also split off from the Theosophists and became independent. In 1943 the name of the society changed to Buddhist Society , Humphreys remained president until his death in 1983. [2]

Despite his departure from the Adyar-TG he remained connected to theosophy until the end of his life and this also shaped his, sometimes criticized, approach to Buddhism. John Snelling noted in his "Buddhist Handbook": "Humphreys himself was a product of Theosophy and his Buddhism was one with a distinctive Blavatskian slant." [5] (Humphreys himself was a product of Theosophy and his Buddhism had a pronounced Blavatsky- A hit). Most of his works, including and especially those on Buddhism, had a theosophical influence. In his best-known work, Buddhism , which has been translated into 15 languages ​​and had a circulation of over a million, he used a number of theosophical terms throughout. In his book Karma and Reincarnation , 20 out of 49 footnotes were of theosophical origin. [3]

He had a lifelong friendship with Alan Watts , who was the editor of the Buddhist Lodge magazine Buddhism in England for a time . Likewise with Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki , whom he met in 1936 at the World Parliament of Religions in London. [2], [4] He was also closely associated with Jack Austin , who was responsible for the economic affairs of the Buddhist Society.

In 1962 he became vice president of the Tibet Society and vice chairman of the Royal India, Pakistan and Ceylon Society . He was also Vice President of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (international Buddhist umbrella organization). [1],

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Works (selection)

  • Both sides of the circle, The autobiography of Christmas Humphreys . G. Allen & Unwin, London 1978, ISBN 0-04-921023-8 .
  • Buddhism, An introduction and guide . Penguin, London 1985, ISBN 0-14-013483-2 .
  • Buddhism as a way of life . Müller, Rüschlikon et al. 1975, ISBN 3-275-00601-0 .
  • Karma and rebirth, the stages of fate of man as a way to his consummation and perfection . Barth, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-502-65306-2 .
  • Zen Buddhism . Barth, Munich 1951.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Birgit Zotz : Jack Austin and the principle of dialogue. In: Der Kreis No. 271, May 2014 ISSN  2197-6007
personal data
SURNAME Humphreys, Christmas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Humphreys, Travers Christmas (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English lawyer, judge, theosophist, author and Buddhist
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH April 13, 1983