Both Sides of the Circle

The Autobiography of Christmas Humphreys

Christmas Humphreys

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781136228704
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Buddhism

First published in 1978, Christmas Humphrey's autobiography presents the fascinating history of a life rich and varied in both private and in public. Spanning seven decades it touches on many events of historical interest in which he was personally involved. Among them the abdication of Edward VIII, the Japanese War Trials and his time with the Dalai Lama after his flight from Tibet.

The author gives a graphic portrait of life behind the Bar and on the Bench – of what it is like to prosecute and to defend, and of the immense difficulties which face a judge when passing sentence. Here too are recollections of many famous cases of the twentieth century, and of the many murder trials in which he appeared as prosecuting counsel or judge.

Of equal interest is his fifty years' of work in the field of English Buddhism. In 1924 he and his wife founded the Buddhist Society, which would become hugely influential in the spread of Buddhism throughout the West. Both Sides of the Circle is rich in humour and humanity. There is the joyful account of the author's Edwardian Boyhood followed by the tragedy of his brother's death in World War 1, which lead to the awakening of his interest in Buddhism and Theosophy. He speaks freely of his encounters with the Dalai Lama, with D.T. Suzuki, with Jung and with the Royal families of Thailand, Sikkim and Nepal, as well as his travels throughout the Europe and in the Orient.

Both sides of the Circle is more than autobiography – it is also a spiritual odyssey whose reissue will be of great interest to those who've enjoyed Christmas Humphreys' other work and wish to know more about his brilliant career. It will also be very welcome to those wanted to learn about Buddhism in general, and the origins of English Buddhism in particular.

Index

(Note the author is referred to throughout the index by the initials CH)

Abrahams, Harold 60, 62

acquittal 81–2

Adam, Michael 193

advocacy 79

Agra 189–90

Alexeeva, Olga 60, 73

alibis 77–8

Amis du Bouddhisme, Les, Paris 58, 91

Amphlett, Hilda 153

anatta 35, 141

appeals 82

Arab, Moyine al– 109, 146

archaeology 102

architecture

Gothic 103–5

Armistice

1918 32

1945 115–16

Arnold, Sir Edwin 64

art 37–8, 73, 95–6

Oriental 88–9, 131, 163, 192

Buddhist 64, 88, 231

see also collecting, exhibitions

Arts Theatre Club 114

Ascham St Vincents, Eastbourne 25, 27–8

astrology 38, 66, 120–1, 185

Austin, Jack 111

authority 250–1

Avory, Sir H. E. 68

Baba, Meher 65–6

ballet 96–8, 113–15

Ballet Guild 113–14

Bar and barristers 53–4, 75–6, 167, 176

Treasury counsel 71–2, 167

Bayes, Gilbert 95

Beaufort–Palmer, F. 209

Beauty 73

bees 112

Belgium 20–1, 34, 40

Bell, Sir Charles 207

Benjamin, Elsie 232

Bennett, Allan (Ananda Metteyya) 50

Bensusan, S. L. 58

Beresford, Tristram 149

Berlin

depression in 51

Besant, Annie 54

Binyon, Laurence 88

Birkett, Sir Norman 176

Blavatsky, H. P. 54, 56, 63, 95, 110, 144, 163

The Secret Doctrine 42–3, 90, 146, 162, 230, 232, 249

The Voice of the ...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Routledge Revivals
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Preface
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Introduction
• Poem: Full Cycle
• Poem: You Had to Go
• Poem: Zen-do
• Poem: The Bodhisattva
• Poem: I Hear He's Died Again
• Poem: Youth in Age
• Re-dedication
• Appendix
• Index