Christmas Humphreys

Christmas Humphreys

Travers Christmas Humphreys (February 15, 1901 – April 13, 1983) was a British judge, author, publisher, Theosophist and Buddhist. He formed the Buddhist Lodge of the Theosophical Society and in 1924 he co-founded the London Buddhist Society, which was to have a seminal influence on the growth of the Buddhist tradition in Britain.

Biographical information

The Blavatsky Trust website says, in part:

Christmas Humphreys was born in London in 1901, and originally trained as a lawyer. Justice Christmas Humphreys made quite a career for himself, serving as Senior Prosecuting Counsel at the Old Bailey, the London criminal courts, and eventually sitting as a Circuit Judge from 1968 until his retirement in 1976. Parallel with this carrier he cultivated his interest in Theosophy & Buddhism, and in 1924 co-founded the Buddhist Society, London, now one of the largest and oldest Buddhist organisations outside of Asia. As a publisher to the Buddhist Society, he was responsible for its wide range of publications, including six of his own.

Humphreys was President of the Youth Lodge of the Theosophical Society in London. He edited a series of seven short plays that the lodge produced, "presenting in dramatic form one or more of the fundamental principles of the Ancient Wisdom-Religion or Theosophy. The plays are all short and simple, needing no scenery, few characters or properties, and only a very small stage." These are some of the titles:

• 'The Conversion of the King: a Drama in One Act. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1926.
• The Unswerving Law: a Drama of Reincarnation. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1926.

HPB's Diagram of Meditation

Christmas Humphreys was a friend of E. T. Sturdy, a member of the Theosophical Society and student of Mme. Blavatsky. In the late 1880's HPB dictated a Diagram of Meditation to Mr. Sturdy, who later gave it Mr. Humphreys. The Diagram was first published by him in the Nov/Dec. 1942 issue of Buddhism in England (later renamed The Middle Way, in which journal was reprinted in May/June 1944).

Mahatma Letters Trust

Maud Hoffman formed the Mahatma Letters Trust and asked Judge Humphreys and Elsie Benjamin to serve as the first trustees.

Additional resources

Articles

• Humphreys, Travers Christmas at Theosophy World.
• A Buddhist Judge in Twentieth Century London by Damien P. Horigan.
• Christmas Humphreys (1901-1983) Compiled by Robert Kitto.
• Christmas Humphreys by David Guy at Tricycle magazine.
• Enter Christmas Humphreys, Western Buddhist Ancestor by James Ford. Posted on Patheos, February 15, 2020.

Books

• Zen Buddhism. London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1949.
• What is Buddhism? 1928.
• Studies in the Middle Way. London: Luzac and Co, Ltd., 1948.
• Karma and Rebirth. London: John Murray, 1943.
• Walk On! Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1974. First published in London by The Buddhist Society, 1947.
• Via Tokyo.
• A Popular Dictionary of Buddhism. London: Arco Publications, 1962.
• The Way of Action. Baltimore: Penguin, 1971. First published in London by George Allen and Unwin, Ltd., 1960.
• Thus Have I Heard.
• Zen: A Way of Life. London: The English Universities Press, 1962.
• The Buddhist Way of Life. New York: Schocken Books, 1968.
• Concentration and Meditation. Baltimore: Penguin, 1973. First published in London by The Buddhist Society, 1935.
• Buddhist. Hammondsworth, Middlesex: Pelican, 1951.

Dramas for Youth Lodge

• The Conversion of the King. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1926.
• The Unswerving Law. London: Theosophical Publishing House, 1926.