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The Autobiography of Christmas Humphreys ROUTLEDGE REVIVALS Both Sides of the Circle The Autobiography of Christmas Humphreys Christmas Humphreys Published in association with The Buddhist Society Trust Routledge Revivals Both Sides of the Circle 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 led 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. Both Sides of the Circle The Autobiography of Christmas Humphreys Christmas Humphreys Published in association with The Buddhist Society Trust Routledge Taylor &. Francis Group First published in 1978 by George Allen and Unwin Ltd This edition first published in 2012 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1978 Christmas Humphreys All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and welcomes correspondence from those they have been unable to contact. A Library of Congress record exists under ISBN: 0049210238 ISBN 13: 978–0–415–52675–3 (hbk) Both Sides of the Circle The Autobiography of Christmas Humphreys Both Sides of the Circle The Autobiography of Christmas Humphreys Published in association with The Buddhist Society Trust London GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN Boston Sydney First published in 1978 This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. All rights are reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, 1956, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Inquiries should be addressed to the publishers. © Christmas Humphreys 1978 ISBN o 04 921023 8 Printed in Great Britain in 11 on 13 point Baskerville by Cox & Wyman Ltd, London, Fakenham and Reading Dedication for Puck This story is a journey of the heart Renewed awhile though long ago begun; Inseverably each to each one part Until the sleep of fresh oblivion. A twofold climb to wider still becoming, With eyes awake to heights as yet unwon; With strong intent all obstacles consuming; Our ordered duty strenuously done; For fifty years we loved and laughed and laboured And every moment of the way was fun. Preface The only sources of information for these memoirs are three volumes of press cuttings, mostly about criminal trials; a series of photograph albums, mostly of holidays; a miscellany of menus, programmes and the like; diaries of some of my travels in the East; a bound set of The Middle Way, the journal of the Buddhist Society; and memory, no longer reliable. There must therefore be errors of names, places and dates, and even of the order of events, and to all affected I apologise. I am most grateful to all who read chapters in the state of their first creation and corrected and titivated from every point of view. In particular, Mr Ronald Cohen fiercely commented in red ink on my English, meaning and even sense; Mrs Ella Smith’s comments on my punctuation were followed by much retyping, while Dr Irmgard Schloegl not only made helpful comment but in the intervals of her own writing retyped for me whole chapters. The illustrations were not easy to obtain in a form suitable for reproduction, and I am grateful to Mr Fred Dustin for expert assistance. Finally, I should like to thank Mr Peter Leek and Mr John Hardy of George Allen & Unwin for dealing with these memoirs fairly and with a firm and able hand, and Mrs Lucy Pollard for preparing the index. But in the end I accept all blame, and hope – I cannot put it higher – that there still remains in scattered places material deserving the faint bloom of praise. Contents Dedication page 7 Preface 9 Introduction 15 1 Beginnings 19 2 Malvern and After 29 3 Cambridge 37 Poem: Full Cycle 46 4 The Early Twenties 47 5 The Later Twenties 56 6 The Early Thirties 63 7 The English Bar 75 8 1935–6 83 9 1937–9 94 10 The Second World War 105 Poem: Ton Had to Go 117 11 War Trials in Japan 120 12 Buddhist Work in Japan 127 Poem: £en–do 136 13 The Long Journey Home 139 Poem: The Bodhisattva 148 14 Interests Old and New 149 15 Reading and Writing 160 16 Senior Prosecuting Counsel 167 Poem: I Hear He’s Died Again 177 17 A Year of Destiny 179 18 Buddha Jayanti in Nepal and India 188 19 Silk, and Unorthodox Medicine 197 20 To India for the Dalai Lama 207 21 Reconstruction, Sarnath and Sikkim 217 22 Thailand and the Journey Home 226 12 Both Sides of the Circle 23 An Old Bailey Judge 234 Poem: Youth in Age 243 24 The End of a Cycle 244 25 Towards the Centre 255 Re–dedication 258 Appendix 259 Index 265 List of Illustrations Between pages 128 and 129 The Right Hon. Sir Travers Humphreys Christmas Humphreys as a child Lady Zoe Marguerite Humphreys Miss Aileen Faulkner, later Mrs Puck Humphreys On Honeymoon at Davos, 1927 Christmas Humphreys, Member of the Bar The towers of Chartres Cathedral H. P. Blavatsky Christmas Humphreys, Elsie Benjamin and Boris de Zirkoff with the box which was specially made for the Mahatma Letters The Anagarika Dharmapala, Founder of the Maha Bodhi Society A. C. March, a founder member of the Buddhist Society The Daibutsu at Kamakura, Japan Christmas Humphreys with a distinguished group of Buddhists, including Dr D. T. Suzuki, Kyoto 1946 The International Tribunal of the Far East in session, Tokyo 1946 Christmas Humphreys presenting the Freedom of the Borough of Deal to Winston Churchill Christmas Humphreys with his friend, the snake, Agra, 1956 Tibetan esoteric ritual, performed at the World Fellowship of Buddhists’ Conference in Kathmandu The Master’s Cup of the Saddlers Company, made by Puck Humphreys Christmas Humphreys as Master of the Saddlers Company attending the Company’s annual divine service The sound of one hand clapping’, a wood–block print by Puck Humphreys Visit by their Majesties the King and Queen of Thailand to the Buddhist Society Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II receiving the traditional plum cake from the High Steward of Guildford 14 Both Sides of the Circle Alan Watts, Dr D. T. Suzuki and Dr Irmgard Schloegl at the Rembrandt Hotel in London His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Buddhist Society, London Christmas Humphreys and his wife at the Shrine of the Buddhist Society Introduction There are many reasons for writing memoirs: boredom, if retirement means a life of less mental activity; conceit, to make sure that such an important person shall not be lightly forgotten; the need of money; or a blend of all three. I have other reasons: to recall events and people which few remember and the younger generation never knew – London in 1906–14, the First World War, Peking, Sikkim, the Japanese War Trials, the last case tried in the House of Lords, and the World Congress of Faiths; or to describe areas of activity in present life unknown to many, such as the life of a City Guild, or a criminal trial. There are matters about which I think that I have something useful to say, such as unorthodox medicine, or the real identity of Shakespeare, or the place of religion in the modern world; and there are fields of pure nostalgia, which include French cathe­ drals, Chinese art and the Russian Ballet.
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