Christopher Titmuss

He sends out an eNews every six weeks to more than 6,000 subscribers. Since 2011, Titmuss writes a weekly Dharma blog, which includes social critiques. He offers reflections and essays on mindfulness, meditation, religion and spirituality. The blog gives a Buddhist perspective on daily life issues, consumerism, corporations, the environment and war. He has written on the global pandemic starting in early 2020 with reflections on life and death.

A German film company made a documentary for television in 2006 on the teachings and worldwide travels of Titmuss. The Buddha Wallah by Georg Maas and Dieter Zeppenfeld.

Titmuss gives annual teachings in Australia, India, Israel and Germany. He has made numerous trips to Palestine since 1993. In 2009, he reduced his overseas travels by two months a year at the age of 65. He ended annual visits to Holland, Spain, Sweden and USA.

Titmuss has lived in the same terraced house in Totnes since 1983. He has a single child, a daughter, Nshorna Satya. He has four Anglo-Caribbean grandchildren. He participates in activities of Totnes, regarded as the most progressive town in the UK on spiritual, social and environmental issues. Titmuss has been a vegetarian since the 1970s and vegan since 2008. He does not own a car. He only takes flights to teach outside of the EU but does not fly anywhere for holidays.

After he disrobed, he completed a full journey around the Earth including Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, San Francisco, New York and back to London. He returned to England 10 years and 10 days after his departure arriving back home in Croydon, Surrey, England in early May 1977.

He has been teaching annual retreats in the Thai Monastery in Bodh Gaya, Bihar, India since 1975 and then the Thai Monastery in Sarnath, India, where the Buddha gave his first teachings after his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya.

In 1973, Titmuss spent nine months in a cave in Wat Khao Tam on Koh Pha Ngan island in the Gulf of Siam. He spent various lengths of time with Ajahn Buddhadasa in Wat Suanmoke, Chai Ya. Between 1974 and 1976, he listening to/attended courses with/or stayed in the ashram of such teachers in India as Ananda Maya Ma, S.N.Goenka, Kirpal Singh, Krishnamurti, Mother Teresa, Anagarika Munindra, Sri Chinmayananda, Sri Dayananda, Sri Nisargadatta, Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh and more.

After three years traveling through more than 20 countries, he became a Theravada Buddhist monk in Thailand in June 1970. He spent six years in Thailand and India as monk. He disrobed in Wat Benchamabophit, Bangkok in June 1976.

Between 1970 and 1973, he stayed in Wat Thao Kot Monastery (later renamed as Wat Sai Ngam) close to Nakornsridhammaraj in southern Thailand. He practiced insight under the guidance of Ajahn Dhammadharo, his Vipassana teacher.

He has helped establish numerous Dharma teachers and Mindfulness teachers worldwide since starting teaching in the mid-1970s. He encourages Dharma practitioners to be Agents of Change and Caregivers. Titmuss does not use the label ‘Buddhist’ for himself but expresses the deep benefits of his long-standing connection with the Buddhist tradition.

He does not charge for his retreats and instead requests donations at the end of the retreat. He has lived primarily on donations since his ordination in 1970.

Titmuss then attended John Fisher Roman Catholic Grammar School, Purley, Surrey, as a day pupil. At the age of 15, he quit school a year prior to taking his examinations for college/university. He started work as an office clerk/messenger in December 1959 in the newsroom of The Universe, a Roman Catholic weekly newspaper in Fleet Street, London. In 1965, he joined the London office of the Irish Independent Newspaper as a news reporter until he left for his round-the-world trip in April 1967.

Christopher Titmuss (born 22 April 1944) is Britain's senior Dharma teacher. He offers retreats on ethics, insight meditation (vipassana) and wisdom. He is the author of 20 books on such themes as mindfulness, spirituality, teachings of the Buddha and global issues. He has lived in Totnes, Devon, United Kingdom since 1982.

Titmuss was born on Bell Farm, Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham in the north of England on 22 April (Earth Day) 1944. His mother brought him up as a practicing Roman Catholic. He went to St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Primary School in Anerley, south London. He attended Fairchilds Junior School in New Addington, Surrey.