Stephen Batchelor (author)


 * For the field hockey player, see Stephen Batchelor (field hockey).

Stephen Batchelor (c. 1953) is a self-described agnostic born in Scotland, and is the author of dozens of books relating to Buddhism. Currently living in Aquitaine, France, at age nineteen Batchelor moved to Dharamsala in India with an interest in Buddhism. In 1974 he ordained as a Tibetan monk in the Gelug tradition. In Dharamsala, shortly after ordination, he met Satya Narayan Goenka, and sat a ten-day vipassana meditation retreat with him. He studied under Geshe Rabten in Switzerland, his group consisting mostly of Westerners like himself. During this period he learned to read Tibetan script and found himself immersed in a fairly complex routine. While a Tibetan monk, Batchelor continued his vipassana practice. While not outright prohibited by his Tibetan teachers, it was not endorsed, either. It was tolerated.

In 1977 he left the Gelug tradition and ordained as a Korean Zen monk in South Korea, where he met his wife Martine Batchelor (then a Buddhist nun). He found the Korean approach distinct from the Tibetan and Theravada approaches he had been combining. He trained under the guidance of Kusan Sunim at the International Zen Center, and he and Martine translated and edited texts and literature for the center. The two had became close friends when in 1983 Kusan died. By this time Batchelor was compelled to return to Europe, but stayed on an extra year helping to keep the center in order. In 1984 or 1985 he and Martine disrobed and moved to Totnes, Devon, England, joining and teaching at the Sharpham Community and Gaia House at the invitation of a mutual friend. They welcomed the transition from monastic life to lay life with open arms.

Batchelor is an author, teacher, and scholar, writing books and articles on Buddhist topics and leading meditation retreats throughout the world.