Episode 24: A Simple Buddhist Practioner: Ron Lumsden

The Mindful Initiative

Ron Lumsden

About Ron Lumsden:

I spoke to Ron for the 24th Episode of The Mindful Initiative Podcast. Ron is from the Moray Firth in the North of Scotland and currently lives in Bangkok, Thailand. He is an author, an artist, a Buddhist practitioner, Ron’s story is simple yet extraordinary. From teaching a group of Hearing Impaired Students in London, he went on to work in many countries across the globe. His story is our story. A cancer survivor – who managed his pain by facing it head-on – is something that we can all learn from. He is the author of the popular blog, Dhamma Footsteps, where he shares his writings and thoughts.

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Please click the Transcript tab for a transcript of the podcast.

Ron studied Art for four years In the Glasgow School of Art, (Diploma in Art) then one year in Jordanhill College of Education, Glasgow (Post Grad Cert in Education). I went to East London and taught Art in Secondary schools in the Inner London Education Authority for two years. After that, one year in Lady Spencer College, Oxford (CTD) – Cert. in the Education of Deaf and Partially Hearing Children). He went back to the Inner London Education Authority and taught for eight years in schools for the deaf and partially-hearing units attached to secondary schools.

In 1982, he traveled to India and started doing publications and artwork for Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) in Madras and Pondicherry, South India working with children’s health. After that, he was with an NGO in Bangkok Thailand, and support organizations working on the issue of child labor and children in hazardous situations. Around that time he met the Buddhist monks in Wat Pah Nanachat in Thailand who showed me the Theravadin Buddhist Path.

The work in Thailand continued for 10 years, he was teaching English in Japan for 3 years and continuing with publications for the NGOs. Meanwhile, the group he’d been working with in Bangkok was now supported by a UN network and I’d gotten married to a Thai along the way who became part of that network.

Since then my wife and I worked in Geneva, Switzerland for 9 years, Dhaka, Bangladesh for two years and Delhi, India for seven years. We are currently in Bangkok, Thailand. I am retired and spend my time in the study of Buddhism, a little writing and my blog https://dhammafootsteps.com/