Paramananda was born in 1955 in London. He took up meditation first in his late adolescence, Transcendental Meditation , which he did for a number of years, finding the organization behind the TM unattractive.  In his 20s he was a psychiatric social worker and was deeply influenced by the anti-psychiatry movement, by people like R.D. Laing.

He had an interest in sufism and taoism when he came across Triratna in 1982. He was ordained in 1985, worked in a Gardening Right Livelihood and after a few years after his ordination became chair of the West London Buddhist Centre. He later went to America in 1992 and spent 8 years working in San Francisco, helping to set up the San Francisco Buddhist Centre.

Then coming back to England in 2001 he concentrated in leading retreats worldwide.

He’s the author of a number of books including Change Your Mind, and most recently The Myth of Meditation.

He lives back near where he was born in West London and continues to write and lead retreats.

His main inspirations have been poetry and the work of archetypal psychologists.

He has a keen interest in Zen Buddhism.