Paramananda was born John Wilson in North London in 1955. Interested in Eastern ideals, it was the death of his father that spurred a passion for Buddhism. Throughout his twenties, Paramananda worked as a psychiatric social worker, pursuing various types of voluntary work – including with the Samaritans, and in drug detox and hospice care.
In 1983 he encountered the Triratna Buddhist Order, receiving full ordination just two years later. Since then, he has taught meditation and Buddhism in San Francisco and in London. Paramananda sees meditation and Buddhism as power tools for both individual and social change, and believes that community service is a vital aspect of spiritual practice.
