Out of the Ordinary

Now available for the first time--more than 50 years after it was written--is the memoir of Michael Dillon/Lobzang Jivaka (1915-62), the British doctor and Buddhist monastic novice chiefly known to scholars of sex, gender, and sexuality for his pioneering transition from female to male between 1939 and 1949, and for his groundbreaking 1946 book Self: A Study in Ethics and Endocrinology. Here at last is Dillon/Jivaka's extraordinary life story told in his own words. Out of the Ordinary captures Dillon/Jivaka's various journeys--to Oxford, into medicine, across the world by ship--within the major narratives of his gender and religious journeys. Moving chronologically, Dillon/Jivaka begins with his childhood in Folkestone, England, where he was raised by his spinster aunts, and tells of his days at Oxford immersed in theology, classics, and rowing. He recounts his hormonal transition while working as an auto mechanic and fire watcher during World War II and his surgical transition under Sir Harold Gillies while Dillon himself attended medical school. He details his worldwide travel as a ship's surgeon in the British Merchant Navy with extensive commentary on his interactions with colonial and postcolonial subjects, followed by his "outing" by the British press while he was serving aboard The City of Bath. Out of the Ordinary is not only a salient record of an early sex transition but also a unique account of religious conversion in the mid-twentieth century. Dillon/Jivaka chronicles his gradual shift from Anglican Christianity to the esoteric spiritual systems of George Gurdjieff and Peter Ouspensky to Theravada and finally Mahayana Buddhism. He concludes his memoir with the contested circumstances of his Buddhist monastic ordination in India and Tibet. Ultimately, while Dillon/Jivaka died before becoming a monk, his novice ordination was significant: It made him the first white European man to be ordained in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Out of the Ordinary is a landmark publication that sets free a distinct voice from the history of the transgender movement.

Michael worked for many years in the commercial world as a chartered shipbroker then for eight years as the UK representative of the International Leipzig trade fair, at the time arguably the largest trade fair in the world and certainly the oldest. In 1980 Michael organised through the patronage of Lord Ted Willis a reception for the Leipzig Fair in The House of Lords. This is the only occasion, to Michael's knowledge, that a trade fair had held a reception in this illustrious setting. In his early fifties Michel decided to leave the commercial world and trained as a professional therapist. After he qualified Michael started his own practice in Rochester Kent. Shortly afterwards he was invited by the seven GPs at the local Gun Lane Medical centre to become their Medical Practice stress therapist. In September 2002 he started working at the 'Integrated Care Centre' in Longfield Kent. Michael was one of the original therapists who helped this flagship' centre become a successful enterprise. When he retired at the age of 74 Michael started writing, in addition to this book, he has published three other books 'Achieve What You Want in Life' (Manage Your Mind for Success), 'The Spirit of Life' and a children's book 'Tommy's Magic Adventures.' He is currently writing a book 'The Healing Power of Metaphors.' This book demonstrates how metaphors, tales and anecdotes do not literally reproduce the circumstances of a person's experience; however the reader can often discover it is possible to overcome current challenges that often have their origin in the past.

Foreword by Susan Stryker
Editors' Note
"In His Own Way, In His Own Time": An Introduction to Out of the Ordinary Out of the Ordinary
Author's Introduction
Part I. Conquest of the Body
1. Birth and Origins
2. The Nursery
3. Schooldays
4. Oxford
5. War-The Darkest of Days
Part II. Conquest of the Mind
6. Medical Student
7. Resident Medical Officer
8. Surgeon M.N.
9. On the Haj
10. Round the World
11. Interlude Ashore
12. The Last Voyage
13. Imji Getsul
Michael Dillon / Lobzang Jivaka: A Timeline
Acknowledgments