Peter Harvey is Emeritus Professor of Buddhist Studies at the University of Sunderland. He gained a Philosophy BA (first class) at the University of Manchester (1973) and a PhD in Buddhist Studies at the University of Lancaster (1982), supervised by Ninian Smart. He lectured in Religious Studies, especially Buddhist Studies, at Sunderland Polytechnic, later University, from 1976 to 2011, and ran an online MA Buddhist Studies from there from 2002.

Inspired by Lance Cousins, he became a Theravāda Buddhist in 1972, and has taught mindfulness of breathing in the Samatha Trust tradition since 1977, from 2015 running on online course in this. He co-founded, with Ian Harris, the UK Association for Buddhist Studies (1996), has acted as its Secretary and President, and now edits its journal, Buddhist Studies Review. His books include An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices (Cambridge University Press 1990 and 2013), An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues (Cambridge University Press 2000), and The Selfless Mind: Personality, Consciousness and Nirvana in Early Buddhism (Curzon, 1995), and he has published many papers on early Buddhist thought and practice and on Buddhist ethics.

Recently, he has edited an extensive integrated anthology of Buddhist texts, Common Buddhist Text: Guidance and Insight from the Buddha (2017, published for free distribution by Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya University, Thailand), and with Naomi Appleton has edited a forthcoming book, Buddhist Path, Buddhist Teachings: Studies in Memory of L.S. Cousins (Equinox). The Thai Buddhist Trust gave him a Golden Buddha award (2003) for distinguished services to the advancement of Buddhism in the UK, and Mahachulalongkorn-rajavidyalaya University granted him an honorary doctorate in Buddhist Studies (2018).