Buddha: The Awakened One, Knower of Worlds, Teacher of Gods and Men, Bull of a Man, Best of Men, Highest Man, Hero of Men, Sacred Monument of Men, Lion Roaring in the Forest, Lord of Men, Stallion of a Man, Sun of Men, True Man, Ultimate Man. These are just some of the ways the Buddha is described in the Buddhist tradition.
This is a special online weekend for all Order Members led by Padmavajra at Padmaloka on the Guru Yoga from the Tharpe Delam.
Bhante was introduced to this practice by the Venerable Khachu Rinpoche at the time of receiving the Padmasambhava abhishekha. He made his own translation of the text with the help of Dhardo Rinpoche and introduced Padmavajra to the practice in 1976.
As we have now released our full 2022 programme, you are now welcome to book onto as many Going For Refuge Retreats as you would like during the next few months, and next year as well.
There is a full programme of open retreats, GFR retreats and Order retreats including new themes:
The Ultimate Man: An introductory weekend on the Buddha as The Ultimate Man, where we will explore the power of the Buddha's wisdom as exemplified in the story of his extraordinary life.
28th to 30th January
Traversing the Imaginal World: An introductory weekend on the Buddha as The Ultimate Man, where we will explore the power of the Buddha's wisdom as exemplified in the story of his extraordinary life.
23rd to 30th October
We've still got space for the Brahmaviharas coming up next Friday, so if you would like to come on it and you've already booked onto a GFR retreat, then please do go ahead and book, you're welcome to do both.
If you'd like to come on it and you're not booked onto a GFR retreat then go for it and book on as well!
We look forward to having as many men as possible joining us to meditate on the Brahmaviharas next week.
- From the 3rd to the 10th of September -
The Brahmaviharas - Metta (loving-kindness), Mudita (sympathetic joy), Karuna (compassion), and Upekkha (equanimity) - are a series of profound meditation practices that encourage us to be honest about our real feelings and attitudes towards people while also giving us a taste of the sublime emotions of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Sangarakshita calls metta the emotion which is in harmony with reality. Metta is thus the emotional equivalent of Insight.
We’re delighted to announce that on the 26th of August at 14.30 (BST) sixteen men will be ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. The public ordinations will be live-streamed from the Padmaloka shrine room and available to be seen on our YouTube channel.
To access the scheduled live stream, please follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9EqDs3Q6go
Image: cropped and edited line drawing by Aloka ©
This final phase of the year marks a step towards a normal programme of residential retreats here at Padmaloka. All of the retreats will be in-person, albeit with initially lower attendance limits.
The programme includes some of the classic Ordination Training retreats:
We’re delighted to announce that there are spaces available on residential component of the upcoming Taste of Freedom retreat this August.
"Monks, just as the ocean has the taste of salt, just so does my Dhamma and Discipline have the taste of freedom"
Breaking Out and Batter Down the Door | Padmavajra
