Retreats

GFR Retreat

The Ten Pillars

Each of the precepts is so precious that they can be likened to ten pillars made of precious substances – diamond, gold, crystal, pearl, etc. – which provide the essential foundation for the cultivation of higher states of consciousness and the development of transcendental insight.

Open Retreat

Great Gathering: The Return Journey

Throughout the weekend we will evoke the parable of the return journey to explore what the Dharma says about our true potential, the real meaning and purpose of our lives, and how we can begin to make the effort required to reclaim our Dharmic birthright.

Order Retreat

Men’s European Mitra Convenors’ Meeting 2

A chance for the Mitra Convenors to gather and deepen their inspiration and vision of the spiritual practice of Mitra Convening.

GFR Retreat

Going for Refuge

Going for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is ‘the central and definitive act of the Buddhist life’ and ‘the unifying principle, therefore, of Buddhism itself’. The ordination process involves a progressive deepening of Going for Refuge until it becomes effective in all aspects of our lives.

Open Retreat

Sub30s: Living From the Priceless Depths

On this weekend retreat, we’ll be exploring the dazzling experience of vision and the subsequent unfoldment of our being. We will meditate together, listen to talks on the theme, reflect together, and connect in friendship.

GFR Retreat

The Mythic Context

Going for Refuge requires the activation of our strongest and deepest emotions. If we are to make any real progress in transforming ourselves, we must transform our emotional life through faith, imagination and an overarching Mythic Context.

GFR Retreat

The System of Dharma Life

In Sangharakshita’s seminal 1978 lecture “A System of Meditation” he showed how the meditations he had taught linked up into "an organic system, a living system, not a dead, mechanical system put together in an artificial manner".

Open Retreat

Open Festival Day: This Precious Opportunity

The Padmaloka open festival day is a celebration of the Three Jewels. We are celebrating the fact that the human potential for enlightenment has been rediscovered and attained in our era, that the path to realise it has been made available to us, and that we do not have to tread this path alone – we are part of a spiritual community that walks it together.

GFR Retreat

The Bodhisattva Ideal

In the Bodhisattva, Buddhism finds its highest expression and its ultimate meaning. The Bodhisattva is indeed the meaning of human life, even the meaning of existence.Sangharakshita – The Bodhisattva Principle

GFR Retreat

Autumn Going for Refuge Weekend

In his ground-breaking 1965 lecture ‘Going For Refuge’ Sangharakshita reveals that the experience of Sangha constitutes ‘a shared exploration of the spiritual world between people … in a relationship of complete honesty and harmony’, while the quality of communication enjoyed by such individuals can be described as ‘a vital mutual responsiveness’.

Meditation Retreat

The Brahmaviharas

The four Brahmaviharas – loving kindness, compassion, altruistic joy and equanimity – a set of meditation practices that have the power to utterly transform our emotional lives and relations to others. They are the basis for the development of Insight and the Bodhicitta and yet begin with ordinary acts of kindness and helpfulness.

Order Retreat

Post-Ordination 2023

Having spent a year in the Order, this retreat offers the opportunity to take stock, reconnect with friends and explore how we deepen our practice, our life in the Order, and our Going for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.