This retreat is now fully booked. Please email the Guest Master on info@padmaloka.org.uk if you wish to have your name down on the waiting list.

In his first lecture on the levels of Going for Refuge given in 1978, Bhante Urgyen Sangharakshita described the level of Effective Going for Refuge in terms of the secret or esoteric Refuges of the Buddhist Tantric tradition, which are the Guru, the Yidam and the Dakini.

He tells us in the lecture that for Tantric Buddhists the emphasis is on direct experience, so their concern is to find the Refuges in one’s actual, direct spiritual experience.

In this retreat we will explore how the direct experience of the Refuges relate to Effective Going for Refuge and therefore to ordination. We will explore what the Guru, the Yidam and the Dakini mean now for the Triratna Buddhist Order and those who have asked for ordination.

In particular, we will be studying Bhante's lecture Levels of Going for Refuge.

Details and Timings

The retreat starts with dinner on the first day at 6:30pm and finishes on the final day at 10.00am.

Health and Hygiene

For information on our Covid policy and to see our risk assessment please visit our Coming on Retreat page.

Banner and thumbnail image: edited painting by Aloka ©