Looking at the check-in sheet for the second Great Gathering of 2026, particularly at the number of Padmaloka retreats each man arriving had been on: There were around 15 individuals about to arrive for the first time. This was contrasted by some Order members who had attended well over 50 retreats.

I was asked: How many retreats had Surata, or Satyaraja, or Padmavajra led here? There is no record of that, but each are well into thehundreds by now. That led to wondering about how many events has Padmaloka put on in its 50-year history? Perhaps 1,500? More? Then how many men have come here? We have over 4,000 individual guests on our current database, which only includes recent data and so the actual number is much more.

However, quantity is not as important as the quality, and this led to thinking about the effect that those events have had on people, even the effect of a weekend like a Great Gathering, which is over so quickly. This was exemplified by an interaction with one participant: A young man in attendance was excitedly planning how he was going to move forward after the weekend, after reflecting on a strong hinderance to communication, he wanted to try to be a better friend to those around him, especially when drawn very strongly to the immediate emotional gratification of ‘telling them how it is’ – a very familiar state of mind. This reminded me that there is a rippling-out of beneficial karma, from intensive spiritual communities toward those with little or no direct contact with Buddhist ideals. From Padmaloka, to this young man, and onto his friends.

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What effect would that have? This chap who has come along for a weekend, and off the back of that, was looking more seriously at going beyond his preferences, toward friendship, the highest spiritual ideal. Sure, he will likely fall short, or misstep, or meet resistance, or any number of things that happens to any of us when trying to live out an ideal. Yet, perhaps to those around him, likely even imperceptibly, something will have changed for the better; the Dharma expressed, just a tiny bit more fully in the world. Looking backwards from this small moment of positivity, across 50 years of history, and many countless similar experiences, through the various iterations of the Padmaloka community, shapes of the Ordination team, cultural shifts, challenges, projects and phases: The single thread which remains constant here is the influence of Bhante Urgyen Sangharakshita, without whom these specific karmic ripples would not be rippling.

Everyone who comes to Padmaloka comes into contact with Bhante in some way. Bhante’s presence is felt in the material of every retreat that happens here, in the Dharma studied, in stories told around the dinner table, in the ethics of community living, in the brickwork of Padmaloka, and in devotion of his disciples.

Padmaloka is learning, through repeated failure and refinement, repeated confontation and growth, how to live out genuine spiritual ideals, which have been so clearly and thoroughly expounded by Bhante. A process that will hopefully continue to unfold over the next 50 years and beyond.

This month we are counting down to Padmaloka’s 50^thCelebration, and many experienced Order members are going to join us in rejoicing in Padmaloka and blessing it for the future. A great opportunity to ask the question of what it is we are contributing our own lives toward? And what is the legacy thatare we leaving behind?