Dhivan is from Somerset in England, and was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2004. His book This Being That Becomes: the Buddha's teaching on conditionality was published by Windhorse in 2011. He lives in Bristol, where he teaches philosophy for the Open University.

His website is www.dhivan.net

Nayaka came to Dhanakosa in 1996 after learning to meditate with the Newcastle Buddhist Centre. Drawn by the mountains, he quickly felt at home here and became increasingly involved in the running of the centre. He became part of the management team in 1999, was ordained into the Western Buddhist Order in 2001 and became Centre Director in 2006. He has a background in earth and life sciences, a long standing interest in natural history and a love of the wilderness. He lives at Dhanakosa with Dharmavasini and their 2 children.

These retreats are for people who are currently practising within the context of the Triratna Buddhist Community. Previous experience of the Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana meditations and of the Sevenfold Puja will be assumed.