Covid-19 update: At the current time we are expecting to be able to run this retreat with a maximum of 10 retreatants and 2 team members. We will be following physical distancing guidelines and have enhanced cleaning and hygiene measures in place.

Coming on retreat in this environment will feel different - we have put together a Covid-19 pre-retreat information sheet with more detail about what to expect, please read this before booking and in advance of coming on retreat.

This retreat combines talks and workshops, inspired by meditations and devotional practice, to take us on a path of transformation. This is Bodhisattva Training for the 21st Century. It resources us to rise together and face up to the challenges and stark choice of this planet time. This was the stark choice Sangharakshita presented in his famous 1971 lecture ‘Evolution or Extinction - a Buddhist View of Current World Problems’. Half a century later this choice stands out even more clearly. To avoid collective self-destruction we need to spiritually evolve, raising our level of consciousness in order to overcome the dangers we face. Together we can find ways to draw back from extinction and choose the path of spiritual evolution for the benefit of all. This retreat offers resources and opportunities to train. 

We’ll be following a tried and trusted workshop sequence honed over four decades by American Buddhist Joanna Macy, her ‘Spiral of the Work That Reconnects’. Engaging with the suffering of the world can be distressing and we can turn away to avoid feeling powerless and despairing. Drawing on the Dharma, living systems theory, and deep ecology, The Work That Reconnects strengthens our capacity to give our best response to the global challenges confronting us. It involves a transformative journey around a spiral of four successive stages:-

i) When we come from gratitude and appreciation we become more present to the life around us and to the many gifts we receive. This calms the mind and opens the heart in preparation for wise and compassionate responses to suffering. Then we can:

ii) honour our pain for the world, by making space to hear our feelings in response to what is happening in our world. As we do so, profound caring and interconnectedness with all life are revealed. So then we begin to ...

iii) see with new eyes, with a deepening recognition of our mutual belonging in the living Earth. We also learn to understand the new kind of power this gives and the many ways we can apply this to a life-sustaining society. We can now get ready to ...

iv) go forth into the world with a fresh vision and practical steps.

What can I expect from this retreat?

We will have a varied and engaging programme, beginning each day with meditation. Later in the day there’ll be talks, discussions or workshop time. After lunch each day there’ll be time for resting or walking. In the evenings we’ll have time for a more mythic and devotional approach with talks and rituals. Weather permitting we can have outdoor events too.