Choosing a Retreat - 2008

Retreats at Tiratanaloka are for women that have asked for ordination and Dharmacharinis. To see what retreats are available at other retreat centres look at Taraloka, Dhanakosa and Rivendell.

What retreat should I come on?

Our Going for Refuge retreats are arranged within the framework of the four lines of acceptance from our ordination ceremony. Between them they cover the essential principles that we consider give a thorough training for ordination. They focus on –

Practising within our lineage of teachers.

Practising ethically and in harmony with Others.

Practising and understanding the dharma.

Practising for the benefit of all beings.

Under each of these areas are a number of themes. While keeping this framework from year to year we expect different retreat themes to emerge. Hence our training offers an established structure, while staying alive to what’s current.

If you’ve not been on retreat with us before we suggest that you choose whichever retreat appeals to you, whilst on retreat at Tiratanaloka you might want to explore which retreat you might do next to take your practice further. For some people it is important to have continuity with people and place and so by coming to Tiratanaloka once or twice a year helps to keep the thread of going for refuge alive and potent. It is also a way to keep up a connection with the community and other women who come to Tiratanaloka.

If you want some help to decide which retreat to come on here are some suggestions. If you would like more help please feel free to contact us.

I haven’t been to Tiratanaloka before and would like to see the place and meet the team before I commit to a long retreat.

• Going for Refuge weekends
• Working Together

I want to understand the Order more.

• The Heart of Ordination

As part of my ordination ceremony I will be taking the 10 Dharmacharini precepts from my preceptor. I want to deepen my understanding of these.

• Ethics to Insight

I’d like to learn the Going for Refuge and Prostration Practice.

• Lineage of Loyalty

I have a good basic grasp of the dharma but want to go more deeply into some of the essential teachings and experience the dharma as transformative.

• Transcendental Principle

I want to understand the dharma more deeply but not through a ‘study’ retreat, I seem to learn better in a more experiential way.

• Reflections on Reality

Sometimes I find myself being quite literal in the way I think of my spiritual life, I want to connect with the beauty, love and vastness of Going for Refuge.

• The Greater Mandala

I don’t want to just practice for my own sake I want something that will take me out of myself and connect me with a much greater vision, I want to change the world.

• The Bodhisattva Ideal

I’d like to spend more time with the community at Tiratanaloka but can’t afford to do more than one retreat at Tiratanaloka a year.

• Working Together
• Going for Refuge Weekends

I’d like a retreat with a balance of both study and reflection.

• The Four Mind Turnings

I want a retreat that will change my life!

• In Deep: A Dharma Month

top