“The Ten Precepts are not only ten pillars; they are ten petals, the ten petals of a magnificent flower, of which Meditation is the stamen and Wisdom the seed or fruit.” (Sangharakshita: The Ten Pillars of Buddhism).  

As we study the precepts taken at ordination and practise Buddhist confession, we can open up to the transformation, beauty and truth that ethical awareness reveals.

The study material for this retreat can be found on our resources page.

‘’To make a mandala is to take any prominent aspect of reality and surround it with beauty.’  The Bodhisattva creates a mandala through a response to the world that is aesthetic and appreciative rather than utilitarian.  To sustain life you have to engage in a certain amount of practical activity – you have to think about things and understand how the world works – but if you are a Bodhisattva all this takes place within an overall context of aesthetic appreciation.’

Throughout our spiritual life there are turning points which lead us to an ever deeper experience of reality, until the final conversion - to Enlightenment itself - is attained. Join us for 5 days online, studying different ways of considering this crucial turning point of the Buddhist spiritual life. This study is based on Sangharakshita's series of lectures The Meaning of Conversion in Buddhism given in 1965-66 and the text can be found on his website.

‘According to the Buddha's teaching actions are right or wrong, perfect or imperfect, according to the state of mind with which they are performed.’ 

On this retreat we will be exploring the ten precepts from the perspective of the root out of which they are performed: the mind precepts themselves. Using study, meditation, ritual and confession practice, we will delve deeper into how our mind shapes our behaviour and our interactions with the world. 

On this retreat we study together Chapter 1 of ‘A Survey of Buddhism’ - Sangharakshita’s wide-ranging, dynamic and sometimes challenging elucidation of conditioned arising, pratitya samutpada, the essence of the Buddha’s teaching. 

'Just as the mighty ocean has one taste, the taste of salt, so the Dharma-Vinaya has one taste, the taste of freedom.' 

Over the course of this week we will be studying the three lectures from Sangharakshita's 'The Taste of Freedom'.

We encourage you to set up retreat-like conditions at home to take the experience deeper.

The retreat will be led by Candraprabha, Kalyacitta, Karunadhi, Vandanajyoti and Vajratara.

Sangharakshita starts this series of 3 talks by describing the face of the Buddha as alive, alight: “in that light we see reflected an unfathomable knowledge, a boundless compassion, and an ineffable joy.” From the abstract heights of radiant awareness with no subject object duality, to the depths of meditation and into the gritty practicalities of dealing with polarised communication or supporting friends who are struggling, Sangharakshita is unfolding his vision of how the Three Jewels can be a lived experience in the modern world.

The stupa is an architectural symbol encompassing the elements of the natural world, the spiritual path and the unity of Enlightened mind.  Using colours and shapes, we are guided into a freeing of energy into boundless space.  The stupa is also a symbol of the ordination process at Tiratanaloka. Sangharaskhita described our own stupa as a ‘Miracle Stupa’ saying that the only true miracle is when someone makes the transition from a worldly to a spiritual life.

“In the spiritual community, the rigid application of rules is replaced by something far more subtle:  a living network of friendship and communication centred on the highest shared ideals” (Sangharakshita: Living with Kindness)

What does it mean for each of us to join the Order as spiritual community – is it a support, a practice in itself or something altogether different?    We’ll be examining the nature of kalyana mitrata and the significance of the private and public ordinations in order to find our own answers.

“As a Buddhist you're drawn to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha, confident that these represent the ultimate values of life, that they symbolise humanity’s highest goal.  Being intent upon the three Jewels in this way brings a clarity to the mind over and above whatever pleasure you may or may not feel” (Sangharakshita: Living with Kindness)