About Us

Padmaloka Buddhist Retreat Centre was first established at Lesingham House in 1976 by Sangharakshita, the founder of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO). Very soon it became the Order's first permanent retreat centre. Many years have passed, and a considerable wealth of experience in running retreats has been built up.

The physical environment at Padmaloka has likewise been constantly improved and upgraded, so that today Padmaloka is the ideal place to go on retreat.

Set in the quiet village of Surlingham, on the edge of the Norfolk Broads, Padmaloka (originally known as Lesingham House) is an old country house surrounded by farmland. As well as its own five acres of delightful gardens, there are nature reserves and bird sanctuaries nearby. There is also a well stocked Dharma library and bookshop, a spacious shrine room for meditation which features paintings by local artist Aloka, and a yoga studio and equipment. The food provided on our retreats is vegetarian and is renowned for being delicious.

Whether you come to Padmaloka for a weekend or a fortnight, whether beginner or an old hand, we hope that you too will feel the magic of the Buddha's teaching, and we hope that you too will come to love Padmaloka in the way that so many others do.

Click here for photos showing different views of the gardens and buildings of Padmaloka.

Lesingham House, The main building at Padmaloka

Click here for info about the resident Padmaloka community.

See also the Padmaloka entries on MySpace and Facebook.