Going for Refuge to the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is ‘the central and definitive act of the Buddhist life’ and ‘the unifying principle, therefore, of Buddhism itself’.
The ordination process involves a progressive deepening of Going for Refuge until it becomes effective in all aspects of our lives; the ceremony of ordination involves the witnessing, by senior Order members, of this effective Going for Refuge.
We will study all aspects of the ‘best of refuges’ on this retreat and explore how we can make them even more central to our lives. In particular, we will be studying Padmavajra's paper 'The Best of Refuges', which you can order from the bookshop here.
Details and Timings
The retreat starts with dinner on the first day at 6:30pm and finishes on the final day at 10.00am.
Health and Hygiene
It is vital that you don't come on retreat if you have any symptoms of Covid-19, including a cough, loss or change of smell or taste, a temperature, or any other cold or flu-like symptoms; or if you have been in contact with anyone who has within the past 14 days.
We ask that you take two Lateral Flow Test, one 48 hours before arrival and a second within 24 hours of the retreat starting.
If you haven't taken one by the time you arrive at Padmaloka, we will ask you to do one upon arrival and you will have to wait for the result before entering the buildings.
You can order them free from the UK Government here: Lateral Flow Tests, or from most pharmacies.
We will be observing enhanced hygiene protocols during the retreat, details of which you can find in our Padmaloka Risk Assessment, which is accessible from the Coming on Retreat page.
We will be taking every measure we can to prevent the spreading of Covid-19 during retreats, but despite this, there will remain a risk to those who attend; please consider this when coming on retreat.
If you are unable to attend the retreat due to illness or local lockdown measures then your booking can be transferred to the online aspect of the retreat, or to a future retreat.
Banner and thumbnail image: cropped painting by Aloka © from the Padmaloka Shrine Room
