In the Triratna ordination ceremony, after being given the Three Refuges and the Ten Precepts, one’s preceptor gives in Pali the traditional admonishment: Having well-observed the Three Refuges, together with the Dharmachari ordination vows, with mindfulness, strive on. ‘With mindfulness strive on’ are the lastwords of the Buddha. When Sangharakshita gave these words at ordinations, he would always remind us that the Buddha is saying that you need just two things for an effective Dharma life: mindfulness, or awareness, and effort.

The importance of mindfulness cannot be underestimated, the Buddha describes it in this sutta as ‘the only way to liberation’. On this Going for Refuge retreat we will give full attention to the theme of mindfulness through the study of Sangharakshita’s Living With Awareness, his commentary on the Satipatthana Sutta – The Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.

Details and Timings‍

The retreat starts with dinner on the first day at 6:30pm and finishes on the final day at 10.15am.

‍Banner and thumbnail image: cropped painting by Aloka ©