‘Let all the demons come!’ says Urgyen Sangharakshita in his famous talk on Guru Padmasambhava given at the London Buddhist Centre in 1979. In that near-legendary talk, Bhante speaks about the particular activities of Guru Padmasambhava in the context of four great archetypes: the Manu, or Law-Giver, the Buddha, the Guru and the Terton or Treasure Revealer. What becomes clear is that Guru Padmasambhava is not some exotic figure of the past but an ever-present spiritual principle that we need to activate in our lives to bring about the radical transformation of self and world. So, on this year's Padmasambhava Sadhana retreat, as well as practising the sadhana throughout each day, we will study the 1979 Padmasambhava talk.

The flames are licking at your heels and you have to do something about them. You can't just soar above them. You’ve got to descend into the flames as Blakewould have said and you've got to transform them. You’ve got to walk in the flames and delight in the flames, enjoy the flames, and use the flames, not run away from them! Sangharakshita– Padmasambhava Day Talk, 1979.

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 ©