This retreat is for members of the Triratna Buddhist Order.
Residential Bookings - Order members only
Retreat information
For Order members
The sun’s pure and brilliant essence
Cannot be dimmed by darkness enduring for a thousand aeons.
Likewise, our mind’s luminous essence
Cannot be dimmed by samsara enduring for aeons.
A thousand years ago, on the banks of the Ganges, the yogic adept Tilopa gave a teaching to his faithful disciple Naropa. The great Tibetan translator Marpa learnt these verses by heart on one of his epic journeys to India, then taught them to Milarepa and others. This teaching became known as the Ganges Mahamudra, and is one of the foundational texts used in the Tibetan tradition for exploring the nature of mind, especially its qualities of spaciousness and luminosity.
In 2023, Vessantara and Ambaranta led a very successful retreat in which Vessantara explored the timeless wisdom in the first half of this profound text. This year he will return to it, exploring a few verses more deeply and then covering the second half, drawing out its meaning and supporting us to find the freedom that Tilopa is pointing to, in our own experience.
This is a standalone retreat. You can attend and benefit from it even if you didn’t come last year.
The retreat will be mostly in silence, and will include presentations, guided meditations, devotional practice, and (for residential retreatants) the opportunity for meditation reviews. As usual with Vessantara’s retreats, the aim will be twofold: to support you to get into your meditation, and also to equip you with new understandings and insights to take away and unpack over time.
In 2024 Vessantara will celebrate having been ordained for fifty years. He and Ambaranta have teamed up over the last decade to offer retreats for Order members at Rivendell.
Covid-secure requirements
We are no longer asking each retreatant to take a lateral flow test before travelling to Rivendell, but we are asking that they bring a test with them in case they fall ill whilst here.
We want those that come to Rivendell to be confident that we are making their stay here as safe as possible.
Concession information
Rivendell has a concessionary rate available for most of its retreats. If you are in need of further financial assistance to help enable you to come on retreat here, please do consider writing to our office team via bookings@rivendellretreatcentre.com explaining your circumstances.
Cancellation policy
All deposits are non-refundable and non-transferable in all circumstances. If you wish to cancel your place on a retreat, we require a minimum notice of 4 calendar weeks before a retreat is due to take place, in order that a refund (not the deposit) will be possible. If you cancel and we can't replace you, you will be required to pay half the total cost of the retreat. Please let us know as soon as possible if you need to cancel, as there may be other people waiting for a place on the retreat to become available. Any refund will still be on the basis that we can the fill your space.
Prices for this event are: £399 - £379 (Conc)