Day Retreats and Residential Retreats
Men's Day Retreat with Sthirajyoti
Sunday 17 May 10am – 4pm
We warmly invite male sangha members to join us for a Men's Day Retreat at York Buddhist Centre, Led by Triratna Order Member, Sthirajyoti. Sthirajyoti has been involved in the Triratna Buddhist Community for many years, running groups and retreats that bring about connection and meaningful spiritual friendship.
Men's retreats are an opportunity for men in the sangha to practise together in helpful conditions. Whether you are new to retreats or already experienced, you will find a welcoming and supportive environment in which to explore and practice The Dharma.
Day Retreat: Living in the Divine Abodes
Sunday 14 June 10:30am – 4:30pm
A day of meditation, teaching and discussion exploring the Brahma Viharas, the Divine Abodes. These are four states of mind - Loving-Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity - which are available to all of us with practice and ultimately lead to a state of sublime happiness.
All are welcome. Suitable for complete beginners and regulars.
Women's Day Retreat with Taravandana
Sunday 26 July 10:30am – 4:30pm
Taravandana will be joining us today for a Day Retreat exclusively for the Women in the York Sangha. More details will be available later but the day will cover important aspects of practice and an opportunity to socialise with other women.
Same sex retreats also offer a different dynamic to mixed retreats. Open to all women over 18, who have already attended York Buddhist Centre.
Adhisthana September 2026
Friday 25 September – Friday 2 October
Join Shakyapada and Mahasraddha for a great week at Adhisthana as part of the big Summer Sanghas gathering. Adhisthana is our our main retreat centre in Hereford. Find out more at Adhisthana.org
In 1976, Sangharakshita gave a series of public talks, collectively entitled Buddhism for Today and Tomorrow.
Under four headings – A Method of Personal Development, A Vision of Human Existence, A Nucleus of a New Society, and A Blueprint for a New World – he shared his vision of what the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order had to offer.
From the first of these talks, Sangharakshita tells us:
Perhaps it would be best to assume that nobody really knows anything about Buddhism in the West, and that perhaps we do have to make … a completely fresh start, to take, as it were, a completely new look at Buddhism. And this, we may say, is what the FWBO was founded for in 1967, and what it tries to do. It tries to take a completely new look. It tries to make a completely fresh start… It exists, we may say, to cut the Buddha’s teaching down to its absolute essentials and to make those essentials relevant to people’s lives.
This is an opportunity to experience a full retreat together with your friends from the sangha. We will stay together for groups during the retreat but we will also have an opportunity to meet lots of people