Dear Order Members and Friends,

I have just returned home from two Ordination Retreats. The first one was the long Ordination Retreat in Akashavana, Spain, where 19 fine women were ordained. The second one was much shorter in our Retreat Centre here in Vimaladhatu, Germany. It was for Utpaladaya who cannot physically manage the terrain at Akashavana and works as a teacher with limited holiday time. Both retreats were a source of joy and inspiration.

Akasasuri, as the other Public Preceptor, was an excellent support to me on the long retreat in Akashavana and it is difficult to imagine leading the retreat without her support. She and I had wanted to have an international team and this came about. We had Aryadrishti from Portland, Oregon, USA, Saddhahadaya from Cambridge, UK, Manibhadri from France, Akasasuri from Holland and myself from Germany. The fact that the team was international was much appreciated by the retreatants who mostly came from the UK. It was an opportunity for them to hear about other Triratna activities and much smaller thriving situations or more isolated situations outside of the UK.

The team gave off its all and its best. Working together in those conditions and ‘holding’ the retreat, both on a practical as well as on a spiritual level, is an intensity of spiritual practice which offers both an opportunity to highlight and have reflected back in a significant way where each of us on the Team is 'at', as it were, and at the same time, offers a real dynamic and challenging context to go beyond oneself and just give. In addition to the team, we had Moksagandhi and Maitridaya – both from Holland – who generously gave their time and energy to cook during the time the Private Preceptors were there. Not easy for them to enter a retreat where we were in silence and not really knowing the retreatants - but they did it!

The ages of the 19 retreatants were between 27 and 70. There was noticeably a group of younger women being ordained on the retreat and this added an extra vitality, colour and energy to the retreat. It was impressive to witness first hand their commitment and engagement to the Dharma. I experienced the retreat as harmonious and saw friendships being actively built across ages, languages and cultures. There were three women from Mainland Europe, who will definitely have the opportunity to maintain connections via Order activities on Mainland Europe. One new Dharmacarini, Vidyanandi, is the second woman to be ordained in Denmark. Taking on quite a task in her own way! Prakasadipa will be a jewel in Stockholm, and Padmavidya, with whom I live in a community, will be an enrichment of the Order here in Essen and in Germany. I saw each of these 19 women transform over the 11 weeks of the retreat – each bringing forth riches and depths as the retreat intensified and the magic of the Dharma worked. I’m quite sure that for some of the women, they themselves were surprised (and joyous) at how they manifested at the end of the retreat!

None of this would have been possible without our Dharmapalas, the Community, living in the next valley: Bodhipaksini and Padmasakhi. They were joined at different times by Ujjala from Mexico and Achalavajri during our time there. The Community are a source of inspiration and an active example of personal Going Forth and service and dedication to the Order. Their fairly regular presence at talks or our activities in the shrine room or around the Stupa, whether during the day or in the evenings, gave a sense of us all being just one Spiritual Community practising together: different contexts and conditions, different areas of responsibilities, different processes taking place, but all contributing to Bhante’s vision.

One of those activities which we were all present for was Buddha Day. We started the Day at 7.00am with a Puja and nearly everyone brought a gift of flowers as an offering to the shrine. Seeing everyone come forwards and offer their flowers on that day and in that context moved me to tears – and I wasn’t the only one! We celebrated the day well with both thoughtful reflections and also with playful and joyful activities. The crowning of the day came in the evening, when Bodhipaksini had her Anagarika ceremony. I think this had an important impact on the retreat and the retreatants – witnessing someone take this step of commitment and lifestyle. Sadhu!

Although the 17 Private Preceptors were not so long with us on retreat, we all benefitted from their presence both in the shrine room and simply being with us: the perceptible depth of practice, the love and well-wishing towards their own Ordinands, but also the keen acknowledgment and appreciation of this step that all Ordinands on retreat were taking. There was also the practical support that they gave those of us on the team and the heartfelt generosity in their rejoicings before they left us.

I realised early on how fortuitous it had been for me to have supported Subhadramati on the retreat last year, 2023. When I looked through my notes about activities, phases and rituals from last year, everything came alive for me and felt very immediate. I learnt a great deal from Subhadramati and could put that into practice. There were a few changes from last year to the programme and activities – notably, that we spent more time around the Stupa, afternoons and evenings, honouring Dhardo Rimpoche and celebrating Yidams and Pujas. Not only celebration, but an opportunity for the Ordinands to communicate and share with us their connection and inspiration to their Yidams in a dynamic and lively way. Sitting around the Stupa under the bright, sunlit, blue sky, or the threatening grey or black sky, listening to the singing and repeated rushing of the wind through the pine trees, seeing the vultures swoop and hover around the red cliff, sometimes hearing the thunder roll through the mountains and sheets of rain melting our view of distant hills and valleys.

We were blessed with weather which thankfully ensured we didn’t sweat too much in the shrine room. It was actually quite cold at the start of the retreat for the first weeks and we all enjoyed sitting in the dining room eating our breakfast in warmth or reading or writing in the lounge with roaring log fires – even a small study group enjoyed a fire in the shrine room. This meant that those of us who wanted to camp had to practise patience until the temperature went up by a few degrees. There was a lot of enthusiasm to become a forest-dweller!

Wherever you look in Akashavana, you are greeted by beauty, greeted by nature. This has a strong effect on your mental states. You can relax and let go into this vast landscape and endless sky. There is a magic and a sense of ‘protection’ there – as if you are dwelling in something affirming and affectionate. There are the rocks, the cliffs, the forests, the smells of thyme, rosemary and lavender, the sightings of the gentle ibex, the small wild flowers which persist through this hard ground.

If you have the opportunity to go to Akashavana, take it! If you have the opportunity to be on a team for an Ordination Retreat, do it!

With Metta,
Kulanandi