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The Buddha in the Dark: A Summer Residential Retreat with Candradasa & Padmadaka


  • Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing 191 Cragsmoor Road Cragsmoor, NY, 12420 United States (map)

Led By: Candradasa & Padmadaka
Friday, June 9th at 3 p.m. to Monday, June 12th at 1 p.m. EST

In Person at Dharmakaya Center for Wellbeing
191 Cragsmoor Road, Cragsmoor, NY 12420

Event Description:

“Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
and happiness follows
like a shadow that never leaves.”
The Dhammapada

When we talk about community, what do we mean? And how much of ourselves do we carry into community as an act of courageous love?

Join us on our sangha retreat this summer in a co-created space dedicated to exploring together more fully what it really means to be alive, and how we might bear with our experience through hard times to come to a place of genuine positivity and strength. We'll be exploring how to hold and work gently and effectively with our sorrows, using myth, poetry, imagination, and the immersive practice of loving kindness. 

Come sit with the Buddha under the tree, breathing, being aware in body and mind, sharing our experiences of reality, half in and half out of the shadows and the lights. 

Event Highlights:

  • Instruction and support from highly experienced teachers

  • A thoughtful balance of meditation, contemplation, discusison, ritual, and rest periods

  • A supportive and friendly community of practitioners

  • Access to individual meditation support if needed

  • Silence as well as Q&A with teachers

  • Delicious all-vegetarian meals with locally-sourced ingredients

  • Option to extend stay on Personal Retreat

  • Extensive library of dharma books

  • Expansive wooded grounds with beautiful walking paths, flora, and fauna

  • Single rooms for all (option for couples to share) 

Experience:

Meditation: This retreat will be most suitable for people with meditation experience. Beginner instruction will be offered during the retreat if needed.

Mindful Movement: No experience needed, very accessible.

Schedule (subject to change):

Friday, June 9th

3:00 PM — Check-in begins
6:00-7:00 PM — Dinner
7:00-9:00 PM — Group Introduction
Welcome, Introductions & Dedication Ceremony — Silence Begins

Saturday, June 10th to Sunday, June 11th
7:00-7:50 AM — Refuges & Precepts, First Sit
7:50-8:00 AM — Leg Stretch
8:00-8:30 AM — Second Sit
8:30-9:30 AM — Breakfast
10:00 AM-12:00 PM — Morning Practice & Teaching Session
12:00-1:00 PM — Lunch
1:00-3:00 PM — Personal Time
3:00-4:00 PM — Breath & Body
4:00-6:00 PM — Afternoon Practice & Teaching Session
6:00-7:00 PM — Dinner
7:30-9:00 PM — Evening Practice & Devotion

Monday, June 12th
7:00-7:50 AM — Refuges & Precepts, First Sit
7:50-8:00 AM — Leg Stretch
8:00-8:30 AM — Second Sit
8:30-9:30 AM — Breakfast
10:00-11:30 AM — Morning Practice & Teaching Session
11:30 AM-12:00 PM — Closing Circle — Silence Ends
12:00-1:00 PM — Lunch
1:00 PM — Checkout and Departure

About the Leaders:

Candradasa was ordained in 2001. He is from Scotland and has lived in New Hampshire since 2006. He is a founding member at the Portsmouth Buddhist Center and is also the Director of Dharmachakra, which produces Free Buddhist Audio and Triratna’s main web platform, The Buddhist Centre Online.

Candradasa's name means “Servant of the Moon,” referencing the Bodhicitta in Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara: ‘It is the heart’s waxing moon, cooling the heat of passion.’ He tries – sometimes successfully – to live up to this. 

Candradasa is a published poet and is also the author of ‘Buddhism for Teens: 50 Mindfulness Activities, Meditations, and Stories to Cultivate Calm and Awareness’.

Padmadaka is the co-President of the NY-NJ sangha and lives in Norfolk, England with his wife and three children. He is known for his down-to-earth approach to practice and offers the Dharma in a relevant and engaging way. He encountered the Dharma in his home country of Ireland and lived in residential communities there. He was chair of Norwich Buddhist Centre and Padmaloka Retreat Centre where he lived for ten years. He has been the CEO of the Karuna Trust, UK for the past ten years.

STAY SAFE DURING COVID-19: To allow for ease and peace of mind during the retreat and transport to the retreat, the Council of Triratna NY / NJ kindly requests that all those attending be vaccinated, with vaccination completed at least 30 days prior to the retreat. Please see additional Triratna Covid policies here. If you have any concerns about this request, or if you need support in obtaining a vaccination appointment, please contact the council.

Event Registration:

Register at the link below.

Pricing:

PER PERSON PRICE: All rooms are single occupancy with a double bed; discounts may be available for couples willing to share a room. Prices are all inclusive of teachings, accommodations, and meals.

  • Sliding scale : $540-$750 scholarships are available for sangha members

These fees only cover costs of the retreat and do not include transportation or (optional) dana. Please choose an amount that works for you, bearing in mind that any contribution above the base fee allows us to more easily support those in need of scholarships. Some rooms have private bathrooms; these will be allocated on the basis of need.

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June 6

A Deeper Harmony (Online Course)

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June 16

NYC In-Person Practice Evening: The Foundations of Ritual