Led by: Padmadharani, Amaragita and Nagalila
Location: Bowerwood, East Devon
Deposit amount: £85
Experience level: See below for retreat suitability
Age group: Adults
Total suggested cost (including deposit): standard:£345, supported:£235, donation tier (helping others to come on retreat):£665
Vehicle Pass: Car:£15, Live-in- 6m and under: £30, Live-in- over 6m: £30
Our focus for 2025 is building inner and outer harmony using insight-oriented practices. Drawing on neuroscience and psychology, this retreat aligns with the Buddha’s timeless wisdom, promoting a paradigm shift that prioritises embracing feelings over cognitive processes in conflict resolution.
We are living in pivotal times, with challenges that are sociopolitical, cultural, and spiritual in nature. Our ability to build relationships and collaborate effectively is vital now and in the years to come. Finding practices that support the opening of our awareness can resource us to act with a deeper knowing of ourselves as ecological beings.
Buddhism offers us a view of the world that positions us as connected and integrated into the complexity of life. This view offers a route away from individualism, scarcity and separation, towards connection, abundance and solidarity.
This retreat aims to:
This retreat will follow a programme of meditation, group sessions, solo time, reflection, simple land-based connection, and ritual. You will have an opportunity to stocktake your levels of resilience and reflect on what needs to be transformed to balance out what is depleted. Periods of silence will support our deepening into the landscape and into the community we build together. This retreat is open to all levels of experience of Buddhism and meditation, including to those with no previous experience of either Buddhism or meditation.
***This camping retreat is designed to build resilience for those engaged in activities that require an ongoing sustainment of outward energy. We welcome anyone who feels the tug of wanting to pour their efforts into what they see as needed in the world. For example, you may be an activist; active in campaigning, raising awareness, direct action or inspiring change. You might be a community worker, caregiver, or involved in projects of social engagement. You may work in sectors that are committed to social and ecological issues. We deliberately invite people from diverse angles of engagement as we want to encourage a wide conversation around what it feels like to ‘be active,’ and explore what collective resilience feels like. If you want to check out whether this retreat will feel right for you, contact Nagalila@buddhafield.com.
This retreat runs every two years, and will have a different configuration or content each time. It draws on the themes of the Green Earth Awakening Camp; Buddhafield’s 500-person gathering, and is an opportunity to go deeper, in the context of an intimate camping retreat on a beautiful and wild piece of land in East Devon.
The land is rugged and will require a level of ability to manoeuvre up and down steep slopes. Some chairs will be provided if sitting on the ground is not possible. However, we encourage people to bring their own if travelling by car.
You can find out more about accessibility on our retreats here. If you have any further questions, please contact us.
Amaragita
My background is in community development and working with young people at risk and the professionals that support them. I worked for various social change movements and I have been a trainer, facilitator and coach for 35 years. My passions are meditation and creating spaces for deep inquiry and celebration of the human condition. I have been leading intergenerational retreats and retreats for mothers for many years. Currently, I am chair of Buddhafield and have been a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order and Community for 21 years.
Nagalila
I am a Processwork psychotherapist in training, and conflict facilitator with large and small groups and communities. I work in schools supporting young people to engage in conflict with restorative tools. I have been part of the Triratna community and Buddhafield for over 18 years and have been coordinator of the Green Earth Awakening Camp since its formation. I am excited by ways of relating and organising that support all aspects of ourselves, and our communities; towards effective cohesion and collaboration.
Padmadharani
I’ve been an educator in diverse social and community contexts, focusing on high-risk and vulnerable adult groups. As well as a wellness coach and Buddhist Chaplain, I am proficient in leading Mindfulness courses tailored to patients, including MBSR, Breathworks Mindfulness for Pain, and Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness. Drawing from my own experiences of childhood trauma and mental health struggles, I have channelled my practice towards somatic exploration of dukkha. I am committed to inclusive, trauma-sensitive and bias-aware teaching.