FOUR GIFTS:
Sangha Retreat at Adhisthana
Friday 10th - Sunday 12th April
A retreat for people who have completed a course and are familiar with how we practice.
Join us for our annual Nottingham Sangha Retreat at Adhisthana, where we’ll come together for a weekend of shared Dharma practice, connection, and reflection. Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Malvern Hills, Adhisthana offers the perfect conditions for stepping back from daily life and immersing ourselves in meditation, ritual, and meaningful conversation.
’I come to you with four gifts.
The first gift is a lotus-flower.
Do you understand?
My second gift is a golden net.
Can you recognize it?
My third gift is a shepherds’ round-dance.
Do your feet know how to dance?
My fourth gift is a garden planted in a wilderness.
Could you work there?
I come to you with four gifts.
Dare you accept them?’ - Sangharakshita
This year, our retreat will explore Four Gifts: Triratna’s Vision for Today — and Tomorrow, a theme being taken up across the Triratna Buddhist Community in 2026. Drawing on Sangharakshita’s poem Four Gifts and the teachings found in Buddhism for Today — and Tomorrow, we’ll reflect on the heart of Triratna’s vision: a creative expression of the Buddha’s teachings, rooted in tradition and alive to the needs of our modern world.
Fifty years on from when these teachings were first given, this shared theme invites us to ask: what do these “four gifts” mean for us today? How can we live them more deeply in our own practice, and how might they be offered in a world that is rapidly changing and often divided?
Through meditation, ritual, discussion, and time in the spacious and supportive environment of Adhisthana, we’ll explore these questions together as a Sangha.
Whether you're new to retreats or an experienced practitioner, this is a valuable opportunity to step away from distractions, find mental clarity, and reconnect — with yourself, with others, and with the Dharma.
HOW TO BOOK
For the retreat we hire Adhisthana, each place costs us £95 per attendee. If you can make a donation when booking, that will help us cover the cost for this event.
We run everything at the Nottingham Buddhist Centre on a donation basis - we want our events to be available to everyone, regardless of their financial situation. We ask for a donation at the time of booking if possible, as we’re completely reliant on your generous donations to keep our doors open to all.
We’d suggest a donation of £125/£95/£75 - or whatever amount you can and would enjoy giving.
If you are unable to give even a very small amount, you are still very welcome. Please email info@nottinghambuddhistcentre.org and we'll book you on.
(Please note: any donation made is a donation to the centre and not payment for an event. If for some reason you can’t make the event, you’re warmly welcome to join any other suitable event)
There are limited spaces left on this retreat, to book your place click the button below to email us.
(We only have 6 spaces left on this retreat, and only 2 of those spaces having room in the men’s accommodation)