2013 retreats at Vajrasana
June 21-28 week Sangha retreat, from 7pm on Friday til 3pm the next Friday. Cost £275 (waged), £225 (part waged), £175 (unwaged), all in except transport.
November 8-10 weekend retreat, from 7pm on Friday til 3pm on Sunday. Cost £145 (waged), £110 (part waged), £85 (unwaged), all in except transport.
There will be plenty of meditation practice, a bit of ritual, plus group learning. Still, you will find that you have a lot of time to sit about doing not a lot, going for walks or chatting.
Booking
Booking conditions : please note that full payment is required to make your booking. Payments are non transferable but can be refunded up to 5 working days before the retreat starts (minus £20 cancellation fee).
Please either click on the ‘Book with Card/PayPal’ button above to pay online (you do not need a PayPal account), or write a cheque payable to West London Buddhist Centre and send with your booking request to:
The West London Buddhist Centre,
94 Westbourne Park Villas,
London W2 5EB.
Please include your name, address, email and phone number with your booking, and how you plan to travel (we try to share lifts).
About Vajrasana (venue for our residential retreats)
Vajrasana is set in rolling Suffolk countryside with lots of good walks all round. There are two large paddocks with an amazing variety of trees. The shrine room was built using a special ecological straw bale technique.
Getting to Vajrasana
The address is:
Vajrasana,
Potash Farm
Walsham le Willows,
Suffolk,
IP31 3AR
We try to share lifts, so let us know if you are driving, or if you would like a lift.
Getting to Vajrasana – by Car
Take the M11 out of London as far as junction 9, then follow the A11 and then the A14 towards Bury St Edmunds. Leave the A14 at junction 43 (‘Bury St Edmunds Central’) and follow signs for A143 Diss. After 6 or 7 miles on the A143 go straight on towards Diss at the first Ixworth roundabout and turn right at the second roundabout (which has a sign pointing right for Walsham Le Willows). Follow this road for 4 miles (ignoring the left turn to Wyken Vineyards) until you pass a sign ‘Walsham Le Willows/West Street’. A quarter of a mile further on, after some tight bends, turn left at a small sign (which is on the right hand side of the road) for Stanton. Drive uphill for approx half a mile and Vajrasana/Potash Farm is on the left behind a row of tall poplar trees. You will see a signpost for Vajrasana. Access is gained by turning left down a small private road and then right into the drive.
Getting to Vajrasana – by Coach
Coaches leave from Victoria Coach Station (or the coach stop in Stratford for which you need to have a pre-paid ticket) to Stanton in Suffolk, the first stop after Bury St Edmunds. You can buy an Apex ticket if you book 7 days in advance. National Express Coaches www.nationalexpress.com or 08717 81 81 78.
Getting to Vajrasana – by train
Trains run from London Liverpool Street to Stowmarket. There is a taxi rank outside the station. Cost to Potash Farm is likely to be £20/22. Greater Anglia Trains or 0845 600 7245.
Taxi
Stowmarket Taxis: 01449 677777 or Gold Star Taxis: 01449 676 767
Elmswell, the nearest station (4.5 miles) and Stanton (coaches): two small, single-driver taxi companies: Regency Taxis 01359 251595/07969125320 and Inglenook Chauffeur Cars 01953 681541/07818 093808. (Elmswell-Vajrasana: £10-15; Stanton (coaches) – Vajrasana: £3-5.) You must book two days in advance to confirm availability for these companies.
What you need
All bedding, food (vegetarian), and meditation gear is provided at Vajrasana. Just bring towel, washbag, notebook, outdoor and indoor footwear, and loose clothing.
Other Triratna retreats
The Triratna Buddhist Community runs a wide range of retreats across the UK, and worldwide. For more information have a look at goingonretreat.com.
And here is a list of 2013 retreats where you will meet WLBC Order Members (MS Word file): Retreats in 2013 with WLBC Order members