Welcome to the retreat space for the October 2020 Ordination Training Retreat for Women + on the theme of Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels.

This is a place to access retreat resources and recordings as they become available, as well as to communicate with one other as we engage in this 5 week online intensive retreat.

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The theme for our first-ever online Training for Ordination (TFO) retreat is Going for Refuge. Bhante Sangharakshita said that Going for Refuge to the Three Jewels is THE central defining act of a Buddhist life. It is a principle that members of the Triratna Buddhist Order organize their entire lives around, and is one of our distinctive emphases as a movement.

This retreat has three main strands: an exploration of the theme of Going for Refuge through in-depth weekly talks and study groups; a deepening of your meditation practice through two intensive weekend retreats and daily practice opportunities; and developing spiritual friendships with each other as present and future members of the Order.

These three strands combine to create a complete experience of the retreat theme. We encourage you to sign up for as much as you can. If you need to limit your participation because of work, family, or other reasons, then we ask that you commit fully to whatever component(s) you choose by attending (and preparing for) all its sessions. Please choose those that you feel best support your Going for Refuge in your current circumstances. We recommend that you discuss your selections with an Order Member who knows you well, or any member of the retreat team.

Another aspect of this retreat comes from it being one you attend over five weeks, intermixed with your daily life activities. Part of our challenge as we move towards ordination is how to creatively sustain an intensity of dharma practice alongside the rest of our lives, e.g. work, non-sangha relationships, etc. How do we sustain focus and commitment to our practice while meeting the demands of being a part of the secular world? This retreat provides supportive conditions to reflect on and actively try out what this might look like for each of us.

A note about the Sliding Scale Fee: There is a sliding scale of anywhere from $1-$250 on every component page. Please consider what you’re able to pay for the entire retreat, and then divide that amount among all the components you sign up for. EventBrite requires us to charge a minimum of $1 for every event, so please plan your payments accordingly.

If you have any questions, please contact the retreat team at TFO.USCan@gmail.com

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RETREAT COMPONENTS:

TFO FORUM - Sunday Sep 20, 2-3:30 pm PT | 5-6:30 pm ET - A Q&A Session on anything and everything about the ordination process. Open to all TFO women+ mitras in US/Canada. This will be recorded so you can listen later. More info + free registration

Intensive Meditation Retreats - Oct 2-4 and Nov 6-8 - Our five-week retreat kicks off with an Intensive Meditation Weekend on the Stupa Practice, and closes with a second on the Anapanasati Practice. Both retreats are open to all TFO women+ mitras in the US, Canada and Mexico. Please note they will be offered in English only. The talks and guided meditations will be recorded so you can listen later. More info + registration for one or both retreats

Going for Refuge: Talks, Pujas, and Study Groups - Weekly, Oct 4 - Nov 6 - There will be a Dharma talk and puja, and separate small study groups – every week for the duration of the five weeks. Open exclusively to TFO women+ mitras in US/Canada. Drop-ins for just the Puja are welcomed. The talks will be recorded so you can listen later (but not Pujas or Study Groups). More information + registration

Refuge Tree Practice - Weekdays, Oct 5 - Nov 6 - Offered every weekday morning for the duration of the retreat. Drop-ins welcome. Open to all TFO mitras and OMs, all genders, in US/Canada. More information + registration, drop-ins welcomed

One-on-one time with a team member
At every TFO retreat, the team members set aside time for informal one-on-one meetings with mitras. You can bring up anything that’s coming up for you from the retreat or your ordination process more broadly. But you don’t need to have something special to talk about. Let’s just chat! It’s an opportunity for you to get to know individual order members, and vice versa. We do this for the sake of spiritual friendship, and strengthening the web of harmonious connections that tie us all together as an order. Sign up links will be available closer to the time.