To the sound of lorries delivering food and folding chairs for this weekend’s Order gathering to celebrate Bhante’s 90th birthday, Vidyamala presented the history and evolution of Breathworks, the mindfulness project she founded in 2001 to help people live better with pain and illness. She also talked about “mainstream” mindfulness teaching as Bodhisattva activity in an intensely suffering world.

Hear a short, inspiring interview with Vidyamala.

In Q & A and small groups, the Chairs continued their exploration of the relationship of ‘secular’ or "mainstream" mindfulness to the Dharma and its impact on our teaching and sanghas. It was clear from the following plenary session that UK Triratna centres are involving themselves in this form of mindfulness teaching to widely varying degrees and in very different ways.

Subhuti is today’s guest. The afternoon saw him talking to the Chairs about Triratna in this period of transition as we move towards the end of Bhante’s life. In the evening he explored various approaches to the unconditioned; the apprehension of the nature of Reality; including the role of the imagination in conceiving the unconditioned.