Community living has had something of a renaissance in Triratna in the UK in the last few years with demand for places exceeding supply.
Aryadhara writes about a successful weekend at Adhisthana, 25th-28th March - including a Swedish film about how not to run a community.
“At their best, communities are about going beyond ourselves and living for each other. Adhisthana recently hosted an inspiring weekend around the theme of creating and sustaining vibrant spiritual communities. With much experience of sangha building, Lokeshvara, Mahamani and Vajragupta facilitated an engaging review of why and how living together can be an effective spiritual practice.
There were some very practical discussions exploring areas such as finances, decision-making, how many people and who to live with, as well as the visionary dimension of living as a spiritual community. This was talked about in terms of a shared commitment to the Three Jewels and how the arising of the Bodhicitta is more likely to manifest in a group of people who all share the same transcendental ideal.
With talks, workshops, meditation, ritual and even the film ‘Tillsammans’, about a Swedish commune in the 1970s, this was a memorable event, and, we hope, the first of many.
The Movement’s early residential communities were born out of people practising the Dharma on retreat together and realising that they wanted to live like that all the time. As Triratna approaches its 50th birthday next year, this event signalled that this vision is still alive and well.”