In this imaginative and stirring talk, Padmasagara frames the third ordination acceptance verse (“for the attainment of Enlightenment, I accept this ordination”) as a descent into the ‘Underworld’, where we meet Death, the limits of materialism, and doorways into multi-dimensional consciousness. The Underworld is a metaphor for the Realm of Myth, described by Sangharakshita as one of ‘undefined, even indefinable meaning’.
The talk was given to men who’ve asked for ordination on the ‘What is the Order?’ retreat at Padmaloka in February 2023.