College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – May 2022

By ratnadharini on Tue, 31 May, 2022 - 18:50

Chairs' Letter – May 2022

By ratnadharini on Tue, 31 May, 2022 - 18:50

Dear Order Members and friends,

As well as being College Chair, I’ve come to hold various other responsibilities within Triratna, including currently being a Centre President and involved in the International Council. Looking back, becoming part of the women’s ordination team at Tiratanaloka was probably the most significant factor in shaping this life; but actually it goes back even further than that and has really emerged from a network of kalyanamitrata…

I first encountered the FWBO / Triratna in London, when I was...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – April 2022

By ratnadharini on Sat, 30 Apr, 2022 - 23:01

Chairs' Letter – April 2022

By ratnadharini on Sat, 30 Apr, 2022 - 23:01

See April’s ‘Features from the College’ here.

Dear Order Members and friends, 

A year ago, someone rejoiced in my merits – and those of College members generally – as they put it: ‘out of the blue’. He said he was following up an intention to express gratitude when he felt it, and I’d like to take this opportunity to respond ‘in kind’.

Saddharaja has rheumatoid arthritis, and recently Covid on top of that, however he’s just...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – March 2022

By ratnadharini on Thu, 31 Mar, 2022 - 20:31

Chairs' Letter – March 2022

By ratnadharini on Thu, 31 Mar, 2022 - 20:31

Dear Order members and friends,

Thanks to Jnanavaca for writing last month’s letter, which came as the war in Ukraine was just beginning. It’s been sobering to watch the devastation of so many lives. I was on a women preceptors’ retreat at Adhisthana as the invasion became a shocking reality to those of us following the news; however others were making the most of being offline, and so it remained in the background until the final day of the retreat.

The theme...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – February 2022

By Jnanavaca on Tue, 1 Mar, 2022 - 13:39

Chairs' Letter – February 2022

By Jnanavaca on Tue, 1 Mar, 2022 - 13:39

Dear Order Members and Friends,

As one of her deputies, Ratnadharini asked me to write this month’s letter from the College.

My month began with ‘landing back’ from a three week solitary retreat at the LBC’s retreat centre, Vajrasana. It was the first proper solitary I’d had since the start of the pandemic and it felt like balm. I emerged refreshed and energised in a way that I haven’t felt for a long time. The...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – January 2022

By ratnadharini on Mon, 31 Jan, 2022 - 17:31

Chairs' Letter – January 2022

By ratnadharini on Mon, 31 Jan, 2022 - 17:31

Dear Order members and friends,

A week or so ago we received news of the death, at the age of 95, of Thich Nhat Hanh, founder of the Order of Interbeing and the Plum Village tradition of Engaged Buddhism, and well known for his teachings on mindfulness, peace and ecology. I still have my copy of ‘The Miracle of Mindfulness’ from 1988, when there were far fewer Dharma publications generally available in the west, and remember how...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – November 2021

By ratnadharini on Tue, 30 Nov, 2021 - 21:54

Chairs' Letter – November 2021

By ratnadharini on Tue, 30 Nov, 2021 - 21:54

Dear Order members and friends,

This month the annual international College meeting was a complex hybrid affair, taking place partly in person at Adhisthana, and partly online. Akasajoti came up with a schedule that not only took into account the different time zones, but also maximised crossover by shuffling us into different configurations; she even set up interactive zoom screen in the shrine room that meant we could all see and hear each other.

We began...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – September 2021

By ratnadharini on Thu, 30 Sep, 2021 - 10:22

Chairs' Letter – September 2021

By ratnadharini on Thu, 30 Sep, 2021 - 10:22

Dear Order members and friends, 

It’s a while since I’ve written, as there was no September Shabda.

It’s been a delight over the past few months to see a series of ‘hybrid’ events taking place at Adhisthana,‘in person’ as well as online. People have appreciated being able to reconnect in that way again, as well as enjoying the beautiful environment and the opportunity to visit the newly opened Urgyen House and exhibition, and the...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – July 2021

By punyamala on Sat, 31 Jul, 2021 - 14:25

Chairs' Letter – July 2021

By punyamala on Sat, 31 Jul, 2021 - 14:25

Dear Order Members and friends,

Ratnadharini has been encouraging the College deputies to write this monthly letter occasionally, so I agreed to take the plunge this month!

July started with an international, online weekend meeting of the College. Since I became a public preceptor in 2015 the College has met twice a year in March and November so it is a new development to meet in the summer. The meeting worked well and I appreciated connecting with the other public preceptors. Due to the...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – June 2021

By ratnadharini on Wed, 30 Jun, 2021 - 23:07

Chairs' Letter – June 2021

By ratnadharini on Wed, 30 Jun, 2021 - 23:07

Dear Order Members and friends,

Yesterday the public ordinations of another eight women took place at Adhisthana, while the church bells rang out across the fields from Coddington steeple. Sadly I was not able to be in the shrine room at the time, as I was in a zoom meeting, but it’s been delightful seeing the new Dharmacharini’s emerge into the beautiful Adhisthana context.

In fact meetings of various kinds seem to have been the flavour...

College of Public Preceptors
College of Public Preceptors

Chairs' Letter – May 2021

By ratnadharini on Mon, 31 May, 2021 - 21:54

Chairs' Letter – May 2021

By ratnadharini on Mon, 31 May, 2021 - 21:54

Dear Order Members and friends,

Last month one of my deputies, Amrutdeep, wrote from his perspective about the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic in India. 16 Order members and over 35 Dhammamitras died in India in the last couple of months and it’s still pretty grim; if you’d like to help, you can read more about some of the ways in which you can give here.

Its poignant that over the past...

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