*Updated* Thanks for taking part! This space has been archived, so it's no longer possible to sign up. Anyone can now listen to all the teaching resources and watch the talks. If you took part you can still access the full space, all posts, and comments. You might want to re-enable your email notifications now! :)

Living In The Greater Mandala
If you’ve come to this space, the chances are you aspire to live a skiful and aware life, want to meditate and practise the dharma. One of the best ways to support our practice is to go on retreat – take a week or more to move away from our normal habitual surroundings, live a simple life with a degree of silence and solitude, some Dharma input and time for more meditation than usual. But for some of us it is hard to get away on retreat – and in any case, the fact is that we spend most of our life immersed in ‘life’ – work, kids, commuting, doing the shopping, and the myriad and endless potential distractions of the 21st century.

Our "Urban Retreat" is a week of online talks, teachings, led meditations, and other resources – all designed to help you practise the Buddha's teachings more effectively as you go about your day. The retreat begins on November 21st and ends on November 28th. On the first day you can take part in a worldwide Metta Wave loving kindness meditation at 4pm local time! Join us and help carry on the Metta Wave all week...

N.B. Only participants will see retreat materials posted after the retreat begins - join now!

Read more about the theme | Find out more about how you can take part | Tips for a Successful Online Retreat

Download the Urban Retreat program | Where to Find What for the Urban Retreat | Change your email notification settings

How To Join The Retreat: Three Easy Steps!

This international retreat is being run by the European Chairs Assembly in conjunction with The Buddhist Centre Online. If you're not already a member of the site, join here and we'll take you through the process to register. Then come back to this page.
If you are already a member of The Buddhist Centre Online and are now logged in, click "+ follow" in the banner above. Then confirm - and that's it! We'll send you email notifications when there is new content for the course. You can set the frequency of notifications by logging in and choosing 'my profile' from the user menu (just click your own name at the top right of any page).

Once you have joined the retreat you can also make posts of your own throughout! Let us know how you're getting on by blogging, ask questions, or share pictures of your shrine! Use the posting bar above to get started...
To get here from any other space on the site, just click on your name (at the top right of any page) and choose 'my groups'. The Urban Retreat 2015 will be listed there. See here for more instructions on how to take part and get the most out of the Urban Retreat.

Need help or information? Contact us anytime: support@thebuddhistcentre.com

Have a wonderful and insightful week!

"Living in the Greater Mandala of Aesthetic Appreciation" is the title of a chapter in Wisdom Beyond Words, a book by Sangharakshita. It contains his commentaries on two texts, the Diamond Sutra and the Ratnaguna-Samcayyagatha. You can read the chapter for free here.

Buy a copy of the book and support Buddhist publishing at Windhorse Publications:

Buy in print | Buy the eBook | Listen to the community audiobook