Padmaloka Buddhist Retreat Centre is a Buddhist retreat centre for men, located at Lesingham House in Surlingham, Norfolk, England. The centre is part of the Triratna Buddhist Community, formerly the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, which aims to make the teachings of the Buddha [1] and Buddhism more accessible. The name Padmaloka means 'Realm of the Lotus' in Pāli, padma meaning lotus, and loka meaning realm, place, or abode.
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Padmaloka was established at Lesingham House in 1976 by Sangharakshita, the founder of the Triratna community, and became its first permanent retreat centre.
Padmaloka is run by a resident community of 13 men. Some are full-time teachers and retreat leaders. Others look after Padmaloka's day-to-day running, such as gardening, cooking, administration, and maintenance. The community aims to engage in work as a spiritual practice by bringing mindfulness to the tasks, and to that of the other retreatants.
The centre runs a busy annual programme, with retreats ranging from a weekend up to two weeks in length. Some are open for all men to attend, while some are only for those seeking ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order and others only for those who have been ordained.
One feature of the centre is the Padmaloka stupa. This is said to contain relics of Dhardo Rimpoche, one of Sangharakshita's teachers. Its inscriptions read Cherish the Doctrine. Live united. Radiate love[2] [1] - which was Dhardo Rimpoche's motto.