8 – 15 August | LED BY Prakasha, Satyalila, Ratnaprabha, Paramartha + Amitajyoti
The Buddha, Bhante, Blake, and the Romantics shared a profound creativity in how they saw the world and how they experienced it, including the natural world. This way of seeing – and being – isn’t something we can simply grasp with our limited, conceptual minds. We need our emotions, imagination, and somatic intuition to come into play alongside our rational minds. Doing this isn’t easy – but it is possible. And it’s central to our practice on the ‘Blake retreats,’ which involve a range of creative practices, including seeing images, hearing talks, reflecting together, meditating, journeying, ritual, artwork, writing, bonfires, and quiet unprogrammed time.
The inspiration that Bhante found in both the Dharma and William Blake wove through his long life, from his teens to his 90s. In his essay ‘Buddhism and William Blake,’ he gives us a clear perspective on Blake as one of the foremost of the ‘winged spirits’ who can help us to understand and translate Dharmic principles into the language of Western culture. The Triratna Blake Reader contains this essay and a deeper exploration of key themes.
Blake’s contemporaries, the Romantic poets Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, and others, are also important to Bhante’s presentation of the Dharma. They all worked at the dawn of the industrial age and were already responding to its effects. For us, in the aftermath of that age, it is only too clear that the most devastating consequences of it are seen in nature and that we urgently need to transform our way of seeing – and being with – the natural world. So, nature forms an integral part of our theme for this retreat.
Just as the Dharma is ‘caught, not taught,’ two-dimensional words on a page can’t fully communicate the experience we’re inviting you to participate in here – but if something touches your heart-mind, imagination, or intuition, why not join us and discover what might be waiting to unfold?
It was so enriching… and as a newcomer to Blake, it was an excellent introduction for me… not at all ‘heady’ in the way I thought it might be. It was led in such a heartfelt, embodied, imaginative way – I came away feeling touched on many different ‘levels’. I have been talking about it all year.
Sraddhadipa, commenting on her first Blake retreat in 2023
The eighth retreat on the English poet, artist, prophet, and visionary William Blake will take place from 8–15 August 2025, over the 198th anniversary of his death in 1827. In Bhante’s words, Blake is important to us because he offers us ‘a non-theistic imaginative vision’ and an example of a ‘radical revaluation of Western religion and culture.’
For the first time in 2025, we’re opening the retreat to those training for ordination into the Triratna Buddhist Order. (The first seven retreats were run for Order members only.)
No familiarity with William Blake’s work is required.
This is not an ordination training retreat.
Reception is from 4pm on the day of arrival, with the retreat beginning with supper at 6pm.
While you’re here you will be participating in communal life. This includes meditating with everyone on site in the main shrine room in the morning, taking part in daily tasks and at the end of your retreat you will help us to prepare the retreat centre for the next group to join us.
With this in mind, the retreat will finish after the clear-up, so if travelling on public transport, please book a train after 11am.
For: Order Members and GFR Mitras
Start date: 8th Aug 2025
End date: 15th Aug 2025
Event Type: Residential
Price: Standard £330 | Concession £265 | Financial Assistance £210
Please note that the payment includes a non-refundable and non-transferrable deposit of £70.
Bursary Fund: Help those who can't afford to come on retreat
You're invited to donate to enable individuals experiencing financial hardship to attend events with bursary places.
Go to our Bursary Fund page