October emerges, immersing Adhisthana in autumnal atmospheres. Trees and hedgerows lit up like bonfires in shades of apple-yellow through rosehip-crimson via auburn, oranges, and burnt-sunset. Sky white, breeze chill, and mornings dark; as time turns inward, so must we.
The month began with the Sub30 Meditation Intensive on Mindfulness and Insight, which brought a silent stillness to the retreat centre. The Operations team (minus Olivia and Prakashamitra, who were attending the retreat) enjoyed their tea breaks in silence, so as not to disturb the quiet. Fortunately, they survived the absence of both their manager and front-of-house extraordinaire. Simultaneously, we had the Sangharakshita Study Course, whose presence imbued the site with an awareness of the profound depth of Bhante’s vision.
We bade Lalitanaga a “bon voyage” as he leaves for a nine-month sabbatical, including time spent in his native Sweden, and a three-month retreat in Uttaraloka. All being well, he will return during the summer of 2026, so no goodbyes necessary. In the meantime, however, we will miss his playful humour, his visionary creativity, and his indefatigable devotion to serving Adhisthana – its buildings, communities and visitors – in whatever way he can. His final act of service was to beautifully decorate the men’s dining room in celebration of Khemabandhu’s 40th birthday – a momentous occasion during which we rejoiced in the many merits of our tireless chair, who enjoyed a traditional apple crumble with Bird’s custard, just how he likes it.
On that subject, the last of the great apple crop of 2025 has now been harvested, thanks to Saddhaloka. It’s gone down particularly well in the form of stewed apple as a topping for porridge. The great number of apples in the fridge should keep the retreat centre supplied for a good few months yet.
The spirit of music has been making an appearance this month. Vidyaruchi began trialling his passion project, the Adhisthana Bhakti Collective, featuring himself on guitar, Maria on flute, and Bertrand from the Dharma Life Community on percussion. At Renate’s request, Hally led a vocal improv workshop attended by some of the Ops Team, plus Vidyaruchi, exploring collective free harmonisation and spontaneous devotional singing.
Sanghadeva and Abhayanara took the Dharma Life community on a walking trip to the Rhinogs in Wales, where they had quite the adventure. On the last day they scaled a mountain to install a stone tablet of Padmasambhava on the mountainside. With heavy rain and gale-force winds, they could hardly hear each other as they performed the ceremony and then promptly proceeded to get lost. Fortunately, everyone made it down in one piece, and have returned to Adhisthana with deeper friendships and renewed energies.
Monday Class regular Taylor, alongside Sanghadeva, has spearheaded a new group in Hereford, who will meet weekly on Wednesday evenings. This is an exciting opportunity for more people to access the Dharma, and for those who attend the Monday Class to contribute by helping out with the new group.
After a quiet period at the retreat centre, we hosted 108 retreatants (very auspicious) onto the Autumn Sanghas Retreat, themed around the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Practitioners of all levels gathered from sanghas across the UK and beyond, many of whom were deeply moved by the content and atmosphere of the retreat, with periods of silence, Dharma talks, discussion groups, meditation, and ritual. On the penultimate day of the retreat, we commemorated the anniversary of Bhante’s death seven years ago. The ceremony included talks looking back at the time of his death and the funeral, mantra chanting, and circumambulation of the burial mound. With the passing of Halloween and its pagan counterpart, Samhain, which mark the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, it seems an appropriate time to pause and reflect on rebirth, impermanence, and death.
