Young People

Hundreds of people in their teens, twenties and early thirties have come to Adhisthana for retreats since 2013. Through our annual Dharma Life Courses and with opportunities to live and work here, Adhisthana provides full-time contexts for young Buddhists to live a full Dharma life.

You can use this page to find your local young Buddhist group, discover events at Adhisthana, listen to talks from young order members and more.

Young People Events at Adhisthana

Sub35s Festival Retreat: The Essence of Zen

Sub35s Festival Retreat: The Essence of Zen

Led by Kusaladevi, Ksantikara + Sthiramanas
24 – 28 Aug | 4 nights
Residential | Open to all under 35
Sub30s Meditation Intensive: The Direct Path of Awakening 

Sub30s Meditation Intensive: The Direct Path of Awakening 

Led by Vidyamala + Vajrashura
13 – 22 Oct | 9 nights
Residential | Open to all under 30
Sub30s Retreat: Energy & The Tantric Precepts

Sub30s Retreat: Energy & The Tantric Precepts

Led by a team of young order members
24 – 26 November | 2 nights
Residential | Open to all under 30
Sub30 Seminar: Dharma Treasures

Sub30 Seminar: Dharma Treasures

Dhammarati
26 – 29 November | 3 nights
Residential | Open to Mitras under 35
Dharma Life Course for Young Women+

Dharma Life Course for Young Women+

A four-month residential course
11 March – 28 June 2024
Residential | Open to those under 35

Young People Groups and Retreats Elsewhere

Many local Buddhist centres run groups for young people and a number of retreat centres across the world offer special retreats.

You can keep up to date with the Young People project and find out about upcoming events via the dedicated blog on the Buddhist Centre Online.

Residential Courses

Adhisthana has had the delight of hosting 10 Dharma Life Courses since 2013.

These are usually three or five-month residential courses providing a thorough grounding in the principles and practice of Triratna Buddhism. They are aimed at mitras and those training for ordination, usually under the age of 35 and half of the people on the previous courses have come from outside the UK.

Read more

Watch & Listen

These days there is so much information about meditation and Buddhism available online that it can be hard to know where to begin. Here’s a few suggestions to get you started:

Get in touch

Ksantikara, co-funded by the European Chair’s Assembly and Adhisthana, joined the Adhisthana community in Jan 2021 to help convene and coordinate the Young People project at Adhisthana and across Europe.

He can help point you in the right direction to get involved at your local centre, online or here at Adhisthana. No question is too big, or too small!

Young Facilitators

For many years Adhisthana has hosted an annual Young Facilitators training weekend for people who help run events for young people at their local Triratna Centre. In addition to these in-person weekends, there are now gatherings and training events taking place online.

If you’re a young facilitator (or thinking about setting something up at your local centre) you can email Ksantikara for more information, or you can ask to join our online space.