‘But what was this [Triratna] Buddhist Order that after a year or more of preliminary work had suddenly blossomed lotus-like from the mud of the metropolis? Essentially it was a body of people who had gone for Refuge to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha and who, by virtue of that common spiritual commitment, now constituted a spiritual community - a spiritual community that symbolized on the mundane level, the same transcendental spiritual community or Sangha which was the third of those same Three Jewels to which they had gone for Refuge.’ The History of my Going for Refuge
Why join an Order? Why not simply be a Buddhist practitioner? What do I have to do to join our Order? We will be exploring the principles behind the Order as the emergence of a deeper principle - the possibility of a community of people working together on the basis of love and wisdom, karuna and prajna. This is an important retreat to do for anyone who wishes to join the Triratna Buddhist Order: whether at the beginning of their journey, or if they have asked a long time ago.