Led by: Ratnadeva, Moksacara, Suryamani and Sanghasiha
Location: Frogmill, nr. Throwleigh, Devon
Deposit amount: £70
Experience level: Open to all
Age group: Adults
Total suggested cost (excluding deposit): standard:£230, supported:£140, donation tier (helping others to come on retreat):£420
Vehicle Pass: Car:£15, Live-in- 6m and under: £30, Live-in- over 6m: £30
See our FAQ for an explanation of the deposit/ dana/ donation tier system. Please do read this is you think that you will not be able to afford the retreat or you are not sure about the deposit/dana/ donation tier system in any way. We have suggested donation amounts to guide you and they relate to what it costs us to run a retreat. However, you are free to give as little or as much as befits your circumstances.
How can we know ourselves in everything? How do animism and Buddhism cross-pollinate each other? We will explore these questions in the context of the global environmental crisis and the core Buddhist teachings of interconnection and compassion.
Coming together as a human community, we will be held and supported by the bountiful natural community of Frogmill - held by the gleaming eye of a raven and the magic of the hare’s breath. Through ritual, immersive practices and meditation, we will deepen our connection with the natural world and honour the intrinsic value and sacredness of all life.
Leader Bios
Ratnadeva
Ratnadeva was born in Ireland at a time when the wee folk danced all night in fairy forts. He was present at the Phoenix Park in 1979 in his capacity as Opus Dei stormtrooper, when John Paul II visited and banished the quare folk. He qualified as a chemical engineer in the early 80s and worked as an industrial chemist for a decade before retraining in environmental management. He specialised in contaminant hydrogeology at the University of Sheffield and went on to work in this field with the British Geological Survey. He became a Buddhist in the early 2000s and his practice of meditation catalysed his engaging in nature-based Druidic practice a few years later.
In 2009, he left his scientific career to join the Buddhafield charity, working mainly on organising their camping retreats in the wilds of Devon and Somerset. This gave him the opportunity to weave together explorations in Druidry and his practice of the Buddhist path. He was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2013 and in 2019 he moved to London to work with the West London Buddhist Centre, where he combines teaching meditation and Buddhism with mentoring and administration roles. Occasionally, he flees the metropolis and re-immerses in nature. Occasionally, he dances with the wee folk.
Sanghasiha
Sanghasiha has been leading Buddhism & Deep Ecology Days and Retreats for the London Buddhist Centre for over ten years whilst teaching meditation and secular mindfulness in a variety of settings for the past fourteen years. He got involved with Extinction Rebellion fairly early on and has mainly concentrated his efforts in the areas of regeneration and well-being. He is very interested in sound meditation and ‘Deep Listening’ and its role in connecting us with the natural world more deeply both through field recordings, compositions and individual exploration.
Suryamani
Suryamani is a bodywork practitioner by trade, encouraging a loving awareness, ease and intuition in the body. She also loves to share nature inspired meditations and rituals and regularly leads yatra's (walking meditation retreats) within the local landscape. These activities help soften the imagined boundaries between our senses and all this here and now opening us up to our indigenous wisdom and the wisdom of the Buddha.
Moksacara
Coming soon
Things to note