A weekend retreat exploring Compassionate Warrior Training: meeting the world with wisdom and heart
Hosted By: Vidyamala
Friday, July 24th to Sunday, July 26th, 2026
Online via Zoom - see session times below
Event Description:
Drawing on an approach developed by Vidyamala over many years of teaching at Taraloka, this weekend retreat invites you to train as a compassionate warrior — courageous, tender, and open-hearted.
We will explore the core Triratna meditation practices of Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana. Together, these form a balanced foundation of awareness and kindness, traditionally likened to the two wings of a bird — both needed for the heart-mind to soar.
Across the weekend, Vidyamala will weave together mind-training approaches from both early and later Buddhism. These methods support us in gently unwinding the knots of suffering within, while also turning outward with intentional kindness as a way to cultivate compassion and love.
Many describe our world as being in a state of “permacrisis” or “polycrisis” with overlapping and ongoing global challenges. How are we to respond?
The Buddha’s answer remains timeless: cultivate wisdom, seeing things as they truly are; and compassion, allowing the heart to break open for ourselves and others. The world urgently needs wise and kind individuals, and this retreat offers a grounded, practical training for our challenging times.
The weekend will include teaching, guided meditations, and devotional practice. Let us come together for the sake of the world. It is more urgent than ever.
This retreat also serves as a teaser for a week-long retreat that Vidyamala and team plan to offer in 2027.
Attend any or all conversations in Zoom.
This event will be recorded and may be published online for others to access. Only the leader's video will be used except where users consent to appear spotlighted in a public conversation. Private conversations in breakout rooms will not be recorded.
Session Times:
First daily session (2 hrs): USA & Canada PST 2:00 am | México CST 3:00 am | USA & Canada EST 5:00 am | IE & UK BST 10:00 am | Europe CEST 11:00 am | India IST 2:30 pm | Australia AEST 7:00 pm | New Zealand NZST 9:00 pm
Second daily session (1.5 hrs): USA & Canada PST 8:00 am | México CST 9:00 am | USA & Canada EST 11:00 am | IE & UK BST 4:00 pm | Europe CEST 5:00 pm | India IST 8:30 pm | Australia AEST 1:00 am (next day) | New Zealand NZST 3:00 am (next day)
Third daily session (1.5 hrs): USA & Canada PST 11:30 am | México CST 12:30 pm | USA & Canada EST 2:30 pm | IE & UK BST 7:30 pm | Europe CEST 8:30 pm | India IST 12:00 midn (next day) | Australia AEST 4:30 am (next day) | New Zealand NZST 6:30 am (next day)
Event Registration:
Register at the link below.
Suggested Donation:
Suggested donation for the whole retreat:
£90-50 | $120-65 | €105-60
Get one ticket and come to any session you wish throughout the week!
Like all Buddhist Centre events, this retreat is offered by donation rather than charging a compulsory ticket price. We want to do this because we never want money to be an obstacle to taking part in a supportive community, and we know many people are struggling financially. The amount we suggest reflects the huge amount of work and love that goes into putting on events we hope will benefit everyone attending. If you can, please donate today. Thank you!
About the Leader:
Vidyamala was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 1995 and is co-founder of Breathworks, a leading mindfulness organisation. She focuses particularly on using awareness and kindness training to work with pain and illness. This draws on her own experience of managing spinal pain and disability. She is an award-winning author of three books and was awarded an OBE in 2022 for her services to pain management and well-being. She regularly leads retreats & workshops and speaks at international summits, events, and webinars.
Vidyamala has long had an interest in the creative mind and heart and how to access this through myth, ritual, and non-conceptual approaches and looks forward to deepening this even more on the online retreat.