Summer Sangha Retreat
The Lotus & the Vajra
Thursday 30th July – Monday 3rd August 2026
Led by Vajrashura & Sanghashura
On this long holiday weekend retreat, we will be exploring the delicate relationship between activity and receptivity in order to give balance and harmony to our practice both on and off the meditation cushion.
The active dimension of our practice – the vajra quality – is the effort to cultivate awareness, kindness, and other positive states of mind. Our practice also involves cultivating a non-directed open awareness of whatever happens to be arising in our experience – the lotus quality.
An appropriate balance between vajra and lotus can bring deeper levels of stillness, creativity, emotional positivity and insight.
This retreat, led by Vajrashura and Sanghashura, will include meditation practice and instruction, and inspiring Dharma talks. The ritual element of the retreat will involve introducing and invoking the magical figure of Padmasambhava, the lotus-born one.
All this will take place in our lovely new Shubha Vihara retreat centre in Tipperary’s lovely countryside. As always there will also be plenty of time to enjoy the magical countryside and good company! So do think of joining us for this bank holiday weekend.
When
4 Nights
Thursday 30th July – Monday 3rd August 2026
Where
This retreat will take place in our very own retreat centre Shubha Vihara, in Ballycorrigan, Ballina, Co. Tipperary. It’s approximately 2 hour’s drive from Dublin City. See below for a Google Map.
This retreat is for Sangha regulars who have a regular meditation practice of the Mindfulness of Breathing and Metta Bhavana.
Vajrashura started practicing yoga and learnt to meditate while in university doing a Masters in High Performance Computing. He firstly did these through university societies, and then in the Dublin Buddhist Centre. He has worked as part of the Centre Team since 2002 and in 2007 he joined the Triratna Buddhist Order.
Since ordination, he’s been one of the DBC’s main teachers, leading many courses, retreats, and events each year, and is concerned with helping people go more deeply into meditation and Buddhism. He also is helping coordinate the new retreat centre project and looks after the DBC finances.
Sanghashura began a practice of mindfulness and meditation while studying cello at the Royal College of Music in London. This interest quite naturally led him to Buddhism and in 1992 he became a regular attendee of the West London Buddhist Centre.
After being ordained in 2005, Sanghashura started teaching men and women to meditate in Killaloe, Co. Clare, introducing them to the wider context of the Triratna Buddhist Community. He is the founder and manager of the Killaloe Meditation Group.
We asked previous retreat participants what the highlights were for them. They answered:
All dishes are vegan, but don’t let that put you off. We’ve astounded by many omnivores on our retreats who admitted they had no idea vegan food could be so tasty and filling!
Every meal is cooked from scratch, and there is always enough for second helpings. No one ever goes hungry on our retreats.
Shubha Vihara is an approximately 2 hour and 15 minute drive from Dublin City Centre.
For most retreats, we organise a car-sharing list so that people travelling from the same area can connect. If you need a lift or can offer one, simply let us know when you book. While we can’t guarantee a lift, car sharing is often possible and is a lovely way to begin your retreat in the spirit of friendship and community.
Shubha Vihara is also accessible by public transport. The simplest route is to take a coach to Limerick and from there take Bus Éireann Route 323 to Ballina. By prior arrangement, we can usually organise collection from Ballina, making the final part of your journey to the retreat centre straightforward.
What to Expect
All bedrooms are shared with fellow participants, typically with three to five retreatants per room. There are no single rooms at this venue.
Sharing a room is a meaningful aspect of the retreat. Many find it enriching to live simply alongside others, fostering a quiet sense of connection, mutual support, and community. This spirit of shared living reflects some key elements of Buddhist practice — simplicity, awareness of others, and compassion.
A €75 deposit per person of this payment is non-refundable under all circumstances.
If you wish to cancel or transfer a booking please notify us as soon as possible at info@dublinbuddhistcentre.org
Cancellation:
- If you wish to cancel your place more than 14 days prior to the retreat starting, a full refund minus the deposit will be offered.
- If cancellation occurs within 14 days of the retreat starting no refund will be available.
Transfers
- At least 14 days before the retreat starts: we will transfer your place to another residential retreat if there are places available on the alternative residential retreat.
- 14 days or less before the retreat starts: we may be able to transfer your place to another residential retreat if there are places available on the alternative residential retreat and we can fill your place on the original retreat.
- If the residential retreat you wish to transfer to costs more than your original booking you will need to pay the difference at the time of transferring in order to secure your place.
- We will refund the difference if the residential retreat you wish to transfer to costs less than the original booking.
- We will only transfer a booking once and no transfer will be possible once a residential retreat has started.
This retreat is for people who are familiar with the meditation practices as taught in our community and, ideally, who have been on retreat with us before.
Cost
We do tiered pricing, depending on the circumstances.
- €385 waged
- €340 low-waged
- €275 unwaged or student
You can pay a deposit of €75 to secure your place.