Taraloka

Taraloka is a women's Buddhist retreat centre set in beautiful Welsh Borders countryside. We are part of the Triratna Buddhist Community. Founded in 1985, Taraloka offers a breadth and depth of Buddhist and meditation retreats for all levels of experience, from newcomers to committed Buddhists.  As far as possible, Taraloka runs on the Buddhist principle of generosity.  This is radical – thank you for being a part of that! Many people in our society suffer from stress, struggle in their lives, or simply experience a lack of meaning in a consumer society and a virtual world where social interaction increasingly happens online. In addition, our society is becoming more and more polarised and dominated by fear-thinking.  But it doesn’t have to be this way.  Each of us who comes on retreat at Taraloka has the opportunity to touch something deep within ourselves - something indescribable, loving and free.  And when we go back to our familiar lives, the effects of this ripple out into the world.  This is why Taraloka exists. The centre is dedicated to the cultivation of wisdom and compassion, accessible to all.  Many report back to us that their lives have been transformed by what they learnt at Taraloka.   Some have said they feel that their lives were saved.  As one woman said to me: ‘Kindness is painted into the walls.’  Our aim is to make retreats as accessible to all as we can, whether someone is on benefits or affluent. We need to make some charge (currently £65-£95 for a retreat), to let us know that person is committed to coming. But after that, Taraloka relies entirely on donations to continue offering retreats which allow women to grow in wisdom and compassion, and to change their lives.