The Four Gifts: Buddhism for Today and Tomorrow

Starts 3 Oct 2026

A retreat for mitras in their 20s and 30s, led by Dhiraprabha and Darshanasiddhi.

In the mid-1970s, Triratna was emerging as a bold new Buddhist movement. Sangharakshita set out its offering in his poem The Four Gifts and a series of lectures later published as Buddhism for Today — and Tomorrow.

Together, these expressed the core of Triratna’s vision and contribution: a creative presentation of the Buddha’s teaching, rooted in tradition and shaped for modern life.

The four gifts are:
A lotus flower - symbolising the system of Dharma practice and personal transformation
A golden net - the Buddhist vision of existence realised through insight into conditionality
A shepherd’s round dance – the Order as the nucleus of a New Society
A garden planted in the wilderness – the structures that we create to live a supportive Dharma life and benefit the world.

Fifty years on, this retreat will be an opportunity for us to reflect on our relationship to these four gifts, and imagine how we can make them relevant for the next fifty years.