Women and the Western Buddhist Order

Akashavana meaning ‘forest retreat of luminous space’ is the retreat centre bought with money raised by many generous people who gave to the Aranya project.

Aranya was the name of the project set up seven years ago to fundraise for and develop a retreat centre in Europe dedicated to the ordination of women into the Western Buddhist Order.

We aim to illuminate a path of Buddhist practice within a modern western Buddhist tradition and give a full picture of women practitioners within our Order. You can find information on what Buddhist Ordination for Women means and how you can help bring our retreat centre to completion. There are also articles by and about Buddhist women practicing in their everyday lives. Akashavana is part of the Friends of the Western Buddhist Order, a worldwide network of practicing Buddhists.

Why an Ordination Retreat Centre?

For the past 20 years senior women disciples of Sangharakshita and members of the Western Buddhist Order have been ordaining other women into the Order. Initially the ordinations happened within the context of quite short retreats of just a couple of weeks.

Over the past few years the retreats have been extended to 6 or 7 weeks and held in a beautiful cloistered building in Tuscany - ‘Il Convento’ - and once in our own retreat centre in India. Most recently (July and August 2006) a 6-week ordination retreat was held in a rented school in Scotland.

For many years there has been a vision to have much longer ordination retreats of at least 3 months. With this time available it would be possible to really explore aspects of the commitment to the Three Jewels we undertake at ordination. We wanted particularly to support an experience of ‘going forth’ from ‘worldly life’ for a time and allow a deeper connection with the mythic dimension of our life and practice.

Ideally rather than renting we wanted our own land and property to develop an ongoing ritual space and place of practice.