Archives: Resources

Drikung Dharmakirti International Sangha is a community of Dharma seekers and practitioners from around the world connected to Open Sangha Collective Advisor, Dr. Hun Lye Dorjé Lopön, and to each other.

“Drikung Dharmakirti” was the name given by Khenchen Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche—one of the senior teachers in the Drikung Kagyu lineage—to the group started by Könchok Yedor (Dr. Lye) when he first moved to North Carolina, USA in the early 2000’s.

The Bodhicitta foundation NGO was founded by Australian Tibetan nun and advisor and teacher with Open Sangha Collective, Ayya Yeshe, who has spent over 8 years in the slums in Nagpur, India, working with people from the community previously known as ‘untouchables’. Bodhicitta Foundation NGO works in India and other developing countries to empower mainly women and children with education, job skills, human rights, health and wellbeing. They have a range of projects such as women’s job training, girl’s home and education facilities and so forth.

Nirodha organizes insight (vipassana) meditation related events in Finland. They offer silent meditation retreats, weekly meditation evenings, monthly practice days, and other activities. The teachers of their retreats come from abroad; many of them have got their teacher training at Gaia House, Insight Meditation Society, or Spirit Rock. The teachings are based on Theravada Buddhism. Many Nirodha events take place in Helsinki, but they have local sitting groups in several other Finnish cities as well. Everybody is warmly welcome to practise with them!

Buddha’s Four Noble Truths are an organisation based in California that are committed to making the teachings of the Buddha avaiable on a dana basis to all. They put on courses, practice days and retreats in English and Mandarin.

Thabarwa Nature Centres, inspired by Venerable Sayadaw U Ottamasara’s original Thabarwa Centre just outside Yangoon Myanmar, are place where all who seek refuge, shelter, care and guidance can find it.

This centre in Southern Italy is led by Sayalay Khema Cari who teaches a weekly class on Cittanupassana as part of our Sangha Sunday offering.

Charles Eisenstein’s self paced online course on Living in the Gift is a deep dive into ideas around generosity, economics, modes of perception and how they impact our construction of reality as well as gift economies and the nature of commumity and human relations.

The Association for Spiritual Integrity is a voluntary, inclusive, international organisation of spiritual leaders, teachers and guides. Their mission is to provide a community of peers to support one another in our ongoing professional, personal and spiritual development.

The ethical code that we ask our teachers to abide by is largely based on the ASI’s code of ethics.

Ekutheleni Retreat Place in the foothills of the French Pyrenees is a beautiful and simple retreat location set in and amongst nature.

It was founded and run by Sumedha and Noon, two of our teachers who are available for 1-on-1 teaching who mangage to run it on a dana basis.

They offer group, solitary, chanting and walking retreats. They also explore bringing meditation into practical life.  Retreats are offered in English or in French with translation as needed.  All retreats are LGBTQI friendly.

Sanditthika Meditation community is a sangha of people from around the world living simply and practising meditation in a network of caves in the hills around Almeria in Southern Spain.  Anybody with a sincere wish to practice can join them for a few days, months or indeed for the rest of their lives.

It was started by Beth Upton, a meditation and Dharma teacher and former nun in the Pa Auk tradition of Therevada Buddhism for 10 years who acts as an adviosr to Open Sangha Collective and is available for individual instruction through us. Sanditthika is run on an entirely dana basis.

Buddhist Geeks started life as a podcast, online magazine and conference headed by Vince Horn and Ryan Oelke. It its current iteration it is now a whole approach to practising and teaching Dharma characterised by an innovatively modular approach that draws on and is developing emerging ideas around meta-dharma, pragmatic dharma, open source dharma and transparent generosity.

Their collective, including Emily and Vince Horn, Francis Lacoste and Ryan Oelke, offer one-on-one teachings, group teachings and retreats across a range of experimentally integrated contemplative practices.

Open Dharma Foundation is a scholarship fund for silent meditation retreats. It exists in order to provide individuals from all over the world with scholarships for silent meditation retreats who without financial aid would be unable to access sustained, intensive practice.

SanghaSeva is a charity that offers retreats and events that participate in humanitarian and ecological projects in ways that support deep and meaningful lives. It was set up in 2004 by Zohar Lavie, Nathan Glyde and Rob Burbea.