Balajit
Balajit (he/him) has been leading retreats and events across the UK since 2007. For several years he lived and worked at Vajraloka Retreat Centre in North Wales. He is currently based in Birmingham, where he mixes Buddhist teaching responsibilities with work as a trauma therapist. He has studied the newly emerging psycho-biological approaches to trauma work- and is qualified in Somatic Experiencing, NARM therapy and SHEN Therapy. His teaching focuses on the core teachings of the Buddha as outlined in the ancient texts. He particularly emphasises the importance of body awareness and embodiment, both in meditation and in everyday life.…
Jinapalita
I have been living and practicing within Triratna for most of my adult life, and for the latter years very much associated with Vajraloka. I really value living in a friendly community that has the exploration of meditation, both personal and collective at the centre of its vision. (And it’s delightful living in beautiful north Wales as well!)
Maitrisiddhi
I first got involved with the Triratna Buddhist Community in 2005, when I was living in Sheffield, working as a physiotherapist and doing a lot of rock climbing and mountaineering. It was when I was on a trip to the Andes when I was 25, that quite by chance I picked up my first book on Buddhism, and thought: ‘This makes so much sense!’ I’ve been practising meditation and the Dharma (the teachings of the Buddha) ever since. I moved to Taraloka Buddhist Retreat Centre in 2009, drawn by a desire to integrate meditation experience more fully into my daily…
Silabodhi
Silabodhi has been practising Buddhism for more than 20 years. He’s one of our long term retreat attendees at Vajraloka, which he considers his ‘spiritual home’. He was ordained in 2015 and amongst other things he’s been chair of the Manchester Buddhist Centre for 5 years from 2019 to 2024, the CEO of a small manufacturing business for 32 years, a Meditation and Dharma class teacher for over 10 years, also leading study groups. His practice is very clearly based on inquiry, with a keen interest in seeing through delusion that causes suffering. He’s too interested in current affairs, but…
Tejananda
Tejananda has been practising meditation and Buddhism for nearly 50 years and has been a member of the Triratna Order since 1980. He has worked in a vegetarian café in Croydon, helped establish the Bristol Buddhist Centre, worked for the Karuna Trust, written a book introducing the fundamentals of Buddhism (‘The Buddhist Path to Awakening’) and taught meditation and Dharma in many parts of the UK, Europe, the USA and Australasia. A member of the Vajraloka resident team from 1995 to 2023, he remains actively involved in teaching and leading retreats at Vajraloka, as well as at other Triratna centres…
Vajradevi
Vajradevi started meditating in 1985 and has been ordained for 30 years. She has been practising and teaching mindfulness with a strong insight dimension for over 25 years. To further her practice, she has studied with specialists on Satipatthana on long retreats in Burma and the US. She is the author of ‘Uncontrived Mindfulness: ending suffering though attention, curiosity and wisdom’ published in 2021 by Windhorse Publications. Between 2000-2007 she spearheaded Akashavana, our womens ordination retreat centre in Spain. You can find more information about her approach and read her meditation blog at www.uncontrivedmindfulness.net