2011 ARCHIVE - Windhorse Men's Weekend Camping Retreat

Here's a personal report from Vidyavajra about the inaugural Windhorse Men's Weekend Camping Retreat, held from the 8-10th July 2011.

'I’ve not been camping in many a year, and I must admit I’d assumed my days of loafing on ground sheets and under wet canvas were long past.  So, when Arthapriya asked whether I’d come on the first Windhorse Men’s Weekend Camping Retreat, my ‘Yes’ felt slightly hesitant. How would my older body cope with being in too close a proximity to cold, damp and unyielding ground? Would I be pining for central heating, a mattress and a relaxed coffee in Café Nero, before the sun rose on the first day?

By the time the weekend arrived, Jnanasalin and I, were equipped with a tent, two inflatable mattresses. a pump, an LED light, and rucksacks filled with a variety of clothes to match anything a slightly dodgy weather forecast might throw at us. We also found our supposedly four-person tent, must have been made for emaciated midgets, as it only accommodated us two comfortably. The inflatable mattress instructions warned against over inflation lest it burst, but neglected to say under-inflation would make deep sleep impossible, as every move you made, made you feel like you were slumbering aboard a bouncy castle. After overcoming such initial teething problems, everything was fine, if not fun.

The retreat was held on land adjacent to Sacakka’s house in Thorncett St Peter in Norfolk. Aryapala and the Buddhafield East Team, had set us up very well, with a newly constructed compost loo, a basic piped water system, a shrine tent, a kitchen, and a hot shower. There was even a sauna inside an old caravan, that a few intrepid souls ventured into during the fading light of sunset. The weekend’s weather in fact turned out to be warm and humid. What rain there was, was overnight, or light and short in duration. The only torrential downpour being just minutes before we were about to depart on Sunday

The broad theme for the weekend was ‘communication.’ So, apart from meditating and performing Puja together, we told each other our life-stories in smaller groups, condensed into half-hour slots, over the two days. The rest of the time the communication was more informal, spent hanging out around the campfire, eating, singing, walking, and playing games together. It was enjoyable to spend a weekend outdoors. It was also quite unusual, and a rare pleasure, to have so much relaxed informal time together with over thirty chaps you work with, drawn from both Warehouse, Offices and the Evolution shops. Hopefully an experience that will be repeated in the future.'