Tara’s Place

Why is this retreat centre named Taraloka? Tara is a female archetypal Buddhist embodiment of compassion; particularly active compassion, compassion stepping into the world. Loka is Sanskrit for place, or realm, so Taraloka means Tara’s Realm or Tara’s place.

Green Tara in particular symbolises the myth of Taraloka. From a posture grounded in meditation, her right leg steps out into the world, with compassion. Women come here – whether for a weekend, to learn to meditate for the first time, for Tai Chi or chanting; or for an intensive meditation or Dharma retreat. We step into Tara’s realm, and often, something magical happens: we contact some aspect of ease, energy, love or freedom which wasn’t available to us before. And then, at the end of the retreat, we step back out into the world – into our daily lives, our context. But we are different. We have changed, and we take that flavour of ease, energy, love and freedom back into our everyday worlds. We need those moments of freedom. And the world needs them even more.