For a more Technical Legal Explanation of the structure of the Organisations see below
SanghaSeva | Meditation in Action retreats take place in Europe, India and Israel-Palestine. These retreats integrate meditation, observation, and reflection with participation in positive actions for the benefit of others and the world. What we could call "retreats that touch the world".
Active ContemplationWe feel that meditation, contemplation & spirituality, are not just passive & solitary pursuits, but can be active & engaged ones. That there is real benefit in, and genuine possibilities of, finding ways to transform self,
other & the world through engagement.
Whether we are planting trees on deforested land, openly listening to people's suffering or massaging the stiff limbs of a healed leper, love and wisdom can come through. We can embody,
actually bring into being, our deepest aspirations by being "the change we wish to see in the world". (Mahatma Gandhi)
SanghaSeva | Meditation in Action was initially born from the heart to give back to the world. To take all the love, compassion and wisdom we can cultivate alone and spread them outwards. Yet rather than waiting until we feel ready, have enough, or are perfected, we can already use the form of interacting, sharing, and engagement to help others and ourselves.
In the words of Pema Chodron: 'we work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.'
The word SanghaSeva is made up of two Sanskrit words: 
"Sangha-" this part
means a group of people who feel connected to a similar cause: like a community of spiritual friends, or a body of heartful activists.
"-Seva" means offering the best we have to give. Oftentimes it is translated as
self-less service. We might want to adjust that to being an action that has or builds up less-self in it.
This can come to life as an action that is aimed at benefiting the recipient as much as it benefits the doer. For as long as we wish to find lasting wellbeing in this life, we will find the doorways of generosity and kindness open life the widest: and being less self-centred is a skilful and efficient route to happiness.
We also refer to SanghaSeva | Meditation in Action retreats as "Connected actions for active connection". This definition further brings the feeling of the mutuality and reciprocity between activity and contemplation. As we experience it, each one deeply supports the growth of the other.
Therefore we aim to offer opportunities to explore living fully through positive actions. This is not just an attempt to 'do good' and then feel better about ourselves, (although that is a delightful side-benefit) but stems from a deep wish to bring compassion and love to the suffering on this earth.
At the same time, with humility and willingness (supporting each other), we acknowledge that we are a participant of the whole and therefore growing, learning, and evolving through the process of sharing.
We feel that by utilising the wisdom of contemplative practices we can touch into that which connects us all. When we can act from there we find that we have more freedom to hold conflicting views and opinions, have more space to allow life to unfold, and more wisdom to find the appropriate response.
In our retreats we are called to explore our balance of being and doing, to investigate what is really helping, and to expand our boundaries. Its our wish to widen our circle of friends and what in life we can let into our hearts. In this way we feel we are offering a continuation of the deepening of meditation, contemplation or spirit; of being open, in life, to life, in all its joys and sorrows.
These retreats can be fruitful and transformative, not least because they challenge our edges.
We find the loving patience that helps us to connect and stay steady with ourselves in contemplation, allows us to be fully with others,
and with the world. And in a beautiful reciprocal way as we become more intimate with others we can find new depths of intimacy with ourselves.
Although we can each do service work separately we are drawn toward developing an active sangha, whether on retreat or continued connection outside of them. Nourishing each others path, and encouraging each other in developing generosity, we become more than the sum of our parts.
Transforming an idea into reality can take many forms. We aim to offer opportunities around the world
for practicing dharma in action on both social and environmental projects. We are also happy to support and encourage more ideas and initiatives, so that we may be a nursery for positive actions.
If you would like more information
about any of our projects or help and support creating your own please contact us
SanghaSeva is a not for profit collective of volunteers.
If you would like to offer financial support you are welcome to visit our donate page.
If you would like to offer your time please
contact us
Below is some more information about our founders, supporters, and facilitators.
On SanghaSeva | Meditation in Action retreats we choose to have facilitators rather than teachers. A facilitator, one who makes thing easier, will hold the form of the event to support all of us to find our own way. Such that as individuals and as part of the group we get to express and discover our own wise and caring potential.
Zohar has been practicing meditation in different traditions since 1995. This journey has taken her from the meditation cushion into exploring further ways of expressing truth and love and in 2004 she co-founded SanghaSeva. She now spends most of her time facilitating retreats that offer service as a spiritual path around the world. Since 2006 she has been teaching on silent retreats and Dharma gatherings in India, Europe and Israel. Zohar's teaching schedule can be found at DependentOrigination.org
Nathan began meditating in 1997, and teaching retreats in 2007. From continued exploration grew a deep love for meditation's alive stillness and creative silence. Feeling the potential for all of life to play a part in awakening opened an interest to cultivate attentiveness in every experience. In 2004 this led to the co-founding of SanghaSeva.org to offer retreats combining meditation with social and environmental action. Nathan's complete teaching schedule can be viewed at DependentOrigination.org
Julia started practicing Insight Meditation regularly after her first week-long retreat at Gaia House in 2005, and is currently training to be a Community Dharma Leader (CDL) with the Gaia House teacher council's CDL programme. She is a trustee of Bristol Insight Meditation, and co-founded the Bristol Dharma Action Network group (Bristol DANCE). She trained as a teacher of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy in 2011 and has taught courses in the private and health sectors in Bristol. Since 2015 she has been exploring responses to climate change through actions organised by Time to Cycle and Reclaim the Power. She loves exploring the interface between meditation and active engagement.
Gareth comes from a background of buddhist monastic training in a forest monastery. He has been assisting on the CAT retreat over the past few years, and brings a passion for Joanna Macy's 'Work that Reconnects', and environmental activism, to dharma practice and contemplative work. Involved in developing the 'Mindfulness in Woodland' project in collaboration with other social foresters in mid-west wales. He aims to integrate the physical and practical benefits of sustainable woodland management and traditional crafts, with the inner-work of cultivating mind and heart in relationship with nature.
Deanna began meditating in 2007 during a month-long residential yoga teacher training at Kripalu, and she went on to certify as a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher. She is currently in training as an Insight Dialogue teacher and Somatic Experiencing (SE) practitioner, and she volunteers as an online meditation teacher for SMART Recovery. Deanna is excited to be joining Sangha Seva and to be exploring meditation in action as a way to deepen the capacity to connect and to care.
James Blake has been practising Insight Meditation since 1997. He has been director and co-director of London Insight Meditation 2011-14 and is currently training to be a Community Dharma Leader. He is looking forward to facilitating SanghaSeva events in London which will (hopefully!) enable participants to practise in new contexts, to explore new ways of engaging with the city, and to work for the benefit of all.
Rob who co-founded SanghaSeva died 7th May 2020. Here is the biography he used, we leave it unchanged:
He has been practising and studying Buddhist meditation and Dharma since 1985 with a variety of teachers in England and
in the USA. He has been teaching since 2004 and is a Resident Teacher of Gaia House and a member of the Teacher Council. He is a Guiding Teacher of Freely Given Retreats,
and a co-initiator of DANCE; the Dharma Action Network for Climate Engagement. Rob is the author of Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising.
To read about retreats around the world that you can join, go to Upcoming Events.
To find out more about continual activities you can get involved in, or other ways and opportunities to attune your life to your hearts wishes, read Daily Life Matters
To gather a clearer picture of what we are doing you can read the feedback of participants and facilitators in Past Events.
Check out Links and Books for more information about meditation retreats and service work organisations around the world, and a list of helpful books.
Please also let us know of any organisations
you think we would like to know about, or significant books that have touched you or been useful to you. We will be happy to share your recommendations to others through this page.
Visit Talks to listen online or download for free Dharma Talks given by SanghaSeva facilitators.
At Gifts that Keep on Giving you are offered the chance to give a present to a friend and stranger simultaneously. In this way you are helping people in genuine need.
Or to see more photos visit our Photo Album.
To support SanghaSeva with its running costs or to help another person to attend one of our retreats visit Support SanghaSeva
DuckDuckGo is a more ethical search engine that doesn't track you to build up a profile so it can trade 'you' like some of the other search engines. It is private and secure, yet it also works really well too.
This is a live time line feed from SanghaSeva on Twitter.
We keep the page there and our SanghaSeva Page on FaceBook updated with information about our retreats. We try to post once a day during our retreats
to share the experience.
Throughout the year we also post links and photos connected to engaged spiritual activities happening in the news or on the web.
You can also find us on:
Reddit - Meditation in Action
Medium - SanghaSeva | Meditation in Action
Blogger - Daily Life Matters
YouTube - SanghaSeva
Since 2020 the retreats listed on SanghaSeva.org that occur inside the geographical boundary of Europe are run by Meditation in Action, and all retreats that occur outside the geographical boundary of Europe are run by SanghaSeva. Below is a bit more about each organisation, we hope this is clear for you but if it is not, please contact us.
SanghaSeva was founded in 2004, and is based in the UK. It is an ‘unincorporated association’. This is an organisation set up through an agreement between a group of people who come together for a reason other than to make a profit. We are an association of dharma practitioners who organise events for the benefit of all with minimum bureaucracy.
Unincorporated associations do not officially register with any other organisation or government. That is unless we make a profit. We have never intended to make a profit. We offer all of our projects at the most affordable cost. Since 2004 we have only ever covered all of the costs of putting on the retreat and donated all potential profits (when incoming fees more than cover estimated costs) to the causes/organisations we work with.
Despite not having a regulatory body monitoring our behaviour, we still aim to, and as yet have succeeded to, exceed all official standards an organisation of our nature could be subject to.
We have a constitution, if you would like to receive a copy of it or have any questions or concerns about the organisation please contact us.
We wish to clarify:
That is our sincere ethical code. We are aiming to be as transparent as possible, if you have any questions or wish to point out anything that isn't clear please contact us.
Meditation in Action is a registered CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) in the UK (Charity number: 1193150). This organisation is a necessary evolution of SanghaSeva's vision of offering retreats that combine meditation and social and environmental engagement. In short, becoming a charity makes running events in Europe easier than previously as an unincorporated association.
As a participant on our retreats and events we do not believe you will feel any difference. The ethics, vision, and style of retreats are not changing. Yet for us, being recognised as a charity supports a rooting of our Europe-based retreats and events within an established organisational structure.
Please visit MeditationInAction.org to read more about who we are, but in short, if you're already familiar with the work and ethics of SanghaSeva: one could say we are a Europe-based registered-charity version of the unincorporated-association of SanghaSeva.