The Importance of Community

"Someone said to me, on one's ordination retreat, depth charges are planted - and you never know when they are going to go off..."

Danayutta was working as an investment banker in London when she first decided to go on a 10-day retreat with the London Buddhist Centre. This retreat changed the direction of her life - she realised that she wanted to commit to the Dharma life rather than pursuing her career, working on a busy trading floor.

"Because probably by the time I'd finished working...I'd be thoroughly burned out and then where would I get that energy to pursue a Dharma life? In a way the best years of my life would have been spent...I think I just had this moment when I realised I was rehearsing excuses and actually, deep down, what I really wanted was to put my energy into serving the Dharma..." 

Here she talks to Satyalila about her experience of encountering the Dharma in London, being brought up in Malaysia in a Buddhist family, the joy of community living, getting married during the ordination process and how her practice has unfolded since ordination.

Conversation recorded in 2018.

Extracts from this talk were used for the 50 Years, 50 Voices project - visit the dedicated space on The Buddhist Centre Online for more.