CREATIVE MEDITATION

I’m Vajradarshini, a contemporary, down-to-earth Buddhist teacher. I love connecting the Dharma with art and culture, and grounding it in the grittiness of ordinary, everyday life.

Red Ladder Studio is where you’ll find most of what I’m creating — from writings and online workshops to in-person retreats.

I also send out a newsletter every two weeks, focused on creative Dharma. You can sign up below.

You can learn more about me on the about page, and see what I’m currently exploring on the now page.

I’m always happy to connect with people around the Dharma. Feel free to get in touch by email.

BRINGING BUDDHISM TO LIFE

Workshops and retreats

Featured
Living with Ease: A Midsummer Retreat on the Four Noble Truths
Jun 18
Living with Ease: A Midsummer Retreat on the Four Noble Truths

The Guesthouse, Southern Sweden Midsummer is a special time of year here in the South of Sweden. The landscape is filled with wildflowers, the garden is at its peak and the long light evenings make the days seem endless. We'll come together in the midst of all this beauty to reflect on the Buddha’s first teaching — The Four Noble Truths.

Open practice week
Jul 11
Open practice week

The Guesthouse, Southern Sweden Our open practice week is a blend of collective retreat, a solitary, and a holiday! You’re welcome to come on your own or with friends, and you’ll have the freedom to create your own rhythm and programme. You’re welcome to join for anything from 3 nights to the full week.

Everyone is an Artist - An in-person creative meditation day
Jul 26
Everyone is an Artist - An in-person creative meditation day

In-person day retreat - A day exploring what meditation and art have in common. Both are really about paying attention, and finding ways to respond creatively to our experience.

Beauty and Insight: A retreat on perception
Aug 8
Beauty and Insight: A retreat on perception

The Guesthouse, Southern Sweden The arts offer us new and surprising windows on the world. Alongside Dharma teachings and meditation, we’ll be exploring what art, film, poetry, and music can reveal about the nature of perception.

Autumn gardening retreat
Sept 5
Autumn gardening retreat

The Guesthouse, Southern Sweden Our gardening retreats weave together mindful work, meditation, and Dharma study. On this retreat we'll draw inspiration from the Zen tradition, especially Dogen, with its emphasis on work as a spiritual practice.

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Writing

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Featured
The ground seems empty but…
potential, sky, emptiness, grounded, ground, perception
The ground seems empty but…
potential, sky, emptiness, grounded, ground, perception

There are two images for emptiness in Buddhism: one is a ‘clear blue sky’, the other is ‘the ground’. They each carry a different message.

potential, sky, emptiness, grounded, ground, perception
Buddhism for hedonists
nonjudgement, acceptance, buddhism, procrastination, resistance, enjoyment, perfectionism, henonism, hedonist
Buddhism for hedonists
nonjudgement, acceptance, buddhism, procrastination, resistance, enjoyment, perfectionism, henonism, hedonist

Sometimes the things that matter most to us are the hardest to do. I’ve noticed that the more meaningful a task feels, the stronger the resistance — as if my longings and my fears are somehow linked.

nonjudgement, acceptance, buddhism, procrastination, resistance, enjoyment, perfectionism, henonism, hedonist
Practice a radical hospitality
guesthouse, rumi, hospitality, bodhisattva, nonjudgement, acceptance, welcome
Practice a radical hospitality
guesthouse, rumi, hospitality, bodhisattva, nonjudgement, acceptance, welcome

If we can practice a radical hospitality towards ourselves—dropping judgements and just letting ourselves be—others will see this and learn that they too can take a far more generous attitude towards themselves.

guesthouse, rumi, hospitality, bodhisattva, nonjudgement, acceptance, welcome
Learning from the garden
seeds, garden, habits, growth, reflection, journaling
Learning from the garden
seeds, garden, habits, growth, reflection, journaling

Like the gardener selecting seeds, we can pay attention to what works in our lives, and in our Dharma practice, and choose to “save” the habits, attitudes, and practices that bear the most fruit.

seeds, garden, habits, growth, reflection, journaling
7 lessons from James Low
insight, dharmastudy, jameslow, dzogchen, mahamudra, buddhism
7 lessons from James Low
insight, dharmastudy, jameslow, dzogchen, mahamudra, buddhism

Sharing a few nuggets of wisdom offered by the Dzogchen teacher James Low on a recent retreat. The essence of Dzogchen is, ‘do not correct’. How do we make that a practice?

insight, dharmastudy, jameslow, dzogchen, mahamudra, buddhism

Instagram

What’s your dukkha face today? I think I’m number 2! Dukkha is a Buddhist word meaning ‘struggle’ it points to the ways in which we struggle with life, ourselves and other people. But we don’t have to. That’s the
Joining heaven and earth. A great day retreat with @katiesollohub where we explored two key Buddhist symbols - ground and sky. Using art and meditation, we all discovered new ways of looking at the world around us. Thanks to everyone who participated
It's not too late to plan a midsummer retreat in Sweden! We have two places left on a 9 day meditation retreat, both with single bedrooms. The theme is 'Living with Ease', discovering how to create less stress and struggle in our lives. There will
The idea of a meditation tent seemed like a compromise in the beginning, a step on the way to building something more bricks and mortar. But it’s turned out to be perfect and feels far more sensitive to its surroundings.