About
Dharmavadana Penn is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order and teaches within the Triratna Buddhist Community. He has been involved with the West London Buddhist Centre since 1991, leading meditation classes and an outreach group in Ealing. He gained accreditation as a mindfulness teacher from Breathworks in 2022. Penn is a published poet and fiction writer who leads retreats and workshops combining writing and Buddhist practice. He serves as poetry editor of Urthona, the Triratna arts magazine, and is based in Brixton.
Teaching focus
Dharmavadana Penn's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Mahayana tradition. Several threads come up: steady attention to body and breath; the relationship between ethics and meditation; and short, direct teachings rather than long talks. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Dharmavadana Penn works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include retreat. The bigger move Dharmavadana Penn keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Dharmavadana Penn's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Dharmavadana Penn's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Dharmavadana Penn teaches in the Mahayana tradition. The teaching home is Triratna Buddhist Order. From the teacher's own profile: Dharmavadana has been active with the West London Buddhist Centre since 1991, supporting and teaching classes, and for many years leading the Centre's outreach meditation group in Ealing. He has worked as an English teacher, editor and librarian and gained accreditation as a mindfulness teacher from Breathworks in 2022. A published poet and fiction writer, a Wolf at the Door retreat in 2000 revealed he could combine his loves of writing and the Dharma, and he is delighted now to be offering such retreats and workshops himself. He was ordained in 2005 and now lives in Brixton. He is also poetry editor of the Triratna arts magazine Urthona, and is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order serving as a teacher within the Triratna Buddhist Community. Dharmavadana Penn's teaching tends to stay close to direct experience, working with attention, ethics, and the felt sense of the body rather than abstract doctrine. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Dharmavadana Penn's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Dharmavadana Penn teaches as a monastic teacher in the Mahayana tradition. The institutional home, per the source listing, is Triratna Buddhist Order, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. Teaching authority and lineage details, where stated, live with the affiliated organization's profile page rather than with this directory entry.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Dharmavadana Penn, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. Retreats are part of the offering, usually a few days to a week, mostly silent. The container is shaped by Triratna Buddhist Order, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
