"A disciplined mind brings happiness."
- Gautam Buddha
Sitting beyond the tributary of the Padma river is the Circle of Life. The retreat surrounds itself with the sounds of the waves as the ferry passes by. It brings on itself the aim to achieve a blissful state of mind by targeting all seven chakras of the body of the visitors.
The openness of the curved spaces, derived from the glowing in the impure lotus, allows for interaction not just with nature but the unknown lives of hundreds surrounding them. As the sun rises and glows upon the crops growing beyond the retreat center, a fresh new morning awaits every day.
The Circle of Life takes this fresh energy to the 8 Spaces created following the Buddhist Eightfold Path and invites you to hold a pose in the Yoga Centre, pick some crops in the agricultural fields, sip a coffee in the café, take a ferry ride down the river, calm yourself under the trees of the meditation center, cleanse yourself in a spa or learn the Buddhist philosophies in the Book Reading Center.
Right from the entrance to the views from the river, the focus instantly diverts to the 2 Buddhas facing each other. The now versus then. The modern versus ancient. The dark versus bright.
The dark Buddha with a broken hand, surrounded by Buddhist prayer bells, sits and proves how an 11th Century piece of art can make a pilgrimage site, and the Circle of Life rejuvenates the Statue and brings back its lost importance.
The circular form of the building emphasizes the all-inclusive Buddhist philosophies that unite all in the circle of life, signifying its ever-changing and progressing nature.