THE LIVING DHAMMA
A Contemplative Journey through the Buddhism of Sri Lanka
10 Nights | Small Group Island Journey
Locations Covered
Colombo • Kandy • Dambulla • Sigiriya • Ritigala (forest monastery region) • Anuradhapura region • Village communities
Start: Colombo End: Colombo
Signature moments
An introduction to Buddhist art, architecture, ritual and teaching traditions
Guided participation in lay devotional practices, with context
One full day of contemplative immersion in a forest monastery landscape
Experience Buddhist festivities, associated crafts and performance traditions
Who This Journey Is For
Thoughtful travellers seeking depth rather than spectacle—artists, educators, writers, scholars, and reflective professionals. Not suited to fast-paced sightseeing or large-group pilgrimage tourism.
What Guests Take Away
A felt, embodied understanding of Buddhism as lived practice; a renewed relationship with slowness and attention; and insight into how spirituality quietly shapes everyday ethics and social life. The impact is subtle, steady, and enduring.
Practical Details
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Small groups, typically 6–12 guests
Private Tour available
Designed as a small-group journey, with thoughtful pacing and longer stays to minimise travel fatigue.
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Carefully selected 4★+ heritage properties, and characterful retreats, chosen for quiet comfort, location, and sense of place.
Hermitage dwelling option available in selected locations depending on group size and nature.
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Private air-conditioned transport for the group. Trains used selectively where they enhance the journey.
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Accommodation, most meals, site entry fees, guided experiences, curated performances (where applicable), and all internal transfers.
(International flights excluded.)
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Private departures and customised versions are available on request.
Variations:
Living Dhamma Deep Dive Edition with 7 day silent retreat in forest monastery.
Overview
Sri Lanka is not simply a place where Buddhism arrived and endured. It is a land where Buddhism organised civilisation itself—shaping kingship and governance, art and architecture, ritual and ethics, labour and leisure, and the very ways in which time is inhabited.
The Living Dhamma is a slow, interpretive journey through this living Buddhist landscape. It is not a conventional pilgrimage, nor a checklist tour of temples. Instead, it is shaped by how experiences are allowed to unfold—through attention, repetition, and quiet continuity.
Across ten nights, guests move gently through ancient capitals, cave sanctuaries, royal monasteries, forest hermitages, and contemporary villages. Buddhism is encountered not only as philosophy or doctrine, but as a way of seeing, waiting, making, and relating—woven into everyday life.