Panellists: Bhante Joe Atulo, Bhante Suddhāso, Ayyā Somā, Ayya Ariyamangalā & Bhante Akiñcana (In Person; Visiting from Sri Lanka, Italy, Italy, Thailand, & WA respectively )

Mon 17 Nov | 7.00-8.30pm AEDT

Location: Concord (address will be emailed to those who have registered closer to the event)

or Online (Zoom link below)

Cost: Free

This special event is in person in Concord. The session will not be run at our regular Monday venue, WSU Bankstown City Campus.

How do we bring energy and intention to practice without falling into struggle or passivity? A panel of 5 Buddhist monastics will engage in a shared inquiry into how to balance effort and ease. How do we practice without forcing results, clinging, or resisting. Rooted in the Buddha’s teaching on the Middle Way, the conversation will open space for reflection on how each of us can cultivate harmonious practice free from struggle or complacency.

About the Panellists:

Bhante Joe Atulo was born in 1983, in London, Ontario, and was initially interested in business and computers. A spiritual vocation seemed extremely unlikely. However, in high school, he was given a book as a joke, which contained teachings from an assortment of religions. Browsing through it, he came to a description of the Four Noble Truths, and was converted. In high school and university, Bhante attended the Toronto Zen Buddhist Temple. He eventually moved in and started training part-time to become a priest. In 2006, he took up full-time training at the temple. However, an attraction to Theravada Buddhism pulled him towards the Thai Forest Tradition. He attended a day-long retreat with Ajahn Viradhammo in 2007. At the retreat, he learned about the newly-established Tisaraṇa Buddhist Monastery. He found his way to Tisaraṇa and was ordained as an anagārika in 2008. In 2010, Bhante Joe was ordained as a bhikkhu with Ajahn Viradhammo as his preceptor. Bhante trained at Tisaraṇa until 2015, with one year in Thailand. In 2015, his teacher released him from dependence. He spent six months at a monastery in California and before returning to Toronto, Canada between 2016 and 2019. In Toronto, he associated with the Toronto Mahavihara and the West End Buddhist Temple. In November 2019, he moved to Sri Lanka, where he currently resides. More info can be found here (https://dhammavinayapatipada.com/).

Bhante Suddhāso is one of the co-founders of Buddhist Insights, a non-profit organization created to help connect laypeople with Buddhist monastics.
Bhante Suddhāso is a practitioner of both Theravāda and Mahāyāna Buddhism, with a particular emphasis on the teachings found in the Pāli Suttas and the methods of practice used in Chan/Zen. His teachings focus on incorporating multiple step-by-step meditation techniques, as well as on detailed explanations of the Buddhist scriptures that provide the underlying theoretical framework for Buddhist practice.
Bhante Suddhāso has studied under the direct guidance of some of the most well-respected monastics in Western Buddhism, including Ajahn Pasanno, Ajahn Amaro, Ajahn Vīradhammo, and Bhante Gunaratana. His monastic life began at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, where he was trained in Soto Zen Buddhism; during that time, he discovered a deep affinity for the Theravāda Forest Tradition, which led him to receive ordination at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in California. Since then he has lived at several different monasteries from a variety of Buddhist traditions. In 2019, together with Ayyā Somā, he co-founded Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey, where he currently resides as co-abbot.

Ayyā Somā is an Italian Buddhist monk and co-abbot of Empty Cloud Monastery in New Jersey. A former fashion and lifestyle editor, her first encounter with Buddhist monasticism was at Santacittārāma Monastery in Italy, in the tradition of Ajahn Chah. She started practicing as a renunciant in 2016, received monastic ordination in 2018, and full bhikkhunī ordination in 2020. As the co-founder of Buddhist Insights, a non-profit organization connecting people with monastics, she has learned the Dharma through the perspective of monks of all different traditions like Bhante Suddhāso, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ajahn Pasanno, Ven. Robina Courtin, Khenmo Drolma, Ajahn Brahm, Thich Phap Hai, Ven. Paññavati, and Bhante Gunaratana

Ayya Ariyamangalā, comes from a large family, originally from the Philippines, and migrated to Sydney, Australia as a child. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Arts Communication Writing & Contemporary Cultures. Her quest for profound answers led her to travel extensively, explore various cultures, and engage in deep contemplation. Her last job, working with linguistically and culturally diverse communities in Aged Care services, underscored for her the first Buddha’s first Noble Truth.
She was guided by her spiritual parents, Bhante Mahinda and Sister Sumitra from the Aloka Meditation Centre, as well as Ajahn Sujato, and many other monastics including those in the Vajrayana tradition.

After completion of the 3 yr Ariya Monastic & Laity Training Program (AMLTP) with Ven. Ayya Sumangala Bhikkhuni, Abbess of Ariya Vihara, Malaysia, she took ordination with Ven. Ayya Santini Bhikkhuni Mahatheri with the United Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha International UTBSI in 2022 at Bodhgaya, India.

She is now training with Bhikkhuni Dhammakamala at Thippayasatthadhamma Bhikkhuni Arama, Koh Yor, Thailand.

Bhante Akiñcana was born in Hong Kong to a Sri Lankan Catholic family. He went to school in Singapore, HK, India, the Philippines and New Zealand and is now back studying at Ajahn Brahm’s “Finishing School” near Perth.
After completing degrees in Economics he worked in HK, London and then migrated to Sydney in 1994. Sydney became home for over 20 years and it was there that he converted to Buddhism and connected with his first teachers, Bhante Mahinda and Bhante Sujato.
He then moved to Bali in 2016 and focused his life mainly on Buddhist practice; visiting Bodhinyana monastery in 2017 then ordaining as an Anagarika in 2019 and again in 2022. On 2 May 2024, after a year’s training as a novice, he took higher ordination under Ajahn Brahm.

Hybrid event: Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session in person at the Metta Centre or online by clicking on this link to access the session: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83506489824?pwd=cmpNQ1ljSmFVYURLWVN1dWllYUN1dz09 Alternatively, you can dial in from your telephone (call charges apply): +61 2 8015 6011 | Meeting ID: 835 0648 9824| Passcode: 718905

If you are feeling unwell, please consider staying at home and joining online instead.