Speaker: Ven. Canda (Online, Joining from the UK)

Mon 11 May | 7.00-8.30pm AEST

Location: Online (Zoom link below)

Cost: Free

We are living through times that can feel impossible to fully face ~ escalating climate disruption, deep political fractures and an intense undercurrent of uncertainty. The instinct is often to shut down or harden into anger. But what if the path forward asks something different of us?

This talk explores how to accept the reality of what feels unacceptable without losing ourselves to despair, numbness, or division. It offers a grounded approach to working with grief and fear ~ acknowledging them as natural, necessary responses rather than weaknesses to suppress. We’ll examine how rest, reflection and care are not forms of escape, but essential practices that restore our capacity to respond with wisdom and courage.

Together, we’ll consider how to choose where to place our energy in a world full of urgent needs and act with purpose without being consumed by overwhelm. This is not a call to be endlessly resilient, but an invitation to be human: to move between engagement and rest, clarity and confusion, hope and grief ~ while continuing to choose a path of compassionate, courageous action.

About the Speaker: Venerable Canda first encountered the Dhamma in India in 1996 and went on to meditate and serve on numerous Vipassana retreats, before ordaining in Myanmar in 2006. In 2014, she moved to Australia where she received full bhikkhunī ordination under the guidance of her teacher Ajahn Brahm.

For the past ten years, Ven. Canda has been leading a UK charity dedicated to establishing a monastery where, for the first time in the nation’s history, women can train as fully ordained members of the Saṅgha. In March 2024, this cherished vision began to take shape with the acquisition of a suitable property in the secluded hamlet of Boars Hill near Oxford. Whilst the monastery, Anukampa Grove, serves primarily as a residence for bhikkhunīs, it also welcomes people of every gender identity, race, sexual orientation and background to visit or stay as guests, providing an opportunity to deepen practice within an inclusive, loving community.

Alongside this work, Ven. Canda teaches widely and spends several months each year on silent retreat. Her teachings draw deeply from the Early Buddhist texts and emphasise loving-kindness and letting go as essential supports for developing samādhi (stillness) and the liberating wisdom that follows.

Online event: Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session 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