Building harmony at home, work and in community

Presenter: Venerable Galkande Dhammananda Thero (in person)

Facilitator: Tina Ng

Wed 8 March| 7-8.30pm

Location: In person at Metta Centre (Bankstown) or Online (Zoom link below)

Cost: By Donation

We are honoured to have Venerable Galkande Dhammananda Thero come to the Metta Centre to offer his teachings in person during his visit to Sydney from Sri Lanka. In this session, Ven Dhammananda will be exploring the topic on building harmony at home, work and in community. He will draw on his knowledge of the Buddha’s teachings and his experience in promoting social justice and harmony in the face of conflict and civil unrest.

About the Speaker: The Venerable Galkande Dhammananda Thero is a Sri Lankan national and a monk of Theravada Buddhist tradition. He is the Executive Director of the Walpola Rahula Institute for Buddhist Studies, where educational and training programs are offered for religious leaders and lay persons with an aim to support social healing. After completing his monastic training, Dhammananda Thero joined the University of Kelaniya and received his B.A. Degree in History. After winning the Commonwealth Scholarship in 2003 he completed his Masters and M.Phil degrees at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, where he is now reading for a PhD. Until very recently, he was a full-time lecturer attached to the Department of History, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. He is now devoting his full time to activities of the Walpola Rahula Institute and to spread the Buddha’s message of love and compassion to all living things.

Dhammananda thero is actively engaged in issues related to social justice and harmony that promotes an inclusive plural society. He has been actively using social media to propagate the message of nonviolence during recent inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflicts in Sri Lanka. Over the years he has been in dialogue with religious leaders on issues related to social justice and healing and wishes to support others to enter in to similar dialogues. He is inspired by the Buddha’s teaching of ‘Bahujana Hitaya’ (for the betterment of all) calling for one to work beyond religious, ethnic or social labels to actively uplift the society – especially supporting those who are vulnerable, marginalized and discriminated against. You can listen to his talks on the YouTube channel Panshu (https://www.youtube.com/@PANSHUTV)

Hybrid event: Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session with the speaker who will be attending in person, with the discussions facilitated by Tina Ng in person at the Metta Centre (Bankstown). You are welcome to join the 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