Meditation Course for all levels

Instructors: Bhante Joe, Jimmy Yi Hsien Liao, Tina Ng and other guest teachers

Mondays 2 September | 7.00-8.00 pm

Location: Hybrid – WSU Bankstown City Campus, Room 1.4.34, level 4 or Online via Zoom (link below)

Cost: Free

Learn to meditate with this course available to all levels, covering the basics of meditation. Attendees will learn different types of meditation through guided meditations, talks, and personal guidance. Find out how meditation helps reduce stress, develop focus and tranquillity in the mind, deal with difficult emotions and negative thinking, and bring greater clarity and joy to your life.

Learn: Every week we’re joined by leading Buddhist practitioners from various Buddhist traditions, ready to share insights and answer questions about meditation. From mindfulness and compassion to delving into cultural insights, each week you’ll cultivate deeper understanding to strengthen your practice..

Guided Meditation Sessions: Experience rejuvenating guided meditation sessions, offering stillness and relief from the hustle and bustle of student life. Discover for yourself, the power of mindfulness and inner peace.

Community bonding: Forge connections with fellow students and peers from diverse backgrounds and life paths. Together, we explore how ancient wisdom and modern perspectives can harmonise, cultivating personal growth and shared understanding.

No prior experience needed! Our Meditation Course is open to everyone at all levels —students, faculty, and community members alike, regardless of your *spiritual background*. You are warmly invited to join our inclusive and welcoming community.

About the Presenters:

Venerable Bhante Joe 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.

Jimmy Yi Hsien Liao‘s journey is one of an exciting transformation. With an academic background in engineering, his life’s direction shifted during an enlightening trip to Tibet. There, he encountered the profound depths of Tibetan Buddhism, prompting him to pursue monastic studies and deepen his understanding in India and Myanmar, learning from venerable teachers such as Sayalaw U Kundala and Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche. With over twenty years immersed in various Buddhist traditions, Jimmy now shares his meditative knowledge as a lay teacher. His approach is grounded in the wisdom garnered from a life of spiritual pursuit, aiming to impart the art of navigating one’s mind with simplicity and wonder akin to a child’s first bicycle ride. Each meditation session is a stride closer to enlightenment.

Tina Ng is the Founder and President of the Metta Centre, and also the Principal Solicitor of Metta Legal, a law firm that deals with cases relating to family law, child protection, property, civil litigation and guardianship matters. She is an accredited mediator at Metta Resolution, which provides mediation, training and coaching to resolve conflict in the community and within families. Tina is a Buddhist Chaplain at the Western Sydney University. Tina has a keen interest in supporting the youth, and has run various mentoring programs through her business and social projects. She has organised various events, has played the role of coordinator, emcee, and auctioneer at charity functions. She has shared the Buddha’s teachings in conferences, talks, workshops, and in her writings.

About us: Metta Centre is an inclusive, socially-engaged, and non-sectarian Buddhist non-profit organisation. We host events, retreats, and programs that advance social welfare and peace within individuals, the community, families, and in the world. We strive to bring Buddhism to the community in ways that are interesting, relevant and accessible. We are guided by the principles of Buddhism to do what is good, to avoid what is evil and to purify the mind. We are interested in holistic change for a better inner and outer world. We welcome you to be a part of this change.

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