Ajahn Kusalo’s Visit to Toronto

TBC is happy to announce that Ajahn Kusalo will be visiting Toronto in early June and will be joining us in-person Sunday morning on June 9.  He will be offering a dhamma talk and afterwards there will be an opportunity to share lunch together.

Ajahn Kusalo was born in 1952 and grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. A chequered pattern of study and work, mostly in the building industry, eventually resulted in qualification as a Quantity Surveyor. However, a general disinterest in worldly gain led to many years of wandering throughout Australasia. Around 1980 he met Ajahn Jagaro in Perth, Australia and joined retreats led by Ajahn Sumedho who visited there for two consecutive years.

Because he was still married, with one son, it was not until 1990 that he was able to join Ajahn Viradhammo in Bodhinyanarama Monastery, Wellington, New Zealand. He took bhikkhu ordination in 1992 and remained there until 1994 when there was an invitation to join Ajahn Sumedho in England. Six years at Amaravati Monastery led to a couple of years in Wales which was a precursor to two years of wandering around Europe. Part of this time was a three-week trip to Canada that eventually resulted in his living there for eight years from 2004 to 2012, the last five of those being spent developing Tisarana Buddhist Monastery near Perth, Ontario

In 2011 a short visit to New Zealand resulted in Ajahn Kusalo moving back to his home monastery in 2012 where he successfully served as abbot until 2024.  He is now retired and travelling throughout Asia, England, Ontario and the U.S.A.

Teaching at TBC

Date:  Sunday, June 9, 2024

Time:  Teaching, 10 am to 11:45, followed by lunch from 12 to 2 pm. If you are staying for lunch, please bring your own lunch or purchase one from a take-out restaurant nearby.

Venue:  Carrot Commons Building, 348 Danforth Avenue, Room 212, Toronto, Ontario. The entrance to the building is on Danforth Avenue, west of the door to the Book City bookstore.  The Chester subway is right around the corner to the east on Chester Avenue.

Accessibility:  There is a stairlift that goes up the side of the stairs. Unfortunately, there is no elevator. Washrooms are available on the second floor.

Cost:  by donation. 

Registration:  The session will be offered in-person and online.  Because there is a limit on the number of people the room can accommodate, we are asking people who would like to attend in-person to register ahead of time. If you are joining online there is no need to register.

Attending Online:

If you are unable to join in-person, we are happy to provide an online option using Zoom. To join our Zoom Meeting, click on this link: 

TBC Online Zoom Session

If prompted, use this password: 883290

If you haven’t done so already, you may be prompted to install the Zoom application. When the application is finished installing, you will join an online room where our session takes place. You can then click on join with audio and camera.

Zoom telephone numbers for Canada, if connecting by phone:
(Meeting ID: 741 749 355, Password: 883290)
+1 204 272 7920
+1 438 809 7799
+1 587 328 1099
+1 647 374 4685
+1 647 558 0588
+1 778 907 2071

We’re looking forward to seeing you there!

Ajahn Kusalo will also be visiting Satipanna and the Toronto Mindfulness Community during his visit to Toronto. More information is available on their websites.