Monthly Day Meditation Retreat | Bhante Joe
Monthly Day Meditation Retreat | Led by Bhante Joe
Saturday 1st November 2025
Time: 8.30am to 4.30pm
Venue: BSV Buddhaloka Centre, 71 Darling Road, Malvern East, VIC 3145
Programme:
8.30 – 8.45am
– Welcome
– Introduction
– Taking of Refuges and 5 & 8 Precepts
– Chanting
8.45 – 9.15am
– Dhamma Talk
9.15 – 10am
– Guided Meditation
10.00 – 11am
– Individual Meditation (Sitting or Walking or Contemplation)
11:00am – 12noon
Lunch Break for Meals
12.00 – 1.30pm
– Personal time breaks or Individual Self Meditation
1.30 – 2.15pm
– Talk / guided meditation
2.15 – 3.00pm
– Walking or sitting meditation
3.00 – 3.30pm
– Interviews
3.30 – 4.30pm
– Dhamma discussion and closing homage
Noble Silence
This will be a silent retreat, in order to support the meditation & contemplation. So please speak only when necessary.
Mobile Phones
Participants are kindly requested to turn off their phones or turn them to silent.
Dress Warmly
As the doors to the Centre and meditation hall will be left open to maximise ventilation, please dress warmly and bring a blanket or meditation shawl if you wish. There is heating in the hall.
Breaks:
Lunch
Participants need to bring their own lunch. Tea/coffee will be provided.
Tea Breaks
Please take individual tea breaks when you need them, so as to minimise congregating & talking.
EVERYONE IS MOST WELCOME! – Registration not required.
Parking:
Please keep the car park at the back of the Buddhaloka Centre free for walking meditation.
Please be PARTICULARLY mindful when parking on the streets around the Centre to ensure that you do not block driveways in any way.
About the Teacher
Bhante Joe was born in London, Ontario, in 1983. Growing up, he was 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. After reading the four noble truths, he 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, with one year in Thailand, until 2015. In 2015, his teacher released him from dependence. He spent six months at a monastery in California and then returned to Canada to stay in the Toronto area.
Bhante Joe stayed in the Toronto area from 2016 until 2019. In Toronto, he associated with the Toronto Mahavihara and the West End Buddhist Temple. In November 2019, he came to Sri Lanka, where he currently resides.
