Who We Are

Our classes in Buddhism and meditation are in the most part delivered by ordained members of the Triratna Buddhist Order.

The Order consists of men and women who are themselves living a life of meditation and Buddhist practice, and have been for many years.

Sadayasihi

Sadayasihi

Sadayasihi learned to meditate in 2007 in the Dublin Buddhist Centre while she was training to be a solicitor, having had an interest in Buddhism since she was a teenager.

She was ordained in 2016 and is current chair of the charity that runs the DBC, as well as leading a study group and teaching classes.

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‘I think I was motivated by a search for meaning in life – constantly beset by the question: ‘there has to be more to life than this’. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life so I thought I’d follow a conventional path of getting a good job and so I trained as a solicitor.

‘When I came first to the Dublin Buddhist Centre to learn to meditate, I felt like some of those questions I had about life were answered. Rather than trying to answer the question of ‘what is the meaning of life’, it became more important that I live a life of meaning, of connection – and with awareness of our impact on each other and the world.

‘I’m particularly inspired by the ideal of the Bodhisattva (someone who wants to gain Enlightenment not just for their own sake but for others) – and see the Dharma as offering a path to greater freedom and joy.’

Pavara

Pavara

Pavara first learnt to meditate in his late teens and came into contact with Triratna in 1994. Yoga practice has been a key aspect of his Buddhist practice since that time and he continues to teach and train within the Iyengar system of practice.

Pavara was ordained in Spain in 1999 whilst working in a Buddhist run team-based right-livelihood business in the UK. He is the main yoga teacher in the Centre.

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‘I first came to Buddhism through my reading of the Beat Generation writers and poets, which was part of a search for deeper meaning and understanding of the mystery of existence.’

‘Meditation to me is a gateway into stillness and stillness is the beginning of Beauty. Buddhism is a map to freedom and the deepest communication of understanding and meaning that I have heard.’

‘The teaching of friendship as a path to wisdom particularly inspires me.’

Vajrashura

Vajrashura

Vajrashura started practicing yoga and learnt to meditate while in university doing a Masters in High Performance Computing. He firstly did these through university societies, and then in the Dublin Buddhist Centre. He has worked as part of the Centre Team since 2002 and in 2007 he joined the Triratna Buddhist Order.

Since ordination, he’s been one of the DBC’s main teachers, leading many courses, retreats, and events each year, and is concerned with helping people go more deeply into meditation and Buddhism. He also is helping coordinate the new retreat centre project and looks after the DBC finances.

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‘On my first meditation retreat I realised that, if I was to be happy in life, my life needed to have a spiritual dimension, that this spiritual dimension would be Buddhism, and that this would be a lifetime path of ever deepening understanding.’

‘This initial vision has still stood true, and it has led by to Ordination and wanting to lead a life dedicated to Buddhism.’

‘For me, meditation and Buddhism are a way of living a truly human life, one based upon connection, empathy, wisdom and love. And a way of making the world a better place.’

Atulyamitra

Atulyamitra

Atulyamitra first learned to meditate over 30 years ago and has had a meditation practice most of her adult life. She became a committed Buddhist in 2012 and was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2018.

Since her ordination, she has been more involved in teaching meditation courses and running retreats in the DBC. She is now the Women’s Mitra Convenor, meaning that she takes particular responsibility for looking after the needs of women who have made a definite commitment to the Buddhist Path.

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‘I first learned to meditate over thirty years ago and have had a practice through most of my adult life.’

‘I was first drawn to Buddhist meditation when I started training with Breathworks, an organisation that teaches mindfulness and meditation practices to people experiencing chronic pain and illness. I began this training having developed a chronic illness myself and soon recognised the value of meditation in the management of it.

‘It was the Sangha or spiritual community that first attracted me to Buddhism. I was impressed by the way that those in the Sangha communicated with one another and how they did so with kindness even in situations that were difficult.

‘I wanted to learn more and as I began to explore Buddhism, I recognised that I also wanted to develop and deepen my Buddhist practice as part of the Triratna community. I found the teachings of Sangharakshita an inspiring and clear guide to Buddhist practice and this motivated me to become part of the order.

‘Buddhism for me is about kindness and leading an ethical lifestyle. It is also a very practical approach to the spiritual life and to life in general. I have found a clarity and a sense of purpose in my life since becoming a Buddhist.’

Prasannadeva

Prasannadeva

Prasannadeva first came through the doors of the Dublin Buddhist Centre in 2012. He became a committed Buddhist in 2013 and was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2021.

Having studied Fine Art he was keen to find a context where his love of Western art, film and music was considered an important aspect of the spiritual life, regardless of whether it is an Eastern tradition or not, and felt right at home here. Prasannadeva has taught meditation courses with Trinity Meditation Society, has been involved with leading Young Buddhist events and is now leading Buddhism and meditation courses. He is currently working as Centre Manager.

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‘When I first walked into the Buddhist Centre, I somehow knew it could result in a big change to my life, but I never would have expected to find a community to rich with warmth and friendship, and to find that before long I would be Ordained and working here. So much has transformed in my life.

‘Practicing Buddhism is such an adventure and brings so much meaning to my life, I can no longer imagine life without it. The Dublin Buddhist Centre is what gave me this and I see my role as manager as my way of giving thanks for what I have received by allowing it to be passed on to others.

‘I’m continuosly discovering the depths of the Buddha’s teaching, especially as presented by the founder of the Triratna Buddhist Movement (of which the DBC is part) Sangharakshita, especially the idea that beauty and aesthetic appreciation can be a path towards Truth or Awakening.

Maitrikaya

Maitrikaya

Maitrikaya first learnt to meditate over 30 years ago and first came along to the Dublin Buddhist Centre in 2004 to reconnect with his meditation practice and to explore something that was both Western and Buddhist. He was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2011.

He is a regular teacher in the Centre and also organises many of our retreats. Becoming Mitra Convenor for men in Autumn 2022, Maitrikaya is inspired by the friendship that welcomed and kept him coming back to the Dublin Buddhist Centre and ultimately resulted in him being ordained. His hope and vision is that he can inspire other men and set them off on the Buddhist Path.

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‘I first learned to meditate in my late twenties, over thirty years ago now, and also had a sitting meditation practice as part of my martial T’ai Chi practice.

‘From my mid-teens I thought of myself as a scientific materialist but at the same time I had a yearning for something beyond mere materialism and meditation seemed to offer that. I first came along to the Dublin Centre in 2004 in a bid to reconnect with my meditation practice but also, having tried one or two traditional Buddhist groups, I wanted to explore something that was both Buddhist and Western.

‘Buddhism was initially meditation to me, and this is still an important part of it for me. Meditation, to borrow a phrase, has become an expression of who I am. It keeps me in touch with myself and my relationship with the world and those I share it with. From personal relationships to the issue of the effects of climate change, my Buddhist practice informs all aspects of my life.

‘Buddhism, particularly as it is expressed by Sangharakshita, has changed my life, made me a much happier individual and less blown about by the winds of life. The Buddha’s teaching on conditionality is probably why I am a Buddhist. When I first heard it I thought here are the answers to quite a few questions I have had. It continues to inspire my practice as I discover its depths!’

Varabandhu

Varabandhu

Varabandhu first came through the doors of the Dublin Buddhist Centre in March 2012 to learn to meditate as a response to suffering. He soon found that regularly practicing meditation positively transformed his mind and his life and in 2014 he became a committed Buddhist. Seven years later he deepened that commitment by being ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order.

Varabandhu has been leading meditation courses and Buddhist study groups since 2021. He works as a full time journalist, volunteering his spare time to teach at the Dublin Buddhist Centre so that others can benefit in the same way he has.

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‘Since my childhood up in rural Ireland I have always felt a strong calling to respond to the suffering of the world, a calling that found shape variously through the myths of the superhero or of Christianity.

‘After losing faith in god as a teenager, I continued to long for a place where others held to the ideals of compassion, awareness and interconnectedness. Finding this in the community of people practicing with Dublin Buddhist Centre has been such a joy for me and I am always moved when I recall the first time I connected with the Buddha’s teaching. It was like a light going on in the dark!’

Jnanadhara

Jnanadhara

Jnanadhara is originally from New Zealand and first encountered Buddhism through books while in his mid-teens. After finishing a diploma in music he got involved with the Triratna Centre in Wellington. His desire to get deepen his involvement led him to the UK.

He was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2003. Soon after he moved to Dublin and since then has been teaching classes at the DBC.

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‘Right from the start I was deeply attracted to the Buddhist teachings that I read about.  Their clarity, and the invitational and exploratory manner with which they were expressed, helped me make sense of the baffling contradictions I felt in my life.  They also gave me practices I could actually do.

‘The Dharma continues to be important to me because its perspectives and practices enable me to access an experience that I can only describe as ‘newness’ – a sense that I’m living in a new world with a new mind.

Practicing and communicating the Dharma is my way of responding to the world with all its problems, and in so doing realising my potential and the potential of others. I’m particularly inspired by practicing as part of a community of friends who share this vision and who I can look up to and learn from.’

Jyotika

Jyotika

Jyotika began meditating in the mid-90s while at university where he studied English Literature and Theatre. He joined the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2000. He currently works as Project Manager of Shubha Vihara, overseeing the transformation of an old farmhouse outside Ballina, Co. Tipperary into our first Triratna retreat centre in Ireland.

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‘I realised I was a Buddhist when I heard about the Six Paramitas or Perfections, which are: Giving; Ethics; Patience; Energy; Meditation; Wisdom. And that the practice of these will lead to freedom.’

‘I find the Dharma – the teaching of the Buddha – endlessly fascinating in its depth, breadth, nuance and complexity. Simple teachings like ‘friendship is the whole of the spiritual life’, and ‘seek the wisdom that has faith as its goal’, which I’ve been contemplating for about 25 years, still moves me deeply.’

Rijumuni

Rijumuni

Rijumuni learned to meditate in 2002, having come across the Dublin Buddhist Centre more by accident, than by design. He was Ordained in 2017, most likely the first Buddhist to have been ordained in the island of Ireland.

  

  

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‘I wasn’t looking for any answers, no existential riddles was I trying to solve, rather I was in the midst of a successful legal career and thought I had all the answers already! But when I casually noticed the Dublin Buddhist Centre while passing by on the street, I thought that a yoga class might be fun. Little did I know that that first encounter over 20 years ago with yoga and meditation would have such a profound effect on the course of my life.’

‘Like driving along a road and coming upon a diversion sign, I’ve been metaphorically driving along that alternative route ever since and thanks heavens for it. My original journey of career and other outward looking pursuits and interests, has been complemented with another route that has led me to look inwards more, to look at my mind, that quality of mind that reveals an even increasing inner clarity and contentment that that way of looking brings. And out of that has become a more emotionally mature, less self referential person who can contribute and support others on their own journey of self discovery.’

Dayasagara

Dayasagara

Dayasagara began meditating in the mid-1990s and within a few years was attending retreats of the Triratna Buddhist Order and joining in meditation each weekday morning at the Dublin Buddhist Centre. He became a member of the Order in 2018.

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A devotee of the arts since his teenage years, he says that his interest in music, literature etc. now seems to have prepared the way for his discovery of the Buddha’s teaching. ‘I already knew there were finer things in life’, he says, ‘and I had experienced my share of them. In fact, there was more: a finer life to be lived. And I might have missed it.’

He continues to be deeply interested in art and myth as aspects of the spiritual life, and meditation continues to be a mainstay of his practice. What is more of a surprise to him is the support and enjoyment he derives from a network of Buddhist friends that stretches from Co. Tipperary to New South Wales – all living and sharing the finer life, with the intention that more and more people can benefit from the awareness, wisdom and compassion taught by the Buddha.

Dayasagara never dreamed his life would turn out like this, it is ‘a great and unexpected blessing’.