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.

‘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.’