The Gradual Training
A Hybrid Retreat Hosted by the
Theravada Buddhist Community
with
Ayyā Medhānandī & Ayyā Anuruddhā
when
Friday, May 23rd & Saturday, May 24th, 2025
at Friends House (Quaker House)
60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, Ontario
and on the Zoom Platform
Ayyā Medhānandī is the guiding teacher and founder of Sati Saraniya Hermitage, the first Theravāda bhikkhuni monastery in Canada.
She was ordained as an alms mendicant nun in 1988 at the Mahasi Sasana Yeiktha, Myanmar, with most Venerable Sayadaw U Pandita. In 2007, she fulfilled her long-held wish for bhikkhuni ordination in Taiwan.
All the spiritual tests of her life have ignited in her an unrelenting faith in the Buddha’s teachings, for the very depths of pain, a greater resilience is born, more than courage, more than patience, more than ordinary love.
Ayyā Anuruddhā has trained with Ayyā Medhānandī at Sati Saraniya Hermitage since 2014.
Originally from the UK, she came to the Dhamma after two life careers—as a veterinarian and a high school biology teacher.
She realized the grave danger confronting human beings, that no part of our personality could save us from the entrapments of existence. Feeling the urgency to discover freedom from suffering, she devoted her life to inner investigation and purification of the mind and to truly dwell in the joy of the heart’s own radiance.
Retreat Schedule
Friday, May 23rd
Day Session – Doors open at 9:00 am DST
9:30 am – 9:45 am
9:45 am – 10:30 am
10:30 am – 11:15 am
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm
3:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Opening Chants, Taking Three Refuges & Five Precepts
Meditation
Dhamma Reflections
Sitting or Walking Meditation
Lunch
Seated Meditation
Dhamma Talk, Q&A
Closing Chants
Evening Session – Doors open at 7:00 pm
7:15 pm – 8:00 pm
8:00 pm – 8:45 pm
8:45 pm – 9:15 pm
Evening Meditation
Dhamma Talk or Sutta
Q & A
Saturday, May 24th
Saturday, May 24th – Doors open at 9:00 am
9:30 am – 9:45 am
9:45 am – 10:30 am
10:30 am – 11:15 am
11:15 am – 12:00 pm
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
1:00 pm – 1:45 pm
1:45 pm – 2:30 pm
3:30 pm – 3:45 pm
Opening Chants, Meditation Instructions
Meditation
Dhamma Reflections
Sitting or Walking Meditation
Lunch
Seated Meditation
Dhamma Talk, Q&A
Closing Chants, Sharing of Merit
Location:
Friends House (Quaker House)
60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, On, M5R 1C7
Noble Silence: The retreat will be held in noble silence.
Meditation Supports: Please bring your own meditation cushion, mat, bench, etc. Chairs will be available. Note: The floor does not have carpeting.
TTC and Parking: Located near St. George Subway Station. GreenP parking options are in the area.
Venue Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Lunch Break: We will break for lunch between 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. Please bring your own lunch or purchase one from a take-out restaurant in the area.
Cost: By donation. Tax receipts are provided for all donations $20 and over. Various payment methods will be available at the door.
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 to register ahead of time, and to remove their name from the registration if they cannot attend.
Retreat Registration
Please let us know if you are going to the retreat
Attending In-Person
If you register and find that you are unable to attend, we kindly ask that you let us know. Please use the ‘Contact Us’ form located at the bottom of the Home Page. We appreciate it if you can notify us as soon as possible, so we can offer your space to someone else. Thank you!
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:
If prompted, use this password: 014087
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