Ven. Bambalapitiye Gnanaloka Thera embarks on European tour

By Sujeeva Nivunhella reporting from London

The Most Venerable Bambalapitiye Gnanaloka Thera is set to begin his highly anticipated visit to Europe with a Dhamma sermon at the International Buddhist Centre in Paris on June 1. His tour will conclude with another Dhamma sermon at the Thames Buddhist Vihara in London on June 23.

This marks Ven. Gnanaloka’s return to Europe since his previous visit in 2017, during which he exclusively delivered Dhamma sermons. This time, his itinerary includes two meditation retreats in addition to his sermons. The first retreat will take place from June 4 to June 8 at the Jethavana Buddhist Vihara in Birmingham, England. The second retreat will be held from June 17 to June 21 at the Thames Buddhist Vihara in London.

Ven. Gnanaloka will deliver a sermon at the Berlin Buddhist Vihara on June 14. All sermons will be conducted in Sinhala, except for one in English at the London Buddhist Vihara on Saturday, June 15.

Born in 1971, Ven. Gnanaloka’s lay name is Shanaka Dharmakirthi. At age 14, he moved with his parents to South Africa and spent his youth in Lesotho. He completed his university education in Cyprus at the age of 23. Ordained in 1999 at 28, he deepened his meditation practices at the Polgasduwa Monastery under the guidance of German national Ven. Gnanavimala Thera. He has since dedicated much of his life to practising intensive meditation in remote areas of Nepal, Tibet’s Kailash mountain range, the Himalayas, and the dense forests of Sri Lanka. Ven. Gnanaloka’s European tour follows a series of Dhamma sermons and meditation programmes in Australia over the past month.