Why did you become a monk?
Probably the #1 question we get is, “Why did you become a monk?” That question has many factors and answers. However, a better question is, “How did I actually get the nerve to become a monk?” Read More
Maymyo Pa-Auk Meals
At Theravada monasteries there is no eating allowed after Noontime. Here is a look at the meals served at Pa-Auk Maymyo (Pyin Oo Lwin)
Anniversary 19: I’m Still Standing
On Feb 7th, 2001 I took my original ordination with The Most Venerable Pa-Auk Saydawgyi. It was the happiest days of my life
Free PTS Sutta eBooks
The Pali Text Society has made its Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma books available for non-commercial use since 2013. The Sutta books have been extracted from the Buddhadust Website which is still considered as “work in progress.” However, the work was good enough to reformat as eBooks in its current state. Stephen Torrence and myself did most of the work to reformat the web pages into eBook versions. There were thousands of webpages which required many scripts to remove the web content. We used the open source project called Sigil. What is special about these books? These are the unabridged editions […]
On The Way Back Home
On November 4th, I left The States for Sri Lanka, Thailand and of course Myanmar which I now consider a home for myself
All in the Family
I did a brief visit with my parents on the corner of October and November. Although I have stayed separately at my grandmother’s house on the previous last two visits in 2006 and 2008, I had arranged for the porch-sun-room to be modified as a “separate lodging” for me in 2019. If you do the math, that means I have not visited Connecticut in eleven years. This in-house lodging arrangement worked out and instead of being 60 miles away and only getting a few visits in with my folks, I was able to spend some good quality time with them […]
Chicago Lao Monastery
Recently, I had a chance to go to a Lao Monastery in Elgin, Chicago, IL, USA for 12 days.
Leaving Kaua’i On A Jet Plane
As the rest of the song goes.. “And I don’t know when I’ll be back again.” And so, “This is where the story ends…” or does it?
Early Monk Pictures
I recently turned 49 and I found some old pictures of myself that I thought I would share. It is very difficult to get older pictures of myself because it was before the digital picture revolution. In those days, we used to hire (through a helper) the man known as “photoman” who had a camera and would take one single picture and then sell the prints for about $1 each. It was very expensive for locals to develop a whole role of film and this was how it was done. The first picture exists only as a scan from a […]
Ian (exVen. Visarada) Visits Kauai
This past July, I had an old friend named Ian Sloan (previously Venerable Visarada ) visit me in Kauai. He disrobed after being a monk for 25 years. He disrobed because of a conflict of philosophy about what happens at death. It was a combination of accounts from past life regressions in hypnotherapy, what he has read by Edgar Cayce, and the event of his father’s death. He seems to appreciate the Near Death Experiences which can still be explained partially with Buddhism, but he felt it was time to disrobe. Although most people suspect women are the cause for […]
Why I Ordained Twice
Many people who have learned that I have re-ordained have asked me why I did it. It is a long story, but I will try to be brief.