Ven. Nepal Nāthaputta and I have been going for alms together for some time now. He usually comes with me the whole way on Saturdays and on Sundays, he forks right after the 2nd or 3rd house. However, recently, a new monk decided to join our route. Last week, Ven. Nepal Nāthaputta went off on his own on Saturday while the two of us went on my usual route (good for two monks).

During the Buddhist Rainy season, I was invited to go to Cambodia as part of a group to deliver some relics and see Angkor Wat. While most people don’t know much about Cambodia as a Theravāda Buddhist Country, it is actually 97% Buddhist, which ranks them as the most Theravāda Buddhist Country in the world. The trip ended up being more than 1000 times more powerful than we ever expected and it will be a memory for a long time to come.

Ven Ananda with the two donors Recently, we received six new tables arranged by a monk’s two donors. The tables were nice but I didn’t think we needed them, so I asked the monk why. He said there was not enough room on the tables for his donors’ donations, so they decided to donate more tables so they can donate more. When his donors make donations, they are not small.

Introduction Foreigner monk gets a COVID vaccine jab during the times of the new Myanmar government In this article, I want to share with you some of my experiences of living as a monk in Myanmar during the covid pandemic and the government change that happened recently. I also want to explain why I left Myanmar at the end of 2022 and what I am doing now. I am an American Buddhist monk who has been living in Myanmar for many years.

Recently, the doctor ordered some lemon juice for me to take as medicine, so I asked the office helper for some lemons. She went into the kitchen and then to the “walk-in refrigerator.” I just had to laugh and then snapped a picture. What does a walk-in refrigerator look like? How doe they make walk-in refrigerators in Myanmar Monasteries? Instructions: Take an eight by eight room, Lay the walls with tiles Insulation (optional) Put one or two air conditioners inside Pa-Auk Maymyo: Only 1 air conditioner.

6 Color Buddhist Flag Yesterday, on Vesak, I was invited to go with Sayadaw Kumarabhivamsa, the Tipitaka Sayadaw and one more monk to visit the three very large Buddhas in our monastery and then finally to give water to the Bodhi Tree. When we give water to the Bodhi Tree, it is not uncommon to give pure bottled drinking water to it. Yes, you read that correctly. Bottled drinking water is used to water a tree.

Now the world is getting used to COVID-19 and many countries are announcing a new policy called “Living with COVID”. Now we are too. I will explain…. On March 17, 2022, Pa-Auk Pyin Oo Lwin literally started to live with COVID. On that day, there were 5 monks that were sick and tested positive. When lunch came, we were on high alert. Massive testing happened within the next few days and we went from 12 positive cases to 25 and then to 35 and now we are at 50 cases for the male size and 15 for the female side only one week later.

From Knowing and Seeing Pa-Auk Forest Monastery video In 2005 I made a video called, “Knowing and Seeing Pa-Auk Forest Monastery.” This is about the Pa-Auk Main Branch in Mawlamyine. Sayadawgyi was young back then and used to climb the stairs to his mountain kuti twice per day. I will miss that. The title was meant to play with the name of Sayadawgyi’s famous book called, “Knowing and Seeing.” The book is referring to knowing and seeing the detailed Dhammas which were once thought impossible to know and literally “see”.

Eating Hall Feb 7 2022 Today is my 21rst anniversary for when I first got ordained as a monk on February 7th, 2001. As you know there was a hiccup and I ordained twice (back to back) leaving me with an official age of 15 years. However, the total years is 21 and this is my blackjack year when I first got my name. There were many reasons why I wanted to ordain as a Buddhist Monk.

Monks walking up the monastery road near the library 2014. (Double umbrella) Excerpt from Going For Broke: Monasterynote5: Walkman Karaoke, 2004 Rainy Season is luckily my favorite and I love all five months of it. It is the perfect temperature also, not too hot, not too cold. It’s quiet and the noises around me get white washed out from the rain striking the metal corrugated roofing. We had over 350 Bhikkhus and a total of more than 600 residents this past Rainy Season (2004).

Injection on Western resident monk Pa-Auk finally vaccinated 2000 of its residents across its branch monasteries with a privately sponsored SinoPharm vaccine. Pa-Auk Pyin Oo Lwin branch had its vaccines delivered on September 18th, 2021 with about half of the total population signed up. Vaccination was voluntary and provided by donors. While it did take a long time for us to get the vaccine, the government did invite us for the vaccine back in April or May 2021.

Recently, I got a nice message from a monk friend telling me he was taking vassa (3 month Rainy Season Retreat) on July 23rd (the Full Moon Day) and wishing me a happy vassa before he goes offline for three months. However, we at Pa-Auk are taking the vassa today on July 24 (the day after the Full Moon Day). The calendars often say it starts on the Full Moon Day, but we don’t do that at Pa-Auk.

Recently, I had a serious medical problem that had the potential to be extremely serious. Please don’t ask. In any case, I arranged permission to go outside and then arranged for someone to help me get to a clinic in Mandalay which had the proper technology to properly assess my problem. This article is not about going out. Instead this article is about coming back and staying in quarantine. Because we do not have monastery-wide vaccines yet, Pa-Auk is quite strict about letting people go outside because when you come back, you will need to be on a 3 week quarantine before testing for your release.

If you go to a Theravada Buddhist forest monastery in Asia, you are likely to find a full skeleton or parts of a skeleton somewhere where it can be viewed easily. Some monasteries also have cemeteries inside the boundary like Pa-Auk Forest Monastery in Mawlamyine. Some other monasteries have a place were dead bodies are burned (with open wood fires), right on the premises, like Pa-Auk Mawlamyine and also Wat Pa Nanachat in Thailand.

I’ve been looking forward to the Myanmar Internet being cut off, but it does not seem to be happening. I guess that is good for the people here. I will be taking a SIM break for about 5 days… Tuesdays are usually when I post things from the meditation hall because it is the day I have to manage the Tuesday cleaning crew. My job is to clean the Big Buddha (that is me below).

Pa-Auk Main Gate (cc-by-sa) Pa-Auk Forest Monastery and Pa-Auk Sayadaw share the same names. Why is that? Some people might question why Pa-Auk Forest Monastery and Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadaw have the same names. Did the Pa-Auk Sayadaw name his monastery after himself to immortalize his name? Is this an ego trip? What is the who, what, were, when, why, and how of this story? Who? Venerable Pa-Auk Sayadawgyi (cc-by-sa)

In 2014, I came in contact with yogi Brahm at the Mawlamyine Branch of The Pa-Auk Forest Monastery during a 10-day fast with Venerable Mokkhita. He is a great photographer and I thought it would be cool to show him the Pa-Auk kitchen and let him capture how the meals are made for 1200 yogis each day. Take notice of the large quantities of food that are cooked on wood fired stoves.

Of course I’m happy! On November 24, I helped make a nice breakfast and lunch for Pa-Auk Forest Monastery, Pyin Oo Lwin. I organized 28 monks including myself to be the donors for the whole day meals + fresh squeezed apple juice, for a full value of 1,250,000 Myanmar Kyat. It fed approximately 530 yogis across four sections in Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. But how is that possible for monks to donate money?

Chinese congee Photo By Daiju Azuma - Own work, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=567814 Rice soup is most popularly known as Congee (Kahn-Jee). However in the Buddhist world, it is referred to as yāgu in the Pāḷi Language. It occurs many many times in the tipiṭaka (more than 500 times) and it is still eaten today in Asia and Southeast Asia. To make it, you simply boil and then simmer one part rice with eight parts water for one or two hours.

While I have said quite a lot to inspire people about life as a monk around the world. I should give you both sides of the story to be fair. When you think about living in Asia full-time or just for a visit, the first thought that comes to mind is, “Will I get sick?”. It can happen, and when you rely on volunteers and health standards that work “most of the time” but not all of the time, then problems can arise.

A kuṭi is a small hut or lodging that a monk lives in and it is one of the basic four requisites: Robes, Food, Lodging, & Medicine. They come in various sizes and qualities and I have prepared a small showcase of pictures which can show more than just the words. We are supposed to reflect on the utilitarian purpose of the lodging, also called senāsana. Before we begin, here is a small sample of the morning chanting monks must chant everyday.

Going for Alms at Pa-Auk The world has has begun to know about Covid-19 and unfortunately, some countries know it better than others. As a monk, I try to stay away from basic web internet except one day per week, but I still hear what goes on and as of today, April 6th, 2020, Myanmar has 21 cases and one death. The number grows slowly in the beginning as you all might know and it is uncertain what will become of the virus in weeks to come.

(Republished from June, 2015) Having Fun At The Pa-Auk Dentist Clinic (Repost/refurbish from June, 2015*) Because dentists are very expensive in America and the Pa-Auk dental clinic has pretty good sanitary conditions (for Myanmar), I went for a checkup before my trip to Hawai’i. Usually in Asia, you only go to a dentist when there is pain but I had some sensitivity I wanted to get checked and I waited for the Saturday dentist who is known on the street as “the old retired dentist who takes his time and does a good job.

At Theravada monasteries there is no eating allowed after Noontime. Some monasteries only give one meal per day, while other monasteries give 2 meals per day. Both meal plans are allowed by the Buddha. However, some monasteries have no meals brought to the monks and they need to go out in the village and collect it. This last case is very rare and usually done by the forest monks living in secluded places or ehem.

The standing marble Buddha at Pyin Oo Lwin Pa-Auk On Feb 7th, 2001 I took my original ordination with The Most Venerable Pa-Auk Saydawgyi. It was the happiest days of my life and the most important one besides successfully being born as a human and surviving any serious death or injuries. Although there was a small hiccup, it has been 19 years total. I had just finished arranging my residential visa that was said could not be changed from a tourist visa without leaving the country.

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.

Downloaded from https://www.needpix.com Interview 1 of 2 Note: Some edits have been made afterwards to make things clear or to protect the anonymity of people. I am sitting here now with one anonymous monk. He has sat for more than 24 hours in 4th jhāna and I wanted to interview him anonymously to inspire others. So we are here with Bhante (Note: All monks can be called “Bhante”). I want to ask a few questions.

New Update and Summary: Myanmar Visas in the USA now only take 4 business days (It used to be of 3 Months). See Religious Visa application for USA Embassy: http://www.mewashingtondc.org/sites/default/files/pdf/visa/Religious-Visa-Forms.pdf Visa cost is $50 valid for 3 months (arrive before 3 months) and stay permit of 70 days Sponsor letter, Payment, application form, work history, and passport are needed. Verify all of this at the Myanmar Embassy in DC at +1 202-238-9332 http://www.

I recently found this video in my Google Drive. I had a layperson (probably UKZ) follow me around in the line to show what it was like for a monk to go through the alms food line at Pa-Auk Main Center, Mawlamyine, Myanmar. It is not easy to manage so many donors with big hearts to give. Most of the time, I am giving hand signals to get less food. You might want to play this at double speed.

Racism in Asia, Myanmar and Monasteries I remember when I came to Sri Lanka, in 2007 and I met a monk who said he was from Slovenia. “Slovenia? What kind of country is that?” I told him that I had memorized the world map in school, but I didn’t remember any “Slovenia.” There happened to be a large world map in the other room and he called me over to see it.

Drone View. A Brief Return to Pa-Auk Maymyo (pyin oo lwin). In 2012 I had left my home at Nauyana, Sri Lanka to reconnect with my teacher Pa-Auk Saydawgyi in his spank’in new meditation center. It was built by a Myanmar Billionaire, and was still being finished as we were coming to the grand opening retreat. The climate was nice and cool and the food was exceptional. However one of the faults was that it was really close to a major road, in a spot where the truck shift gears and accelerate.

Top: Ma Ba Tha conference Bottom: Reaching out to Muslims to show loving-kindness. Recently, I was convinced to go to a “seminar on peace” this past Saturday. Some of you may have seen my picture on Facebook in regards to a Ma Ba Tha conference I attended. I was told that I should not pay attention to the negative press and that they are a peaceful organization and the gathering was about peace.

I cannot believe that I am writing an article that explains how the monks are fighting over food. It is very awkward to hear isn’t it? On the other hand human nature is human nature. We have six monks who sit at each table and sometimes there is not enough of the special items to go around. And that is when the fighting begins… But it is not what you think.

In the eight plus years that I have lived in Myanmar, I have never seen the Thingyan Water Festival festivities happening in the street. I normally spend my time in the monastery and normally, if I went on alms, it would be early in the morning. However, our Kyownpine monastery goes out on alms round a little later so we can collect real food to actually eat a little bit easier (so the donors have time to cook).

Kyownpine Pa-Auk Branch Monastery in Mudon, Myanmar. I have moved to Yorgo Sayadaw ’s new monastery called Kyownpine. The Yorgo Sayadaw read my first ordination transaction 15 years ago and invited me to come. He speaks no English, but we have fun together. Such a lovely place, lots of Metta here. Good views, cool at night (75 degrees), nice kuti. [![2016032113164100](/images/2016032113164100.webp" >}}](/images/2016/03/2016032113164100.webp" >}} [![2016032113164000](/images/2016032113164000.webp" >}}](/images/2016/03/2016032113164000.webp" >}} This place is suitable for foreigners to live at complete with proper vinaya (monks’ rules).

From the pamc lookout. I am back in Myanmar from Kauai, Hawaii. I will begin the Bus trip to Pa-Auk Meditation Center this morning. What a long transit back that was. Here is a picture taken from Pa-Auk Lookout point that friends and I had fun taking a while back. I will begin the Bus trip to Pa-Auk Meditation Center this morning.

[![some-wish-for-peace](/images/some-wish-for-peace.webp" >}}](/images/2015/11/some-wish-for-peace.webp" >}} Some wish for peace, I did something (story below) I thought I would repost this on my blog due to the recent events. We must strive for peace. Originally posted on WithMetta.net I just got back from inviting 2 Muslims to serve at the head of the meal line for Tomorrow’s lunch at Pa-Auk. Everyone thought I was crazy and that the Muslims would kill me or at least shout at me as soon as I entered the compound.

I made this video from 55 minutes of nearly silent footage. I cut it us and added a script to it. The titles in English are from the original and are misspelled in some areas. The monastery is more or less the same except a new health clinic which i had posted pictures of earlier. I finally got a higher resolution copy uploaded (in full) to YouTube, thanks to a wonderful Bhante who helped me upload it from the DVD Version.

The website Http://TimeAndDate.com is a “must-know” and “must-have” for Buddhist monks, especially when they travel abroad. It calculates the Moon Phases and Solar Noon for a specific area. One thing that was very enlightening was how the Western calendars were off from the Buddhist calendars for the new and full moons. Why? Well… pick a place in the East, like Yangon and see when the full moon is. Then pick a place in the far West like Honolulu and see when the full moon is.

From my oldest posts from GPlus in 2015, which are slowly being restored. A Counterfeit Mitsubishi Truck was found in Pa-Auk Forest Monastery. I had my doubts, so I asked the driver to open up the hood. It was in fact, a Toyota engine block. Consumers, please be careful! In the olden days there were very high taxes on cars. I think 200% tax which made used cars hold their value well.

My father asked me what the food was like. Here is a small video going through the alms-line at Pa-Auk I’m not sure what year this was. I think sometime around 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciI3W3ZVoBU