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
Category: Monk Life
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 […]
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.
Most Important Buddhist Lesson Learned and Taught
A little while ago, I was asked what was the most important lesson learned and what was the most important thing that I taught. The answer spans two different videos and they are listed below:
Pa-Auk Monastery Alms Line in Myanmar
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.
Fighting Anger With Loving-Kindness and No Money
Recently, I ran into a very angry man who came out of his house yelling at me and coming closer and closer. Eventually, I won the fight with my two big weapons, loving-kindness and my commitment of being free from money for all these years. I have been going for alms in this neighborhood for a little over a year now, and while I did have two girls yell at me, they did not leave their property boundary. Later, I switched to a new street in the same neighborhood as I explained in my last story. However, things were […]
Koral Inspires Me
Can a family in the West automatically know how alms are given in the East without ever knowing? Read on to find out what inspires me.