Introduction On January 2nd, 2025, I left The International Institute of Theravāda (IIT) . It was something I had planned since late September 2024 and something I had wanted to do within the first few months of first attending in December 2022. I patiently waited for things to change. The main reason I left was that it was just a little too intensive for me and different from what I originally signed up for. I signed up to learn the Pāḷi language and also to fulfill the requirements of Nissaya Muttaka.

This is Ven Indavimala. During my re-ordination in 2007, the ones who were previously ordained got to go first by previous seniority. This is to preserve previous order of seniority to those who lost it before, but the seniority only resides in our year of ordination (if that makes sense). Technically we are all the same monk age in years. We are all 17 years or vassa. However, the monk with the most experience will be ordained before the other and he will be senior sometimes by a day, an hour, or even by a mere second. It is sort of like twins, if they know who was “born” first. Ven Maggavihari is the baby of our year and was in the very last group to ordain with a Chinese monk in the next day. He has only ordained once which is how it should be.

The Wootens One of the few places I have been to in Sri Lanka besides Na-Uyana and The International Institute of Theravāda (IIT) is Spring Hill Forest Monastery located in the Hantanna Mountains above Kandy. My two donors from Kaua’i, John and Nandini Wooten were visiting Kandy and I decided it would be good to take a break from the IIT scenery and climate with a great inspirational place for the Wootens to visit me.

Monk walking towards the world of the 5% If you are a Westerner and new to Buddhism, you might be surprised to learn that most monks use and handle money. I have calculated that around 95% use money while 5% do not use money. The general consensus of those I have consulted say that about 2 or 3 percent do not use money but I used a 5% number to be safe. In this article I will give an itemized number crunch and explain how I came up with those numbers and you can see if 5% is safe and maybe double my original estimate.

Alms Tray and Cambodia Monk’s Full Bowl Introduction: This article explains the essence of piṇḍapāta (alms) and why we go for alms, even in poor villages. On the weekends, I have some time to go for alms in the nearby village. However, you might ask yourself, “Why would a monk collect food from a very poor village during an economic crisis when the monastery is mostly supported by wealthy people? Isn’t this making it more difficult for the Sri Lankan villagers?”

Swedagon Pagoda, Myanmar On November 4th, I left The States for Sri Lanka, Thailand and of course Myanmar which I now consider a home for myself. Shortly after the Buddhist Rainy Season had begun in Kaua’i, the support for inviting a second monk fell through and I was tired of being alone which meant I needed to leave. Around the same time, in late July or early August, my Lao/American supporter named Thongvanh, sent me brochure with a monk who was leading a “Spiritual Sri Lanka Trip” which included the Sri Maha Bodhi Tree in Anuradhapura. I looked at the brochure, rolled my eyes and then discouraged him from going because I have seen commercialized tours like this before. Instead, since I was looking to go back to Asia, I told him I would take him on a better more spiritual tour which included visiting living meditation centers and actually meditating too. After he agreed, my ex-monk Nepal friend / supporter from Australia sent Thongvanh the cash for my air tickets and we were ready for take-off.