53 · Thai Buddhist Monk

‘I played cricket in Sri Lanka and India, I miss that. I have to live with 227 rules now to have less desire, anger, worrying, so less suffering. Desire is natural, but dwelling on it will cause you suffering. Enlightenment is the freedom from suffering while you’re still alive. I do want to be enlightened, but again that’s desire.’

During a recent backpacking trip in Thailand with my friend and girlfriend, we spoke to Phra KK, a Buddhist monk in Chiang Mai who leads discussion programs and teaches meditation classes (more in this blog).

We ask him: Is the monk life a sacrifice? Do you miss anything about your ordinary life, and how do you feel about monks who’ve returned to that life? What is enlight ...