Ashin Sarana may be one of the most well-known foreign monks in Myanmar today. He conducts his own meditation courses and routinely gives Dhamma talks in fluent Burmese. But did you know that his earliest monastic influences was a kung-fu movie and a book on magic? In this talk, U Sarana traces his spiritual journey from his native town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic to the Buddhist and Pali University in Sri Lanka, to full bhikkhu ordination in Myanmar in 2012. He talks about falling in love and yet choosing monkhood over marriage, and discusses the recent controversy he stirred up in Myanmar when he suggested that lay supporters should not donate to monks who touch money.

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