Bhante Panya tried the forest monk thing. He wore the Theravada robes in America, followed the Vinaya rules, and watched potential practitioners flee because he looked too foreign, too untouchable, too "religious icon" instead of accessible teacher. So he made a move that freaked out his ego: took Mahayana ordination in Taiwan, moved to Vietnam, and started asking uncomfortable questions about what Buddhism actually needs to look like in the West. This conversation gets real fast. We're talking about: **The stuff nobody mentions:** - How your friend group is a mirror of everything you hate about yourself - The terror of taking the bodhisattva vow - What happens when you sit next to someone who's actually realized - Why Theravada meditation might be technically superior but Mahayana community outreach hits different - How to fight the dark spots in your mind when you can't run to a cave - The difference between controlling your mind and just not reacting to it - Why unhealed childhood trauma is probably running your whole spiritual path *

Bhante's books: https://www.amazon.com/Thoughtless-love-cultivation-Bhante-Panna https://www.amazon.com/touching-enlightenment-parable-distance-attachments-ebook Donations for Bhante: https://venmo.com/u/bhante --- *Escaping Samsara is a weekly podcast exploring authentic Buddhist and yogic practice. Subscribe on Substack (escapingsamsara.substack.com) for free articles, teachings, and more episodes!