Why did you decide to become a Buddhist monk?
I ordained after going to temples and doing meditation retreats for several years. It seemed a natural step, and I was immediately at home in the temple environment. I also never had too much ambition for worldly things.

Can you tell us about The Little Bangkok Sangha?
The Little Bangkok Sangha started because there were Westerners in Bangkok who were interested in Dhamma, but there were no organizations doing any teaching. I approached different Thai organizations but they were either uninterested, or else had no idea how to go about setting up a group for English speakers. Eventually I decided to go ahead and do it together with a few lay friends. It was a lot of work—learning how to use a computer, set up a blog, manage an online calendar, use Photoshop, start an email list. The PR takes a lot of work too. It is not enough that people are interested. You have to get the word out so that people hear about it.

What aspect does this year’s event focuses on?
Each year’s talks have a rough theme, but really are designed so that anyone can join and follow. You don’t need to be a Buddhist or a scholar. Everything should make sense right from the start. Buddhism is good like that. The teachings stand up by themselves. This year’s focus is on mindfulness. This is currently an important topic as it has been taken up by psychology. Mindfulness has proven results. However, by cutting out the religious side, is there something vital being lost? Buddhist meditators will tell you that meditation is not just for relieving stress.

Who do you think will benefit the most from the event?
Some people come regularly to different events, others come once in a while. Mostly they are expats from Europe/America, but also from Asian countries too. There is an inner core of people who all know each other, and a wider group. There are about 2,000 names on the email list. The other group that the Talks are set up for is regular folk who have been in Thailand for a while and have a good feel for the Buddhist aspects of the culture, but have had no chance to go deeper into it. This program is always in a neutral place, such as a yoga studio, library, or this year in the Pharmaceutical Society, so that everyone can feel at ease. There are no rules/traditions at these places unlike temples. Also I can relax more myself and have fun with it. The talks should be informative, but also fun and easy going. By keeping each event under 2 hours, people can call in on their way home from work. It is nice to provide a forum for good people to come together in a wholesome way. Sometimes we just meet socially.