Two years later I participated in an affirmation ceremony and I got my Buddhist name: Zoho, which means ‘Hidden treasure’.

I kept reading about Buddhism for a couple of weeks more, until one day I started saving money in my bank account.

Now I’m looking forward to Bodhisattva vows, which emphasize that I should devote my life to serve others, to look for enlightenment and to do charitable acts. Well, this is the way Buddhism could change your life if you let it…

A monk in his forties explained many interesting aspects about this way of life to me, that’s how he called it.

He told me that monks don’t work to support themselves as ordinary people do, I had to save enough money to live off for two or three years. I went back home to think over what the monk had told me.

I used to feel a bit depressed but I had a number of chores that kept me busy all day long. In addition, I studied the Eightfold Path and meditated every day, which those eventually brought me peace and I stopped suffering.

I live in a temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand… I’m a Buddhist monk. This is my story. At the beginning it wasn’t easy, I searched for information on the web, at libraries and even I headed for a temple to ask as many questions as I could about Buddhism.

I worked hard spending money only on what I actually needed, until I gathered enough to survive for thirty months. Then I said goodbye to my family and friends and traveled from Bangkok to this place.