Yogi: When I was in the forest, I had an overwhelming emotion of sadness. It felt like the forest was where I belonged and not in the world where everything was suffering and wrong.

The mind asked: If this is what feels right, why am I still in the world? Even though this feels right, it is not about avoiding the world.

How did Sayadaw know when it was time to leave home?

Sayadaw: I did not become a monk because I was suffering in daily life. I was doing really well meditating in lay life with the support of wisdom and the dhamma.

I became a monk because I found the practice so fascinating that I wanted to dedicate my mind to it more. I was not trying to do better because I was not doing enough.

Yogi: I heard a monk talk about non-self and I cried because there was an understanding not to play-play anymore. Is this thought avoiding lay life?

Sayadaw: Not every decision to renounce daily life is escapism. I wasn’t escaping from something; it was a choice that was meaningful to me. I was not suffering and didn’t have to escape from anything.