Unedited transcript

Question: At what point did you find out that you will be coming to the west?

There are some invitations after I finished three year retreat and joined monastic college where we can learn Buddhist philosophy and, mostly philosophy, those things. And we do debating. We can debate about any subjects. We can say, oh Buddha is wrong, impermanence or no impermanence. We can any debate but we have to follow the reason. Almost like thought experience. I met some scientist and what they call thought experience. Similar like that. Analyze and then to bring into experience, meditate. And then, there is some invitation from the west, from USA, from Europe, to visit to many Dharma centers. Because when I was seventeen years old I became retreat master. I am leading retreatants, three year retreat. Next three year retreat. So many people ask me to come to the west to teach meditation to the retreatants, those things. And during this, when I studied in college, during that time I had two month holiday, and I used that holiday sometime go to Europe, different places. I came one time in USA, 1998. That is first time I come to USA. Before I been some different parts of Europe also. And I visit meditation centers and I have also conversations with some scientists, doctors, professors.