About this cloud

Born in Hong Kong, back in the days when it wasn’t special or autonomous, to a Russian father (son of refugees from the Southern Russian Caucasus mountains), and a London born Scottish mother, this cloud took shape among the tall buildings, bustling markets and sunny beaches of that extraordinary group of islands. Full of all kinds of sights, smells, creeds, cultures, languages, sounds and other clouds, a more wonderful growing up place there cannot possibly be.  

 Studies blew me over to these fair shores of Blighty for high school and Uni, although the rest of the family soon followed at the handover. Interest in meditation and the Dharma were latent for many years but took off in earnest during my first few teenage years and with the help of my uncle and auntie (Thais living in Bangkok), I took the chance to ordain as a novice in Thailand at age 18, after leaving school, but back to laylife and Uni soon afterwards. Back again to Asia, Kyoto to be specific, for a year of a degree in Japanese at SOAS, the University of London and ordination as a monk in Thailand soon after graduating back in mid-2005. Pursuing traditional monastic studies in Pali and Canonical Literature as well as Religious Iconography and monastic discipline, I floated in Bangkok for the rest of the year before moving off up-country to the mountains and forests of the Northern provinces of Chiang Mai. After practicing under the gracious guidance of the great meditation master Ajahn Blien for a year or so, I drifted down to the Lao speaking North Eastern region of the Thai plains, Isaan. Living at a hermitage in Loei province for a few months, I was soon asked to come and look after a small forest monastery down in Khon Kaen province, Phu Wieng district in the abbot’s (a teacher of mine) stead. 

 End of 2007 I was back in the UK again, although this time in Oxford staying at the temple of Ven. Dhammasami, a fantasticly wise and kindly teacher from the Shan States in Northern Burma (and the first Buddhist monk DPhil from Oxford!). A short stint in Taiwan during the Summer of 2008 but back to the UK and laylife in August returning home to London to take care of my parents and siblings – a fortunate chance for me to help and develop my practice in many ways! As of September 2009 I’ll be training as an RE teacher for Secondary School, something I’m really looking forward to. Hopefully I’ll drift back into the robes in a few years time once things are all well with my family but lot’s of drifting to do until then …