ANDREA THE EXPLORER
Search Of Happiness My name is Andrea. I am a 27 years old Swiss young man living in Hong Kong. I came to Hong Kong three years ago to set up a Hong Kong branch for the company I used to work for. I took care of all the details for the company, from recruiting, building, training and managing the local team for the business. I had an important role in a successful company and I earned good money. Anyone in my position should be “happy”. However, after the initial excitement, I didn’t feel that “happy” anymore. I didn’t like how my lifestyle was becoming; parties, alcohol and smoking were a regular habit. It felt like I was constantly looking for an escape from this fake life, and I was searching of something of a higher purpose A voice inside me kept asking : “what is real happiness and how can I reach it?” Last year, I gathered the courage to leave my job to find the answers to my questions and to discover more about my true self.
Travel To Happiness
I then decided to give myself time to explore new paths. Travelling was the first thing I wanted to do. Travelling is my passion. Travelling opens up our visions and allows us to appreciate the beauty of the world. I have been travelling since I was little and I thought a journey on my own could open new horizons and bring happiness and new possibilities of self realization into my life. The action of travelling itself doesn’t answer questions “What is real happiness?” Some of the questions can be answered only when we stop from wander around and we allow us to peacefully look inside ourselves. Discovery of Happiness 
The Dhammakaya family and meditation came into my life shortly after I left my job. They entered my life through a very good friend; she has been the bridge for me to connect with meditation, and therefore the discovery of my true self. Without forcing me to do anything, she showed me through examples of how meditation worked and allowed me to explore the path at my own pace. After I started meditating, I felt more relaxed and happy. The more I meditate, the more I feel happiness from within. I slowly realized that my old lifestyle and habits couldn’t be a part of my life anymore if I really wanted to grow with my happiness from inside. The final decision of ordaining as a monk came to me only very recently, the thought of “ordaining one day in the future” has always been in my mind. As I now have the time, goof health and not many responsibilities, I decided being a monk as a young man I could benefit from an early time in my life. I always felt a great sense of fulfillment in helping others and I constantly want to help and inspire more people around me. Now, I realize that I need to first work on myself before I can help others. Discovering more about myself has always been a major struggle in my life as I let myself to be trapped for long time in what the modern society is telling us to do. The modern way of living just doesn’t feels right, the pursue of materialism and ultimate profit it’s not how the reality we live in really works and I have never accepted that.
