About Modern Monk

My name’s Matt.

I am interacting with this human experience through fighting, writing, breathing, and reading.

Since I was a kid, I’ve been searching for something deeper.

Not so much religion or a certain belief. Just… truth. There has always felt like there were quiet strands beneath all of everything we see—strands that seem to be keeping everything together.

Since I was 14, I’d stay up late reading the Bible. Then the Qur’an. The Tao. Neville Goddard. Manly P. Hall. Wayne Dyer. Reality Transurfing. Ajahn Chah. Trying to satisfy my thirst for answers.

I didn’t understand all of it, and I still don’t, but something in me knew… there’s more to this life than what we see.

Muay Thai helped me live that truth.

At first, it looked like a sport.
But for me, it became a kind of moving meditation.
A way to let out all the built-up energy inside me.
Something that gave me discipline, purpose, and peace.

When I was 21, I moved to rural Thailand.
I spent three years at Wor Watthana, a Muay Thai gym that doubled as a home for kids who had nothing.

I cleaned. Cooked. Prayed. Listened. Translated.
Watched kids smile before stepping into a ring to fight for their next meal.
Watched joy. Watched suffering.
Watched the human condition up close.

And I always made a promise to myself after hearing the words from one of the owners of the gym:
Do something worthwhile.

Since then, I’ve carried one quiet vow:

To lead with love …
and to do something worthwhile through the mediums and vehicles I have access to.

What is Modern Monk?

Modern Monk is my way of living that vow.
It’s a space I created to share:

• My Buddhist studies

• My reflections on death, suffering, and letting go

• Notes from my Muay Thai journey

• Essays on identity, attention, and stillness

• Daily practices for people walking the spiritual path in a digital world

You won’t find recycled self-help here.

Just my own personal lessons as I voyage through the human experience.

A Digital Monastery

Modern Monk is a living document.
A kind of journal.
Of my life experiences.
Of what I’m learning. Of how I’m aiming to be.

Reminders to myself—and to anyone who is reading—to always return back to the Dhamma.

To find peace within themselves.

It’s somewhere anyone can come to find answers to their own problems or things they’re battling with.

This is a space to connect everything together.

For me, it’s also a way to make sense of everything

and to express what’s in my heart.

Who is this for?

This space is for you if:

• You’re going through spiritual awakening

• You feel disconnected from modern life

• You’ve been broken open by suffering

• You care more about presence than productivity

• You want to live truthfully, even when it’s hard

Maybe you’re a fighter.
Maybe you’re a writer.
Maybe you’re just tired of chasing things that don’t matter.

If that’s you
Welcome back.

Why I’m Doing This

I don’t have all the answers.
But I do have my practice.

This is my way of giving back.
Of documenting what I learn as I walk the path.
Of leaving something honest behind … before I move on to the next life.

This is my small offering to the world.

Modern Monk is my way of saying:
There is a way through.
Even here. Even now.
Even with everything on fire.

Subscribe if any of this speaks to you.
I publish new essays, reflections, and resources every week.
Think of it as a letter from the monastery.

With breath,
Matt Rintranulux
Student of Stillness.