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Why does a nine-year-old child develop the desire to dedicate his life to spirituality? How does one get from Sri Lanka to Vienna on behalf of Buddhism? What does it mean to be a spiritual leader? What is really important for us humans? Exciting questions. Exciting answers… Born on May 12, 1953 in Wijayarajapura, a traditional village in Sri Lanka, Bhante Seelawansa grew up with six siblings and lost his mother in an accident at the age of seven. At just nine years of age, the desire to lead a spiritual Buddhist monk's life matured in him. In May 1964, at the age of ten years, eleven months and twenty days, he received his father's approval and became a Buddhist novice. He completed his school education at the monastery and studied Pali and Sanskrit. He attended university in Sri Lanka, where he learned German as well as English. After his studies, he worked as a teacher in a Buddhist school in Sri Lanka. Bhante Seelawansa came to Austria in 1982. He spent his first year in Salzburg, studying journalism and communication sciences as well as German. He then came to Vienna, continued his studies there and became a lecturer at the University of Vienna and the Global Academy in Liechtenstein. He is the spiritual leader of the Theravada school and the Nyanaponika Dhamma Center in Vienna. His efforts to promote intercultural encounters are particularly noteworthy, especially within the ACADEMY FOR BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY. The dialogue between Buddhism and Christianity offers the opportunity to recognize similarities and differences.