Bhante Dhammasīha was born in West Germany on December 5th, 1966. After finishing high school in Hannover and serving as a conscript in the German armed forces, he studied business administration in West Berlin. As business students had the lowest average IQ of all faculties at German universities, the curriculum was not too demanding and he was left with plenty of time and energy for his genuine interests: Schopenhauer’s philosophy, Indian religion and culture, and an extensive exploration of the suffering and disappointment inherent in sensual pleasures.