He says he hopes that people will try to “see everyone as friends and should have compassion for Bush, too.”

This kind of socially engaged Buddhism—in which the Buddhist ideals of compassion and justice are not only internalized but also actively extended to the outside world—is a movement Sulak has strongly and consistently supported.

He says that although Buddhism’s increasing popularity among Westerners is an encouraging sign, Buddhists should not limit themselves to personal fulfillment.

“What do they do once they become Buddhists? They become calm and find peace by meditating. But they are often the upper middle class, and they don’t realize that by being calm and peaceful, they are not questioning their lifestyle—or the fact that they unknowingly exploit the poor,” he says.

Sulak says his dual role as both a Buddhist and an activist reconcile naturally.

“One day of serving is better than one hundred days of exploiting,” he says.

For now, Sulak says he hopes that he has more right views than when he was young and less traveling in store for the future.

“I’m not young anymore, and I believe that flying business class is wrong because it fattens the airlines, but you can’t move in those economy seats,” he says, compacting his frame to a rigid seating position to demonstrate his point, his eyes sparkling with a playfulness that defies his age. But he says he does look forward to flying home to Bangkok for the summer to celebrate his 70th birthday, which he says will be a small family affair.

And looking around at his temporary residence provided by the Yenching Institute, he smiles contentedly at the prospect of jetting to yet another destination tomorrow.

“Places have secondary importance to me—having so many friends in so many countries is the most important thing,” he says, sweeping his arm vaguely outward. “Soon, I will leave this country, too, to be reborn elsewhere.”

—Staff writer Yingzhen Zhang can be reached at zhang9@fas.harvard.edu.