"No, doesn't sound like it is. Good intentions all the way around," he says.

Doesn't sound like a life for him, but he can see the appeal for the right type of person. Sounds hard, but then most orders of monks and other similar religious traditions he's heard of aren't supposed to be easy, because that would defeat the purpose of studying and aspiring to live up to their ideals.

"How long have you been part of the sect? Are you a monk, or... is that the right word?"