Stories for exhaustion
8 Buddhist wisdom stories for exhaustion from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- A sack of wet mashed potatoesAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Simile: a rested mind isn't brittle but soft like a sack of wet mashed potatoes — hit it and it makes no sound, doesn't reverberate. Or like a padded cell: what hits it just goes…
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You become soft like a sack of wet mashed potatoes. You can hit it and it doesn't even just make any sound at all. It doesn't even reverberate because it's soft. Have a mind like what I call like a padded cell. So when something hits it, it just go squelch on the wall rather than bouncing back again. Have this mind so soft, people can call you anything and you just smile like an idiot.
- Kindness after the dye shedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Wat Pah Pong: three monks dyeing robes two nights without sleep; young Brahm secretly helps so they can rest. Next morning chanting he is full of energy — senior monk: because of…
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three monks and they were dying their robes and they hadn't slept for a couple of days know you can't sleep you have to keep on working that was why almost a test of endurance for them you know that sometimes I remember reading in the Buddhist books when I was young that to make sure that a monk or none was really uh wanted to become a monk or none They would actually test them by having them sit outside the front door of the monastery for three days and just to see if they really wanted to become a monk or a nun. And over in Damasara, you don't have to do that. You just have to make your own robes. It's just kind of similar. Don't make it too easy. See just what your your commitment is. But anyway, over in uh W Babong in those days, we had to uh cut sew white cloth, sew it all up into the monk's robes and make the dye and dye it. [clears throat] It took a long time. And these three monks have been up at the dying shed two nights without sleep and had another night or two to go before they could finish. I what would you do? You know, I would just felt so sort of sorry for them. I've got compassion just like every other monk and none and each one of you as well. I said, "Look, um I won't tell if you won't tell. I'll do the dying tonight. You go and take, you know, 4 hours of rest." And that's what they did. They didn't argue with me. They were off, you know. I felt so good about that because you could see they were suffering in pain, you know, not physical pain like you've broken a leg or something, but just really, really, really tired. So, I did that work for them that night. I hadn't slept that day. I didn't sleep that night cuz I was busy looking after the dying pot. And then also in the morning, the bell went 3:00 in the morning. would get up in Thailand when the bell went they all came back thank you thank you thank you just that you know 4 hours of rest you know just meant a lot of difference to them me I went back to the morning chanting and that morning I still remember the morning chanting we did in Thailand It was really depressing. Honestly, I'm not I'm not just saying that because he didn't have any energy, you know, and just getting up really early in the morning, 3:30, and just chanting. But that morning, yo, I had so much energy inside of me and it was unique. I think the other monks told me quiet down a bit, [laughter] but why? And I hadn't slept all night and I just I couldn't figure it out why I was just so full of energy. And I asked one of the senior monks and that's what they told me. He said, you know, I confessed, look, and we're not supposed to do this. I'm sorry, you know that they're supposed to make those robes up for themselves, but I helped. And and I said, "I had so much energy." Why? He just said, "Because of kindness." When you're really kind and you sacrifice something, you get a big boost of energy and power back
- Late-night Thai TV in BangkokStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: After flying Perth–Bangkok from a 3.30 a.m. start, Ajahn Brahm is scheduled for a 10.30 p.m. live Thai TV interview. Nested: the Perth Thai talk hearers thought was Pali. On air…
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It was very, very dodgy when I went to Bangkok all the way from Perth, getting up really early in the morning, to get to the airport, to get on the plane, I got up about 3.30 in the morning, and by the time I got to Bangkok late in the afternoon, I found out they had scheduled me for a TV interview at 10.30 p.m. I just had time for a quick shower and [went] back to the studios, which is not so bad, but it was in Thai. Sometimes you think I'm fluent in Thai, but once - here in Perth - there were some visiting Thai people and they asked for some teaching, so I taught them maybe 15 minutes of Buddhism in Thai. And afterwards they said they were so impressed. "We didn't realize that you could give a speech in Pali." [audience laughing] That wasn't Pali, that was Thai! "Oh", the Thai people said, "really?" In other words, they didn't understand a word of it - not one word. [audience laughing] And here I was on live TV, making an idiot of myself, I thought, speaking in Thai, but I did really well. There were actually two other Thai people there, two Thai monks being interviewed, one was the rector of Mahajula Lukon university Venerable Dammakosaja and he was very good, but the other fellow being interviewed was a Thai monk who was a resident in a Buddhist monastery in Oxford. And apparently, afterwards, my Thai, even though I'm a Westerner, that came across much more fluent than this Thai guy who was staying at Oxford for the last few years. [audience laughing] And I thought "How can that be?" Well, I was from Cambridge and he was from Oxford. Cambridge is always supreme.
- No escape, even in the toiletStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Returning exhausted from Los Angeles via Singapore, Ajahn Brahm is met at the gate by supporters with an airport buggy who take him for tea and ask about meditation, Buddhism and…
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the worst thing worst occasion one worst stories about this was when I was just returning from Los Angeles this it's a long journey on that aircraft and unfortunately when I fly Singapore Airlines there's people in the airport who know me and they meet me at the gate you know this is in the internal area because they got these little cars they can go anywhere in the airport so it's very nice they go and take me for a cup of tea or cup of coffee and they start asking questions about their meditation or about Buddhism about their family life and gee that you know if you're a counselor you've got an office and you can actually secretary have appointments and certain times for me that it's anytime and I got really I must admit that that time I got a bit tired and think just can't you leave me alone and of course you can't really say that as a monk instead I said I need to go to the toilet and I did you know I could hold on for a bit longer but going to the toiler was the way of escaping and sitting down in a place I could have a bit of peace and quiet but of course what happened as soon as I went into the L the toilet attendant recognized me oh a br can I ask you some questions about Buddhism even in the toilet I can't escape
- The matchbox on the headStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A malnourished young monk in steamy north-east Thailand — sticky rice with a boiled frog, under four and a half hours' sleep, up at 3 a.m. — is always sleepy in meditation.…
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when I became a monk who was in the jungles of Northeast Thailand I was malnourished one meal a day sticky rice I was a vegetarian I sometimes sticky rice and a frog on top that's all we had sweet yeah for a boiled frog no garlic no sauce notice abortive glutinous sticky rice with a fork on top that was all the villagers had in fact they gave us the best Fox it was disgusting but I was malnourished and in the morning we would get up but we only supposed to meditate to sleep for hours and nights I could never get below four and a half so three o'clock in the morning will be up in the hall to meditate steamy jungles I was made in England I was not used to such hot weather such sticky weather malnourished not enough sleep of course I was sleepy so I had the tricks what we tried to do first of all no use effort didn't work so then I tried a matchbox you take the cover off the matchbox you put the tray on your head because it means if you start nodding you see the matchbox fall on the ground you'd hear it only about three or four days I'd overcome my slot and talker I could put the matchbox on my head for one hour meditate in the morning it never fell off at all amazing until one of my monks took me aside and said this is why the matchbox is not falling off you're still sleepy but instead of doing this you're doing this their mind is so sneaky and tricky so after a while I started contemplating look made in England I'm not used to that climate are not enough sleep not enough our food it's natural so I decided to let go when I let go there's not much energy in my mind so you are dull but you knew you adult and little by little just like when the Sun comes up in the morning and it had evaporates all the mists that burns off the mist because I wasn't wasting energy fighting my sleepiness but just letting it be being kind to it opening the door of my heartless my energy started coming back again him my back straightened up my head lifted up naturally and I was peaceful
- The woman who fell asleep in the meditation hallStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During Friday meditation a woman lies down, points her feet at the Buddha, falls asleep and snores — breaking every rule of etiquette — and neighbours wake her. Ajahn Brahm…
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I remember some years ago, somebody was just over there and they fell asleep during my talk and started snoring, really snoring loudly, and somebody woke them up. And I told them off afterwards, you shouldn't wake them up like that. We found out afterwards they were having horrendous domestic violence. And they came here, and they felt safe in this room. They felt so safe, they hadn't slept don't know how many days you can imagine with domestic violence, even if it's not happening to you right now the memory of that makes you so tense. You can't get a good night's sleep and they came here they felt so safe. It was the first time they've slept in I don't know how long. And I said, "let them sleep". If anyone snores here during one of my talks well done, let them sleep. You don't know where they've come from. At least they realize this feels a peaceful place and they're protected. They don't feel fear. That's actually why they slept.
- The woman who swapped seats to talkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Exhausted on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Perth, Ajahn Brahm sits by the window. A woman asks if he's Ajahn Brahm because she really needs to talk; he points out there's someone…
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It happened I was on another flight once, really tired from Kuala Lumpur back to Perth sitting on the window seat, a woman come pass and she said "Are you Ajahn Brahm? I really need to talk to you." and I said "there is another fellow who is in the aisle seat" Never mind. You know what this woman did? She bent down and asked this guy in the aisle seat "Would you mind exchanging seats?" And I was praying "please say no, no, no!" (laughter from the audience) That bastard; he said ''Yes'' So this woman all the way from Kuala Lumpur to Perth asked me about her marriage, her relationships.... And I had to come back and give a talk that night as well.. Really unfair...
- The young people's biggest problem: tirednessStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At an afternoon youth seminar in Malaysia for about 200 people aged 15 to 25, the participants wrote their biggest emotional problem on slips of paper. Ajahn Brahm expected…
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I was invited to spend the day at a youth seminar in Kuala Lumpur, it's a very interesting occassion, about 400-500 young people 15-25, doing all sorts of interesting stuff, one of the things they were doing is that they asked all the people there, what is your most difficult emotion as 15-25 year old, mostly Chinese Buddhists over in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. What do you find most difficult of all in life? And the answer which came up was tiredness. I never expected that before