Stories for frustration with things not working
3 Buddhist wisdom stories for frustration with things not working from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Apologising to the iPhoneStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A supporter hits his failing old iPhone, remembers he is a Buddhist, apologises to it and wishes it peace — and it starts working at once.
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one very, uhh, strong supporter was telling me That his old iPhone was not working, you know, sometimes you're mobile phones you used them so much and they get a bit passed it, but you know, he was just, you know he was trying to live a simple life so instead of replacing it, get a new one, he kept the old one. And when it wasn't working he banged it, he hit it and of course it still didn't work and then he realised: "I'm a Buddhist that's not the way you should do things" so he apologized to his iPhone "I'm sorry iPhone, I should not have hit you, I really apologize, I will never do that again, I wish you all peace and happiness" and he said it started working immediately.
- Opening the car boot (and the nun loophole)Joke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Youth-group members can't open their locked car boot; Ajahn Brahm agrees to try if Ronnie promises to become a nun, gives the car loving-kindness and it opens first turn — but a…
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They where trying to open they're car, I came back from a ceremony and I was just walking down the road here, on a Saturday afternoon and our Kalyana-mitta group, they where about to go out kite-surfing or doing something weird. And anyway, the Boot of their car was locked, tight. And they could not open it! and they where trying for twenty minutes... OH! (Points) She's over there, there you are. How long where you trying to open up that car before I came along? (Lady replies, unintelligible) Only five or ten minutes, yeah How many people tried? (Lady replies, unintelligible) Only two of us, but you couldn't do it? Yeah there we go So I came along, and they said: "Ajahn Brahm, please could you use your powers to open the car?" (Laughs) So I'm always a very kind monk, and very helpful, and so I said: Ok, but one condition, I wanted to make a deal The deal was that Ronnie, at the back there, will become a nun. (Laughs) And she said yes, never ever imagining I could do it. But of course, that's what you do. You give it loving-kindness: Nice car, that was what I did, nice car, and I put the key in and I turned it and it opened straight away. And poor old Ronnie has to become a nun now. Be careful, playing around with monks just, uhhh, it's very dangerous. But fortunately, fortunately one of the other youth group members is a lawyer (Laughs). She saw the loophole straight away which is why Ronnie doesn't have to become a nun yet. She said: "You never mentioned the time, maybe in fifty years or a next life sometime, but, she promised yes she will become a nun but you didn't say when" that was the loophole.
- The ATM that gave twenty eurosStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A former monastery postulant studying in Germany adopts a campus ATM that 'gurgled' at him, sends it loving-kindness every day, and one lunchtime it gurgles again and pushes out…
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The guy who was an Anagarika for one year at Serpentine Monastery Went over to Germany to complete his degree first day at a University campus he walked past the ATM machine This is a great story, and you may actually get some benefit from this, if you understand it and practice it properly So, he walked past the ATM machine and he said the ATM machine emitted a sound, he called it a gurgling type sound very difficult to define, but it made a sound just as he passed by and he took that as a welcome from the ATM machine to the campus And so from that time on that was his ATM, that's where he did all his transactions, and because he had been by a monk like me A little bit weird and crazy but, he would always give Loving-Kindness to the ATM machine. "May you be happy and well, may you never run out of cash may you're clients never hit you and swear at you when they find they've got no balance, may, you now, robbers never tear you out of a wall with a four wheel drive or blow up trying to get the cash may you live at peace and happy" that sorta stuff He'd talk to the ATM, regarded it as a personal being with consciousness and was always kind to it! And he swore to me, this actually happened, having his lunch one afternoon, on a bench, maybe about five or ten meters away from the ATM. No one had gone close to that ATM machine for about 20 minutes, he was there he saw it, no one had gone close to it! and he was sitting there, having his lunch, and he heard the gurgling sound again, the machine gurgled at him and he looked around, and he saw a twenty euro note come out of the machine (Laughs) no one had put in any credit card, punched in any numbers for twenty minutes it got twenty euros. And he went to the machine with disbelief, but it was there and he pulled it out: "does this belong to anybody?" no one claimed it but of course they wouldn’t claim it because it was the ATM's gift to It's friend