Stories for infidelity
3 Buddhist wisdom stories for infidelity from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- “I never stopped loving you, George”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Cockney friend of the monastery leaves his wife of about 40 years for a much younger woman; his wife is devastated. Some years later, split from the second partner, he visits…
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Just one which comes to my mind. This man, he was a good friend. He used to come to our monastery. He’s a bit of a Cockney. I was the only one who could really understand him when he came to our monastery. And, you know, after a while he decided he wanted to leave his wife. And he found another a girl much younger than him and he divorced his wife, went to live with this other girl. You know, he broke up. His wife was devastated. But later on, you know after three or four, five years, he was a good guy, you know he sort of split from this second wife. And about that time his first wife got very sick. And he went to visit her in hospital and held her hand when she died. She said “even though you left me, I never stopped loving you, George. I’d always forgive you.” And when I heard that, I thought, wow, that wife you had and he said, “I was so wrong to, to have, left you. I was stupid. I didn’t realise just how beautiful your love was. It was unconditional, even though I caused you pain. And just after about 40 years of marriage, I decided to, you know, go with somebody else.” I know the other girl, she’s a really good girl. You know you can’t really criticise people. But, that woman he married first of all, she was, she understood what love was, totally unconditional and forgiving.
- The deathbed confessionJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A dying husband confesses to his devoted wife that he hasn't always been a good husband — there was the mistress he never told her about — and yet she was still so kind to him.…
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There was this um husband and uh he was on his deathbed. His wife was just looking after him. And the wife was the husband was saying, "Now darling, you know, I'm about to die soon. So I really should confess. You know, you've been such a wonderful wife to me. But sometimes I haven't been such a good husband to you. Even just you know, the mistress I had. I never told you about her. But you still were so kind to me." And the wife said, "Darling, I know. That's why I poisoned you.
- The worst thing she'd ever doneStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A woman dying of cancer meets Ajahn Brahm most Friday evenings. Wanting her to die free of her past, he asks in confidence for the worst thing she has ever done. After weeks of…
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about this woman, not far, in Tuart Hill somewhere. Tuart Hill, Dianella... And she was dying. And I asked her that once, before she passed away: 'Is there anything you've done in your life which you're very ashamed of?' And of course it took a while to get her to confess to me. And what she said was that once in her life she'd kissed another woman's husband. And I asked 'Is that all you've done?' She said 'Yes, I was so ashamed of it, you're the first person I've told.' So that's not bad, a whole life. We can forgive you that one. But for me, hearing that, that was a small thing. But for her, it was the most terrible thing she'd ever done. But once she actually confessed it, let somebody know, she also realized it wasn't that bad