Stories for interfaith relations
3 Buddhist wisdom stories for interfaith relations from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Gambling? With whom?Joke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Buddhist monk, a Christian priest and a rabbi meet for interfaith friendship; tea turns to cards, cards to gambling, and they're arrested. The judge asks the priest if he was…
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So I remembered this story of these um what was it? It was a a Buddhist monk, a Christian and a what was the other one? It was a rabbi. That's right. and they were trying to get some contact with each other, trying to learn from one another. So they had discussions and they had tea. They wanted something a bit more interesting. So they started playing cards together, you know, just to find some more friendship together. And then the cards turned to gambling and then that was illegal. So somebody dobbed them in, told the police and the three of them were arrested. the Buddhist monk, the Christian priest, and the Jewish rabbi. They had to appear before the the judge. And the judge said, "You're all sort of people of faith. So, no, first of all, just uh Christian priest. You were found gambling. Are you guilty?" I just ask you, make it quick and simple because you're supposed to be honest. You know what the Christian priest did so fast the judge didn't catch him? He looked up in the sky and said, "Jesus, forgive me." And said, "No." Said, "Okay, you can go." Then they asked the rabbi. The rabbi couldn't say that. So the rabbi crossed his fingers behind his back and he said, "No, I wasn't gambling." Did you ever do that when you're at school? I don't know why they say that but if you cross your fingers behind the back it means you can say whatever. So keep your fingers in front please. So anyway then they asked the monk he said and they by now the judge was getting a bit suspicious of these religious people. So you don't believe in Jesus or God monk so you can't ask forgiveness there keep your hands in front so you don't cross your fingers behind the back. So monk, were you gambling? And the monk said to the judge, with whom? [laughter] You can't gamble by yourself.
- Make-up before the cathedral sermonStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The Dean of St George's Cathedral, Perth, invites Ajahn Brahm to give the Sunday eucharist sermon — the first time, the Dean says, a non-Christian has given the Sunday sermon in…
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He invited me to give the sermon on a Sunday um eukarist I think it was called and he should know what he was talking about. He was a boss in that cathedral. He said it was the first time that a non-Christian had ever given the Sunday sermon in a cathedral in the world in 2,000 years. I thought, "Wow, that's really neat." Because of that, I got on TV beforehand and I remember just channel seven or nine, I forget which one it was. And when I went there to do an interview beforehand, you know what happened? They said, "You have to do makeup first of all." [laughter] And I said, "Was anybody ever refused?" And they said, "Some I think null Gallagher from uh some pop group." Oasis. Oasis. Okay. Yeah, he's the only one who refused makeup and I didn't really want to be put in the same category. So, they did quick makeup and the worst part of that I remember was Ajan Bardi was accompanying me that weekend and he was laughing his head off making sides of the [laughter] really mean to me and I forgave him. It was good fun. But anyway, just as a result of that, we did this this big um talk over in St. George's Cathedral and that was I really remember that for a long time because the place was packed and it was standing room only in the aisles everywhere and that the point was no one knew who was a Christian, who was a Buddhist and no one really cared
- The bomb threat that saved the interfaith serviceStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: For years Ajahn Brahm chants at the rather dull Commonwealth Day interfaith service in St George's Cathedral, Perth. One year the Dean, John Shepherd, is called away mid-service…
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every year every year I used to go to I still do I've been doing this for about 25 years now to this this in George's Cathedral they have a Commonwealth interfaith Commonwealth day interfaith service as I've been going there for many many years and now I do my little bit of chanting someone else does their chanting and you know it was pretty boring but one day one year forget know how many years ago one year we were doing the same old boring stuff you know chanting and same old stuff every year and just a few people the people had to be there because know there their daughter was singing in the choir or you know they were told to go there by their teachers cuz of school groups here and this one year right in the middle of the chanting so the Dean John Sheppard is a good friend he's been to give talks here before he was called away and I realized that something was going on because this was not in the program and he came back again and he interrupted us all and got on the microphone and said we've just been told by the police there's been a bomb threat some sort of know crazy fundamentalist and said it's wrong it it's evil that you have people who aren't Christians in this Cathedral and a piece of taken this bomb threat seriously so we all have to evacuate that was the best service I've ever been because the reason was now the whole plans were thrown into chaos which meant that are now we were being human again and so we went to some hall had some tea you know that's when we started talking to each other because we had nothing else to do said all these people you know because it was an emergency I'm scheduled talking to each other getting really friendly and when we came back to finish the service very quickly because no was only just a scare so I'm looting a ticket ringing up the police there's no bomb in there at all it was a life it was a friendship there was the moving together was interfaith then that was at one time was really interfaith and I mentioned to John Sheppard said he should arrange us every year it was a very vessel as we ever had