Stories for performance anxiety
6 Buddhist wisdom stories for performance anxiety from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- 'Ajahn Chah is giving this talk'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The first time Ajahn Brahm gave a really big talk on his own — at the Suntec City convention centre in Singapore, to 3,000–4,000 people — he was afraid, not only of giving a bad…
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the one of the tricks which I I did when I first gave a huge talk over in Singapore all by myself there's no B act or no supporting act it was just a bra at Sant city there was the uh convention center there about 3 or 4 thousand people the first time I gave a really big talk and I was afraid afraid not so much of, you know, not giving a good talk, but afraid of also the problems of giving a good talk, becoming too proud and arrogant, thinking you're the the best mug in the whole of the world or whatever. And that's also dangerous. So, how can you get not really worry what other people think of you? It was pretty simple because I knew that whatever talk I gave was only because of the teachers which I'd had especially someone like an agent. So as I was walking to the the chair the chair there lots of flowers everywhere and with all these people about to listen to me I thought I'm not giving this talk. It is Ajancha my teacher was giving the talk. I'd just been trained by him, conditioned by him. So I have nothing to worry about. I didn't there was no fear at all. Because I had no fear, I gave a really good talk and I had to go back again, give another one.
- Don't revise the day beforeStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: He tells students not to study in the 24 hours before an exam — go for a walk, eat your favourite food, watch a movie. The last time, at Carmel School (the Jewish school in…
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look I teach this for schools it works at schools it works for sport why can't it work in every other part of your life that's good you tell people before you do an examination for goodness sake don't do any studies the day before 24 hours before the examination just go for a walk eat your favorite food watch a movie for goodness sake do not get out your textbooks and revise and the last time I taught that was at Carmel School here in dianello you know the Jewish school and after telling that just before the year 12s I got a letter back a couple of months later from the principal he never actually came to my talks we said thank you very much we got the highest results in year 12 in the whole of Western Australia we think it's because of you thank you so much I should have kept that that's from the principal it works
- Grasshopper and the pool of acidStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In an episode of 'Kung Fu', the blind master shows the novice Grasshopper a pool of 'acid' with bones at the bottom and a plank across it, then has him practise on a plank on…
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I can't help but mention that story which is in "Opening the Door of Your Heart," about the TV story which I saw as a young man called "Kung Fu." I think with David Carradine, I think, if my memory is good. I remember this particular scene which was all about the power of fear. In this particular scene, they took this young monk, this novice monk, he's called "Grasshopper," and he had a master, this blind very very wise Buddhist monk who was teaching him all sorts of interesting things about life. But this was real Buddhism, it was not theory, it was actually life, practice. So in this one episode he took little Grasshopper inside a room, a secret room which was normally kept locked and no novice was allowed to go in. And as he opened the door and took little Grasshopper in, and obviously the camera followed, in this little movie-TV series. And when the lights became easy to see, the master asked Grasshopper, because the master was blind, he said "Grasshopper, what can you see, what can you see?" And Grasshopper, and I looking at the TV, Grasshopper said, "A swimming pool, it's like a pool." And the master said, "Be very careful, but go to the edge, and what you see in the bottom?" Grasshopper very carefully went to the edge of the pool and he said, "I see bones, lots of bones in the pool, master." "Exactly" said the master, "Those are human bones, because that isn't water, that is acid, strong concentrated acid, be careful." Of course Grasshopper stood back, because this is dangerous. "What else do you see," said the master. "I see a plank," said Grasshopper, "stretching from one side of the pool to the other side." "Exactly, said the master, "This is going to be a test for you, as all novices have to pass this test, you have to walk on that plank across the pool of strong concentrated acid, and I don't want you to fall in and add your bones to the bones of all the other young novices who fell in." Little Grasshopper looked very scared, and I must admit, watching the TV, I got scared too. [laughter] "But," said the master "come outside." And outside in the monastery courtyard there was another plank exactly the same size and length, only just put on two bricks. "Practice," said the master to Grasshopper, "you have 7 days, no other duties, just practice walking on this plank, because in 7 days' time you'll have to walk over the acid," strong concentrated novice-eating acid. So he practiced for 7 days, no problem at all, after half a day, easy to balance. But after 7 days it was a real thing, and the master took Grasshopper into the room once again, and the master ordered Grasshopper, "Stand on the edge of the plank." And you could see the novice's legs start to wobble out of terror, 'cause this was not just on a plank over hard concrete in the courtyard, this was over acid and one slip, one little error and he would fall in and die a horrible death. "Walk," said the master. And Grasshopper turned around, and you could read the look on Grasshopper's face, "Don't, please master, don't let me walk." "Walk," said the master, so Grasshopper started walking, unsteadily at first but as he got closer to the middle it was even more unsteady as his legs appeared to start to give way. You could see him shake, and then wobble and then sway, and it really looked like he was about to fall in, and that's when it stopped for the commercial breaks. [laughter] I hated those commercial breaks. So you had to watch stupid advertisements for soap powder and toothpaste before you could go back and find out what really happened to Grasshopper. So after an interminable wait on these stupid advertisements, you were back in that terrifying room. But usually just 3 or 4 seconds behind where they left off, you can start to see Grasshopper, he wasn't swaying yet, he was just wobbling. As he got closer to the middle of the pool, he wobbled and swayed even more and it looked like he was gonna fall in, you know what happened? He fell in, he fell into the pool of acid. And what did the compassionate master do? He just laughed as Grasshopper splashed around, and the master laughed even more, and Grasshopper realized he wasn't being burned. Master said, "Grasshopper, you found out now, it's only water, it wasn't acid, it was just water, and as for the bones, we just threw them down there for special effects, to make you scared. Why did you fall in, little Grasshopper? Fear pushed you in, fear made you fall, only fear.
- She waved the gold medal at the monkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At Sydney 2000 a Thai monk in the Olympic village taught meditation to an Eastern European finalist who could not sleep from stress. Later mother, father and daughter walked…
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this happened in 2000. Sydney Olympics. You know, in the Sydney Olympic Games in New South Wales, the New South Wales government made sure there was like leaders from all the major religions there to serve the athletes. This was a high stress situation. And they even had a monk in there. He was actually a Thai monk [clears throat] who I knew. So he was in the village, the Olympic village, Home Bush Bay, I think that's what it was called, and just if anyone needed him and he said this was actually printed in I think the uh Sydney Morning Herald or something as one of the things which happened during the Olympic Games. He said that one day these three people came to see him, mother, father and daughter from Eastern Europe somewhere. Their daughter had unexpectedly got into the finals of one of the track events. [laughter] Whoever is laughing like that, I like you very much because it's not even funny, but you laugh [laughter] going into the finals. Now, imagine that was you. You know, you exceeded your expectations. You're in the final of the Olympic Games and you'll be on the TV the next day or next couple of days in front of know all your family and friends and people from your home country cheering you on. That is really high stress and so because of that she wasn't able to sleep and she even her training was all over the place. She was overly excited. So the parents uh took this girl to see the monk. You know you know meditation it's one of the things which monks are well known for. You know we can teach meditation. can you please teach our daughter how to relax enough to sleep at night. So he gave her some instructions on meditation. He didn't know what happened next. He didn't watch TV. And in those days we don't have internet. We can't find out what the latest news is. So what happened was that he had didn't know what had happened, what had occurred except he wrote or in an interview that he saw in the Olympic village three people coming towards him again. Now the mother, the father and the athlete in between. They were smiling, big grins on their face. So they knew something good must have happened. And as they came closer, as he described it, the girl in the middle was waving something on a string. [laughter] What do you think that was? A medal. When they came closer, he could see the color gold. And they come to say, "Thank you. Thank you for teaching our athlete daughter how to relax so much that when it came to the finals of these Olympic games, she managed to win the gold medal for her country
- The Colombia coach brought her World Cup teamStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The head coach of Colombia's women's soccer team, in Perth for the Women's World Cup, came to a Friday talk after listening on YouTube and brought her team for a boost; the next…
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head coach of the Colombian international women's soccer team. They're playing the Women's World Cup in Australia. And one of those teams from Colombia, they were playing here in Perth the following night on a Saturday evening. And she said she'd listened to my talks on YouTube and she brought her team along to be able to get a boost of energy. You know, even like meditation can help. You know, honestly, not exaggerating. Check it out if you wish. That evening or next evening, sorry, Saturday, that Colombia, they beat some other team or something in the women's World Cup. The only team we ever beat, but at least it was because of my chanting
- White knuckles on the first bicycleStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Young Ajahn Brahm's father saves up for his first bicycle; he keeps falling off until he notices his white knuckles and plank-stiff body — fear made him unable to balance. Once…
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This story I remember when I was young. I was young and my father, I begged him, and he saved up, I think, for a birthday or a Christmas. I can't remember what. He bought me a bicycle. The first bicycle I ever had. And, of course, being a kid with his first bicycle, you get on that bicycle and try to ride it and keep falling off. And I kept falling off and I never realised why until I looked at myself. I was holding on to those handle bars with so much fear that my knuckles went white. I was so afraid of falling off and my body was as stiff as a plank. And because I was so stiff, I was holding on too tight. Whenever the bike would move to the left, I would never be able to compensate. My body was too stiff to bend and to accommodate, which is why I kept falling off. It was fear that kept pushing me over. And it was only later on when I just relaxed, I found that I could stay on that bicycle with more ease. In fact, when you're really relaxed, you didn't fall off at all.