Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The ants and the A-frame hut

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Our Mind and Our Health | Ajahn Brahm | 7 July 2023

1 min read

The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

You know that big A-frame over in Serpentine still there? I built that and it was right next to an ant mount and it was a beautiful place but you're not really supposed to build a monk's hut next to an ant mount to disturb it. That's against the vinaya. But so what I did and I went there did some chanting wishing all those ants well pleased. Look, I'm sorry. I will not try and disturb you at all. I'm going to build this heart without disturbing you. And I managed to do that. I never so touched that ant mound at all. And so that once that hut was finished, I was the first person to stay in that hut. And the ants never bothered me at all. You know, they could climb in if they really wanted to. But they they stayed away from my hut. They went underneath it. They went around it, but never actually in it until one day one of the anagarakers, they weren't being mindful. They drove the tractor over that ant. I felt so disappointed. From that day on, the ants started to come into the kouti. That's no exaggeration. Sometimes your kindness can actually do so many wonderful things if you're kind to the group of ants and the ants will never harm you or hurt you. And that's, you know, afterwards if you break that trust, of course, they'll come in.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 45:15 (to 46:41)

A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

Ajahn Brahm built his hut beside an ant mound, apologised to the ants and promised not to disturb them, and they never came inside, until someone drove a tractor over their mound. He uses it to talk about meditation too: stop dragging the wandering mind back like a control freak. Be kind to it, and it settles.

In brief (our summary)

Ajahn Brahm builds the A-frame hut at Serpentine right next to an ant mound — against the Vinaya — after chanting and apologising to the ants and promising not to disturb them. He never touches the mound; living there, the ants go under and around the hut but never in. Then an unmindful anagarika drives the tractor over the mound — and from that day the ants come into the kuti.

Teaching point

Kindness and trust with creatures is real; break the trust and they come in.

When this story may help

  • living with insects
  • coexisting with nature

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Our Mind and Our Health | Ajahn Brahm | 7 July 2023 · 2023-07-08 · ▶ watch from 45:15 to 46:41 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'heart'/'kouti' = hut / kuti; 'anagarakers' = anagarikas (not changed).

The narrative is Ajahn Brahm's own telling, quoted from the talk captions. The summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk. Markdown version

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