Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The baby washed in wall acid

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Expectations | Ajahn Brahm | 15 April 2016

1 min read

Content note: infant harm (mild, claimed non-injurious); named private family

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

when we built our kitchen after you know I did a lot of the work on that building the dining room kitchen the lower building there and when you do brickwork you have to sort of acid the walls to clean up the marks of the uh of the cement so I was working all morning just brushing all the walls with acid to actually to clean them to make them look good it was time for lunch so we went out for lunch and we had the lunch was given by uh I don't mind saying the name some of you know that Ben Anson and his wife Hupa bought the lunch and with their two daughters oh they only had one daughter just a newborn baby and after giving us the lunch the baby sort of pooped in the uh in their their diapers so she had to take it off was looking for some water to wash her bottom the acid this poor little girl started screaming it didn't really hurt her because it was all watered down it wasn't like concentrated but she certainly went red but it did the job it really cleaned her backside

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 26:25 (to 27:43)

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

Building the monastery kitchen, Ajahn Brahm left a bucket of diluted acid for the bricks, and a new mother used it to wash her baby's bottom. Red-faced but unharmed, the baby was very clean indeed. Life's mishaps are what make it human and lovable. Like a real forest, no tree is perfect, and that's its beauty.

In brief (our summary)

Building Bodhinyana's kitchen, Ajahn Brahm spends a morning acid-washing the brickwork. At lunch Ben Anson and his wife Hupa bring food with their newborn; the baby soils her nappy and Hupa looks for water — and uses the dilute wall acid. The baby screams and goes red; it was watered down so it didn't really hurt, but 'it really cleaned her backside.'

Teaching point

Told as one of the ridiculous early-monastery memories that make life human and lovable.

When this story may help

  • parenting mishap
  • building project

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Expectations | Ajahn Brahm | 15 April 2016 · 2016-04-15 · ▶ watch from 26:25 to 27:43 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned.

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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