# Ajahn Singtong came before the chicken

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-ajahn-singtong-before-the-chicken
- Themes: humour, monastic life, fear, innovation
- Life situations: breaking a rule, fear of authority, needing a creative solution

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Young Ajahn Singtong overslept at Ajahn Maha Bua's strict monastery, where missing the morning meeting meant no alms round and no food. He caught a forest chicken, tied a rope round its neck and dragged it noisily to the hall, then let it go. When Maha Bua said he was late, Singtong replied with the Thai idiom 'maa kon kai' — 'I came before the chicken' (before cockcrow). The monks laughed; even Maha Bua let him go on alms round.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

This is a great story of Ajan Singong because somebody asked me just the last day of the retreat, can you tell a couple of stories about this Thai forest monk called Ajan Singong? He died some years ago. But he was a young monk with a very fierce monk called Ajan Mahaba. Ajan Mahab was a well-known meditator but very very strict. probably the strictest of the monks in the time when I was a young monk. And so he had a very strict rule in his monastery. If any monk missed the morning meeting, if they didn't come for the chanting and meditation in the morning, that meant they could not go on the arms round. If they didn't go on the arms round, they couldn't eat that day. They had to fast. So anyway, this aan Singong, he got up late. He slept in and he thought, "Oh my goodness, the meeting has already started in the morning. That means I will not be able to join the meeting. I will not be able to go on arms round. That means I will have to fast today. Ah, what should I do?" The important thing with religions like Buddhism, we call it a religion, is it's always innovative. Use your insight. There's always another possibility somehow or other. So what he did now, he was a a local lad. Now in those days, you know, the forest is all around you. This was when was this 1970 something. The forest was all around you. So he went into the forest and in the morning he managed to find a forest chicken and he grabbed it. Now some of the things you see over there was really amazing. There was one of these I never saw this but the other monks I grew up with they saw this. It's real. There was know when monks were sitting a cobra, a king cobra came in to the hall and it was actually not trying to attack anybody. It was just basically didn't know where it was going and started moving and this monk grabbed it. That's what he used to do when he was a lay person as a snake catcher. He grabbed it. It's amazing to see that. But anyway, that's not recommended. Please don't practice these things at home. But this uh uh at this particular time the uh where was I going with this one? Ainto. Yes. He managed to capture a chicken. Chicken is much safer to capture than a than a snake. Captured a chicken. He had a rope and he tied the rope around the chicken's neck and pulled the chicken to the hall. You wonder why is he doing that? The punch line is coming in a moment as he was as dragging the chicken. The chicken was making a lot of noise as chickens would do, as you would do if you've been dragged to the hall early in the morning. Poor chicken. And as soon as they got to the hall then a singong let the chicken go but everybody heard that noise and then after the the meeting was finished they were about to go in arms round a mar boy said you came late you can't go in arms round and this monk said no no no no he said mar gone guy which is a tie word it's an it's an idiom said no I came before the chicken Like what we saying is before cockcrow which means you got up very early. It was meant he got up so early as he came before the chicken crows. Okay, you managed to get it somehow or other. And all the monks laughed and even Ajam laughed. Okay, you can come on Armstrong.

## Teaching point

Fear of what others think kills innovation; a bit of wit can open another way.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

Having overslept at a strict monastery, young Ajahn Singtong dragged a squawking forest chicken to the hall, then told the abbot he'd come before the chicken, a Thai idiom for rising early. Everyone laughed, and he got his alms round. Fear of what others think kills creativity. A little wit opens other doors.

## Source

- [Confidence, Fear and Anxiety | Ajahn Brahm | 28 January 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnYwHoYJID8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:00:06 to 1:04:39: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnYwHoYJID8&t=3606s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Hypocrisy | Ajahn Brahm | 07-06-2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=semFlYAaBko) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 44:58 to 46:10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=semFlYAaBko&t=2698s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 27 April 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osdeHD3c5nc) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:21:49 to 1:23:28: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osdeHD3c5nc&t=4909s