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Story · Ajahn Brahm

The texture of a bean after a month's retreat

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Stillness and Silence | Ajahn Brahm | 25th March 2022

1 min read

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

just crunching it with my teeth very slowly and the texture of it. You ever notice a texture of a bean

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 48:19 (to 48:31)

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

After a month of solitary retreat, Ajahn Brahm bit slowly into a single bean and was amazed by its texture, soft here, firm there. That isn't madness, he says, just what a tired, hurried mind misses. He jokes that at an expensive restaurant you should ask your partner to stop talking. Slow down and taste your life.

In brief (our summary)

Just after a month self-retreat at Bodhinyana he eats a bean slowly and notices texture he had never attended to — soft yet structured — stillness opening ordinary senses.

Teaching point

Deep silence makes even a bean's texture new.

When this story may help

  • after retreat
  • rushing meals

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Stillness and Silence | Ajahn Brahm | 25th March 2022 · 2022-03-25 · ▶ watch from 48:19 to 48:31 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; 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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