Guanyin came over the waves — then the British frigate

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• Funeral for the first wife years later

  In brief: At a ceremony Ajahn Brahm learns the man's first wife died of malaria just after they escaped the Khmer Rouge into Thailand; as a…

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  Found out afterwards the story was that that was his first wife who he met in the villages. And during the time of the Khmer Rouge, that they were treated badly. And he escaped with his wife. He was one of the few people who managed to find his way over the border into what you thought would be safety in Thailand. But on that journey, you know, which people see in those movies, Killing Fields, he said after they they got to so-called safety, he found that during that journey his wife had contracted malaria fever. And it was so severe that they couldn't keep her alive. He come so close to success on his escape. He made it over the border and his wife made it over the border. But a few days later, she died. And of course, being a refugee with absolutely nothing, and being unable to mourn the death of his wife, even though his wife was there, he could not do anything at the time. He could not perform any ceremonies. He didn't have the means to do that. He waited for about, I don't know, how many years, 5 6 7 years. And he got married in the meantime. He obviously asked permission from his wife. He still had unfinished business with his first wife. The whole ceremony to which I attended was just for that first wife. It was her funeral. It was a time he could say thank you. A time he could let her go. And then go back and join his new wife, his second wife. And put away all that past. It was an occasion when if you cannot perform those funeral services when somebody passes away, especially in some countries now because of COVID, if you can't actually do them now, you can always do them later.

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• The storm that waited for the ceremony

  In brief: For the Buddhist Society of Western Australia's 30th anniversary Vesak ceremony in Perth's Supreme Court Gardens, the biggest storm ever…

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  you know that story in one of the books about when we had our 30th anniversary of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia over Supreme Court Gardens and it was supposed to be a storm that night I mean really big storm like a major storm not one of these ordinary storms we have all the time here biggest storm ever to come to Perth right it's supposed to hit exactly the time we're going to have our ceremony and we had remember I'll go quickly this because many of you heard it before Premier Jeff Gallup he was a premier we invited him he was going to come three times his office called me aam there's a big storm coming you can't continue are you cancelling and three times I said no we are not cancelling one of our members he deceased now he said I was a sailor all my life in the merchant Sean I know these things the barometer is falling that parotic pressure is going down it's going to be a big storm I know these things you have to cancel no one of my M my own monks he took me aside and said a Bram look we really love you we respect you but you're making an idiot of yourself please cancel no and those you were there it was like Miracle just about half an hour before we started the ceremony the rain start stopped we did our ceremony full moon day way sack 19 I don't know when it was 2000 or whatever and it stopped it miracle and then after we finished rain came down Supreme Court Gardens flooded 2 Ines of water those of you are there hasn't done that for years Freeway flooded after the big storm but we stopped it and the following day there was a firm here uh I don't mind mentioning this ree hire they do a lot of party hire stuff and the CEO sent an email and said who is this a Bram we don't know who he is but can you please ask him who's going to win the horse racing today I still got that email somewhere

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• The cow that cried

  In brief: After a meditation talk at Karnet Prison Farm, a prisoner — a murderer, born in Northern Ireland — asks to see Ajahn Brahm. His prison job…

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  there was a prisoner over there who came to see me after I gave a a a talk on meditation. He wanted a private interview because he was very upset that he was a slaughterer in that prison, and he was about to slaughter a cow. All the cows would be screaming and hollering and trying to escape, but one cow came in which didn't quiet which didn't quiet at all, which came in I I'm going to tell the story now. I've already started. Of all the cows and the sheep and other animals which this guy had to slaughter, that was his job in Carnat Prison Farm. He was a prisoner. He was a murderer, actually, he told me. And now he got this job of killing cows and sheep, the slaughterer. He said, "All the animals who came in would always cry and struggle to escape. They needed dogs and these electric shock cattle prods to force them into the enclosure into the place where the executioner stood with his electric bolt gun. And he said that every animal would always scream and try and escape. He said on this one day this cow came in without making any noise, head down, and just walked one foot after another slowly and positioned itself voluntarily to stand underneath the platform where its executioner stood. And this cow this cow then lifted its head and looked this prisoner in the eye. Straight eye contact. This was so weird, so unusual, that this man, who was born in Northern Ireland, he told me that he was stabbed when he was 7 years of age. That was his first stabbing. When the school bully came up to him and asked for the money he had for his lunch. He said, "No." And the school bully took out a knife. "Give me your lunch money." He said no a second time. The bully never asked a third time, but plunged the knife into this boy's arm. He was badly wounded with blood streaming down his arm. His first thought was to run to his home, which was just around the corner, where his father was unemployed. He ran into his house, screamed to his father, "I've been stabbed! I've been stabbed!" His father looked at the wound and took him into the kitchen, but not to dress his wound, but to take out another knife from the kitchen drawer, give it to his 7-year-old son, and ordered the son, "Go back into the school and stab the boy back." And he said that was how he was brought up. And that's why he'd been in prison many times. And he confessed to me that he'd killed people. He was a murderer. And now he was killing cows. When you find out where these people come from, their upbringing, sometimes your view of these people as bad people just disappears. Your whole perception of them changes. You think about them in a different way. But anyway, with the cow, as this cow got eye contact with this prisoner, the prisoner couldn't move. He was frozen. He'd never seen such a thing before. He couldn't pull the gun to execute the cow. He didn't know how many minutes passed by, but then something very strange happened. He noticed in the left eye of the cow, just above the lower eyelid, there was liquid welling up, getting more and more and more. And you all know how big cows' eyes are. The water got so much above the left eyelid, bottom eyelid of the cow, that it started to drip over the edge and down the cow's cheek. The cow was crying. He got so confused. Soon he noticed the same was happening in the other eye. On the lower eyelid of the right eye, there was more water coming until that too was far too much for the eyelid to hold. And that too started to stream over the right eyelid and down the cow's cheek. The cow was crying. He swore, threw down the gun, and told and said, "That cow ain't dying." When he came to see me, he said he was now a vegetarian. Here's a murderer who is now a vegetarian cuz he saw a cow cry.

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• 'Welcome to Australia, mate. Have a beer.'

  In brief: A Vietnamese boat person, just in sight of the Australian shore, was greeted by two West Australian fishermen: 'Welcome to Australia,…

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  I don't know if you know that one of those boat people years ago know he's uh that's right he was uh from he was was it Bangladesh no from Vietnam also Vietnamese and when he arrived you know in Australia actually just in sight of shore he received this wonderful welcome to Australia by these two West Australian fishermen These two West Australian fishermen shouted at him, "Welcome to Australia, mate. Have a beer." And he always remembered that. And eventually, you know, got settled in South Australia and became the governor of South Australia for two terms.

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