# The 1991 bushfire and the hut that 'should not be here'

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-bodhinyana-bushfire-1991
- Themes: loss, process over outcome, equanimity, disaster
- Life situations: bushfire or natural disaster, losing your life work, business failure, facing possible loss

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

On 31 January 1991, at 47–48°C, a crown fire sweeps through Bodhinyana; eucalypts explode one after another and the monks evacuate, sure the monastery he worked years to build will burn. That night in a shearers' shed he sleeps soundly — his success was the care he put in. Next morning everything but a caravan has survived; the bushfire chief, inspecting a hut, says, “Brahm, this should not be here.”

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

it's an anniversary tomorrow, January 31st, 1991, when the temperature of Bodhinyana Monastery reached about 47, 48 degrees. And that was before the fire came. It was a huge bushfire that day. Crown fire came right through our monastery. And there you were. This monastery which I spent how many years about, so many years building up and when you have one of these bushfires, I don't know, this was hotter than the Toodjay fire which was earlier on. This was a huge fire. And when you're actually in these fires, it's amazing to see just the power of nature. Because these eucalypt trees, when it gets that hot, the eucalypt oil evaporates and it forms this mist around the tree, mixed in with oxygen. It's like a bomb waiting to go off. And this is what happens. Just know when an ember comes into that explosive mixture. The whole tree explodes. It was like explosions. This whole big tree would burst. It wouldn't be fire coming from the top or the bottom. It'd be like this ball of flame around the whole tree, all in one second, this huge noise like a bomb. Tree after tree after tree. We had to evacuate. There was no choice. Evacuate for our lives. And when we evacuated, I looked back upon that monastery, which I'd worked so hard to build up, and you thought, nothing can survive. None of those buildings. They were right in the middle of these trees. They'd all be burned to ashes. And when I left, I remember just going to the bottom of the hill, and from the southwest highway looking up and seeing the whole hillside explode in flames, one after the other. The other monk who was with me, he tried to get up, and he was arguing with the policeman, blocking Kingsbury Drive, and saying, that's my monastery up there. I want to get up. He said, you can't. I want to get up. I want, you can't. And then a few explosions happened, and the policeman said, do you want to go up? He said, no. That was true. So you left it there. And I remember that night, sleeping on the shearer's shed in a farm close by, just thinking, all that hard work. And those of you there at the time just know how much hard work which I put into that monastery, personally building it. All gone. And actually I slept soundly, because I thought, Wonderful I'd given up so much time. What a wonderful thing I'd achieved. And it didn't matter that there was going to be a monastery there the following day. What was most important to me was that I'd put all that energy and effort into it, and so much love and care. That was my success. Not the fact there was a monastery there at the end of the day. The fact that I put so much care and effort and energy into what I did. And I was so happy with that. I slept well. And of course those of you who know the story, the following morning you got up there, and it was all remaining. There was a caravan which was burned, but all those huts, those buildings which you see there, were totally survived. And even though it was a far more intense bushfire than you saw it at Toodyay. Even I remember just one of the, the head of the bushfire, they didn't call it FISA in those days, the head of the bushfire brigade. He had to come for the investigation, and I took him around. I remember him seeing one of the huts, and I'll never forget the words he said. He looked underneath it and around it, examined it totally, and then he turned to me and said, Brahm, this should not be here.

## Teaching point

If the process is your goal — giving your best with care — loss of the result need not bring disappointment.

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

As the crown fire roared toward the monastery he'd spent years building, Ajahn Brahm slept soundly in a shearers' shed. His success was the care he'd already put in, not whether the huts survived. When you've given something your best, the outcome is a bonus. It's a good way to hold a career, a home or a family project.

## Source

- [Don't Be Disappointed | Ajahn Brahm | 29-01-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmlQ9qGomG0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 22:02 to 26:03: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmlQ9qGomG0&t=1322s

Other tellings of this story:

- [The Negativity of Positivity | Ajahn Brahm | 23-04-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FjmTHULtrM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 39:07 to 42:06: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FjmTHULtrM&t=2347s
- [How to Keep Giving Without Reward | Ajahn Brahm | 02-05-2014](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krhmz-dau0s) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 11:09 to 11:47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Krhmz-dau0s&t=669s
- [Dealing With Anxiety | Ajahn Brahm | 31 January 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MRPqISIZ3M) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 0:59 to 7:04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MRPqISIZ3M&t=59s
- [Confidence, Fear and Anxiety | Ajahn Brahm | 28 January 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnYwHoYJID8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 49:07 to 53:59: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnYwHoYJID8&t=2947s
- [Detachment | Ajahn Brahm | 18th March 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xig9D9B8XHQ) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 55:21 to 57:34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xig9D9B8XHQ&t=3321s
- [The Pure Land | Ajahn Brahm | 08-01-2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWZ4umyhHA8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 17:43 to 23:20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWZ4umyhHA8&t=1063s
- [Growing from Difficulties | Ajahn Brahm | 3 April 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0EQZ-nakfo) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 37:22 to 38:58: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0EQZ-nakfo&t=2242s
- [Living a Happy and Peaceful Life | Ajahn Brahm | 10 July 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_17-u_j6w9Q) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 55:35 to 56:34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_17-u_j6w9Q&t=3335s
- [Three In One | Ajahn Brahm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hac2MFrYJc) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 5:23 to 5:58: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hac2MFrYJc&t=323s
- [Practical Buddhist Principles | Ajahn Brahm | 12 April 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3JFSOG6DzY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 25:29 to 27:16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3JFSOG6DzY&t=1529s
- [Living Within Nature | Ajahn Brahm | 22-01-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y_UCf5seDM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 41:41 to 44:42: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y_UCf5seDM&t=2501s
- [Understanding is more important - Armadale Meditation Group | Ajahn Brahm | 1 November 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJGIJLo5srM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:51 to 9:43: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJGIJLo5srM&t=531s
- [Teenagers Are Aliens | Ajahn Brahm | 26 October 2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSzGDO6RAeQ) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 36:47 to 37:23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSzGDO6RAeQ&t=2207s
- [Friday Night Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 29 January 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41YBH7jus_w) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 0:53 to 2:23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41YBH7jus_w&t=53s
- [Faith and Relics | Ajahn Brahm | 9 January 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ9hM2PnWTw) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 19:17 to 20:01: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ9hM2PnWTw&t=1157s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 20 January 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLN6fGv2BJ0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:23 to 9:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLN6fGv2BJ0&t=503s
- [Sisi Negatif Dari Positif | Ajahn Brahm | 23-04-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoQ7jFQqyz8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 39:09 to 41:22: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoQ7jFQqyz8&t=2349s