Stroked the boom gate — it opened

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• The kids throwing stones on Bunbury beach

  In brief: In the early years in Australia, while Ajahn Brahm meditates on Bunbury beach, stones start whizzing past his ears. He stands up and walks…

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  once they threw stones at me. And that was over in Bunbury beach many years ago. These kids - I was just meditating there, minding my own business - and this stone came whizzing past my ears. Very good they were bad shots, but as they got closer and closer, I thought I better do something. So I just stood up and turned around. And there were these kids. For those of you who were old enough, that was when the orange people were here. They thought I was an orange person, fair enough mistake, this is pretty orange. But I actually started walking to them, and it's amazing, when you face people who do things like that, as soon as I started walking <u>towards</u> them, they started running away. [laughs] There was about six or seven kids there, and they could have easily beaten me up, but just the confidence there was enough to get them to scatter. And I just rushed after them, caught them up, and said "Look, why are you throwing stones? I'm a Buddhist monk". "Ohh, you're a Buddhist monk, sorry! We thought you were an orange person. Buddhist monks are cool.

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• Milk for the vegan cat

  In brief: Years ago, while vegetarian, Ajahn Brahm stays in a house whose owners are trying to make their cat vegan, feeding it soy milk. When they…

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  I had this when I was a vegetarian many years ago. I was staying in a house with a vegan cat. At least the owners tried to make get their cat to be vegan and they feed it soy milk. I was a vegetarian at the time. So when the owners weren't looking, I slipped the cat some milk. Oh, the cat really loved me for that. You know, some cow's milk instead of soy milk. That poor old cat.

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• The kung fu pose

  In brief: Walking from his mother's flat in Acton to give a talk at the Sri Lankan temple, Ajahn Brahm takes the short way past a block of flats…

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  I told him the story of when I was uh over in London visiting my mother and that's where I grew up in London in West London Actton. part of that area was very rough and I just in the afternoon I was walking from my mother's house or rather flat apartment to the Sri Lankan temple to give a talk that evening and I decided to go the shortest way which was also past this block of flats for poor people which was known as a hot bed of crime. Basically, it was like a nogo area unless you knew who you were and where, you know, and the other people knew you. So, I was walking along the street minding my own business. And this gang, maybe first of all, a dozen or maybe 14 or 15 guys came out just to meet together to, you know, find out what business they were going to get up to that evening. And as they saw me coming towards them, just walking peacefully, minding my own business, then they realized I was a Buddhist monk cuz they started chanting Buddha. Budda, Budda, Buddha. As I got closer, it became louder and faster. Buddha, Budda, Buddha, Buddha. They were trying to intimidate me. But even I was alone and these were many young you must call them thugs just they were waiting for me chanting louder and louder Buddha Buddha. I had a choice. I could turn around and just go back and go another way. I could cross the road to the other side of the street. That is not my character. My character was that I walked towards him calmly. When I got to within about five or six meters of them, they're really chanting loud now. Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, and I raised my arms in a kung fu pose. At least what I saw on the TV as a kung fu pose. You know, sometimes I actually did that sometime. I don't know if it was stupidity or courage, but I don't know, but it worked. and and I just walked the same pace with my arms like this [laughter] and they parted and let me right through. They didn't hit me at all or harm me at all. They could have wasted me so easily.

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• 'She gave me the money and sent me'

  In brief: A man keeps asking his wife if he can go on a weekend meditation retreat; each time there's too much to do — shopping, cleaning, kids'…

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  There was this guy, good old story. It's years and years ago, we had these weekend retreats; he always wanted to go on a weekend retreat. He told me this story. It's a beautiful story. And when there was a weekend retreat, he said to his wife, "Can I go on the weekend retreat?" "What are you talking about? We got to do the shopping, the cleaning, look after the kids, take them here. Go to the dentist, gotta mow the lawn. There's too much to do." You can understand that. You know, having a family, having a house, there's so much you have to do on weekends. So she said no. But he was very persistent. Any husbands here who wanna go on retreats, this is how it's done. [laughter] He asked next retreat, he asked again, "There's a retreat on, can I go?" "No, of course you can't go! Mother's coming this weekend. The kids need to be taken here and taken there to their sports and there's so much cleaning. You've got to clean up the shed. You promised to do that for weeks." Okay. And he was persistent. This is a trick. Guys. I never been married. But I know all about it, how it works. [laughter] One day he said, "Oh there's another retreat on." I don't know how many times he said this but, "there's a retreat on this weekend. Can I go?" She was so fed up with him. "Ok, you go on your stupid retreat and leave me with the kids on the shopping and the cleaning." He took that as a "yes" and went. [laughter] It's only for the weekend. She was really annoyed at him. But then when he came home, he came home, he was really changed, like soft and kind and lots of loving kindness, and not fault finding and peaceful and very helpful, you know, when you do your little chores in the kitchen. And they learn how to do this and cook that and she was amazed at the change in her husband. Just a weekend and what a most wonderful guy he was to live with. This is absolutely true. The next time there was a retreat, he came on a retreat. "And so, you've got permission from your wife to go on a retreat again?" He said, "No, I didn't have permission to go, she just gave me the money and sent me."

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