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Story · Ajahn Brahm

The storm that waited for the ceremony

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Destiny, fate or free will? | Ajahn Brahm | 22-02-2015

2 min read

Content note: weather "miracle" told as he remembers it (unverified); names a public figure (WA Premier, captioned "Jeff Gallup" = Geoff Gallop) and a party-hire firm

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

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

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 4:04 (to 6:21)

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

With the biggest storm on record forecast for the moment of the anniversary ceremony, Ajahn Brahm refused to cancel; the rain held off until it was over. A hire firm then emailed to ask him for racing tips. He tells it against himself. Monks don't predict the future, and good luck is no reason to believe they can.

In brief (our summary)

For the Buddhist Society of Western Australia's 30th anniversary Vesak ceremony in Perth's Supreme Court Gardens, the biggest storm ever is forecast to hit at exactly ceremony time. The Premier's office rings three times asking if it's cancelled; an old merchant sailor says the barometer is falling; one of his own monks takes him aside and says he's making an idiot of himself. Ajahn Brahm refuses to cancel. Half an hour before the start the rain stops; after the ceremony it pours, flooding the gardens and the freeway. The next day a party-hire firm's CEO emails to ask who this Ajahn Brahm is — and who's going to win the horse racing today.

Teaching point

Told as a joke against itself: people assume monks have powers to predict the future, which Buddhism does not claim.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Destiny, fate or free will? | Ajahn Brahm | 22-02-2015 · 2015-02-22 · ▶ watch from 4:04 to 6:21 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

8 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'Jeff Gallup' = Geoff Gallop; 'parotic pressure' = barometric pressure; 'merchant Sean' probably = merchant service/navy; 'way sack' = Vesak; '2 Ines' = 2 inches; 'ree hire' = a party-hire firm name 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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  • Five Angels in the fifth race

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  • Twelve blessed strings for Sri Lanka

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    This was the um the time I got into trouble. I had to I had hid this for many years. I should have just admitted it straight away. And that was with the with the um cricket. Many of the Sri Lankans know this story. I haven't told this to the the last uh uh there's a Sri Lankan New Year over in 70th anniversary was it Was it? Or independence or whatever. Anyway, in front of the the former um governor of Western Australia, Quentin Bryce. And she reminded me of this. But fortunately she's she's retired now, so I can't get into any more trouble about this because it was the um sometime people ask, "What are you doing going to the Sri Lankan Independence Day when you're a Brit? You know, that's like you know, that they kicked your ancestors out of the country. So what are you coming to celebrate?" I said, "Because I support Sri Lanka and their cricket team." Because what happened? There was a cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia at the old West Australian cricket ground, the WACA. And only one day match. And at lunch interval the Australians, they were just hammering the Sri Lankans. They were winning by such a big amount. So some of the boys who actually come here, they were helping out at the stadium. They came here and said, "Ajahn Brahm, Ajahn Brahm, we've been asked by the captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team to get some holy string from a good monk and we think you're a good monk. Can you do this blessing string?" And so now I shouldn't have done this. I mean, it's a ridiculous thing to do, but I I blessed 12 pieces of string. Cuz you know, one for the 12th man in the cricket. I knew cricket. So 12 pieces of string I blessed and I sent them to the ground. You know what happened? Sri Lanka lost. But because they asked for it too late. [laughter] But that was not the really important match because that that was a warm-up game for the World Cup cricket. And as every Sri Lankan knows the Sri Lankans had never won much before. But this they had the final Sri Lanka this World Cup cricket final, Sri Lanka versus Australia. And you know how much Australians love their cricket. And Sri Lanka won. Against all predictions, Sri Lanka beat Australia and won the World Cup cricket. And that was Any Sri Lankan remembers that. Remember the occasion. It was uh the captain. I remember his name, Arjuna Ranatunga. Cuz I saw people show me in the the Western Australian newspaper, the big picture of the captain holding up the World Cup and the whole Sri Lanka, they just celebrated. I don't know for how long. And of course Australia was just so upset. They just missed out. But as he was holding up the cup, you know what I saw? On his hand my string. It was my string which was on all of the cricketers' hands there except the Australians. That was why they won the World Cup. Cuz an Australian monk and it took years before I admitted that. Otherwise I got kicked out of the country.

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