Story · Ajahn Brahm
“In the building trade we call it a feature”
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
Once when I was teaching in Cancer Support Association over in Cottesloe, they're still over there. Teaching...teaching that story because sometimes going through chemotherapy and radiation therapy can really cause a lot of depression. So I told that and yeah you got cancer but there's many other things happening in your life. Look at all the parts of the body which haven't got cancer. There's two bad bricks there, two bad tumours, what about the other parts which are beautiful, which are healthy? Look at that, it actually takes away a lot of fear. And anyway I told that, one of these builders came up afterwards and he said Ajahn Brahm please don't be upset you made two mistakes when you're laying bricks, professional builders do the same, he said. But then he said I'll tell you a secret, and I've told his secret to millions of people...internationally. He said...don't tell me your secrets, they'll be on YouTube next day...[LAUGHTER]. He said, in the building industry where we make a mistake like that we call it a feature. We call it a feature and we charge our clients an extra few thousand dollars for it.
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 18:41 (to 19:56)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
A builder confided the trade secret: when bricklayers make a mistake, they call it a feature and charge extra. Try it at home. Your partner's odd habits and your own quirks needn't be defects; they're features, and part of what makes a person lovable. Someone flawless would be very hard to love.
In brief (our summary)
After Ajahn Brahm tells the two-bad-bricks story at the Cancer Support Association, a builder reassures him professionals make the same mistakes — and shares the trade secret: “We call it a feature, and we charge our clients an extra few thousand dollars for it.”
Teaching point
See imperfections — in yourself or your partner — as features that make them lovable.
When this story may help
- cancer treatment
- self-acceptance
- partner’s quirks
Themes
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Depression | Ajahn Brahm | 25-06-2010 · 2010-06-26 · ▶ watch from 18:41 to 19:56 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
3 other tellings of this story
- The Fault Finding Mind | Ajahn Brahm | 7 May 2021 · 2021-05-07 · ▶ watch from 30:32 to 31:34 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaMay 2021 telling: 'a couple of thousand dollars'; 'there's no other house in Perth like this'.
- How to be Free | Ajahn Brahm | 26 November 2021 · 2021-11-26 · ▶ watch from 1:01:17 to 1:02:06 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaNov 2021 telling: at the Cancer Support Association (now Solaris) in Cottesloe; the builder is one of the people with cancer.
- How to deal with mistakes | Ajahn Brahm | 10-10-2014 · 2014-10-13 · ▶ watch from 9:43 to 10:16 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaOct 2014 telling (nested after two-bad-bricks at Cancer Support Association).
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