# “I haven't got a tail — I'm not a dog”

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-bullied-boy-no-tail
- Themes: bullying, self-esteem, criticism, confidence
- Life situations: child being bullied, criticism, insults

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A parent tells Ajahn Brahm that their bullied son used a Thai teaching he'd brought back: if someone calls you a dog, look at your bottom to see if you have a tail; if not, you're not a dog. When the bullies called the boy a dog, he looked at his bottom — “Sorry, I haven't got a tail, I'm not a dog” — and they stopped bullying him.

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

They said their son was being bullied at school, bullying is a big thing. And they said a little teaching which really helped them, a very simple teaching, was that teaching which I took back from Thailand, which means that you don't listen to other people's criticisms. It was that teaching, if somebody calls you a dog, you look at your bottom to see if you've got a tail. If you haven't got a tail, you're not a dog, it is the end of the problem. And this actually happened because these bullies, they called this kid a dog, and he would remember the story, this was a kid at school, remember the story, he looked at his bottom, "sorry I haven't got a tail, I'm not a dog". And those kids stopped bullying him after that.

## Teaching point

You can choose not to let others press your buttons.

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

Taunted as a dog at school, a boy checked his bottom, announced he had no tail, and the bullies gave up. An insult is just a word unless we accept it. When a label is thrown at you, check whether it fits; if it doesn't, leave it on the ground. Bullying that persists still needs adults to step in.

## Source

- [No-Self Esteem | by Ajahn Brahm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXd09oGHD0I) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 5:52 to 6:35: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXd09oGHD0I&t=352s