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Singing the anthem of his own free will

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

2 min read

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

this was the the time in Cambridge psychic research Society every year we get a hypnotist to come up to teach us a uh a little bit about hypnotism and being students everybody was willing to give it a try I went up there but I was not a good hypnotic subject at the time and there's always a few of the students were really really easy to hypnotize and they do make them do silly things which you know being you know undergraduates 18 19 years of age was great entertainment but what they did to this one poor student put him totally in in hypnotic trance and after he was in trance the hypnotist said when I touch my right earlobe you'll get up and sing the British national anthem in full loud voice and then he said I'm going to take you out of Trance now but you remember that instruction and so he took him out of the trance and he went back to sit in his seat and we were waiting to see what would happen of course eventually the hypnotist uh uh touch his right earlobe and this young man in the middle of a just like you know of 300 students like 300 of you you imagine you just suddenly get up and sing the Australian national anthem in four what an idiotic thing that would be to do but this guy did it he sang the British national anthem beginning to end in a loud voice even all the students were were howling with laughter you know it was the most funniest thing I'd seen and when he finished he sat down and we'd all sort of settled down as well this fellow was not embarrassed at all and so the hypnotist asked him he said why did you decide to sing the British national anthem and this student he gave a logical reason and that was when I realized that that student he had assumed he had sung that Anthem out of his own free will there's no way that he could distinguish between what was hypnotic suggestion what we all seen he was conditioned to do that and what he took to be free will it wasn't free will that was implanted into him by the hypnotist even though it's the most ridiculous thing to do

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 50:36 (to 52:58)

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

Hypnotised, a student was told to sing the national anthem at a touch of his ear, did so in front of three hundred people, and gave a perfectly logical reason for choosing to. He believed it was free will. So much of what we want is planted by others. Your power lies in noticing, and saying no.

In brief (our summary)

At a Cambridge psychical research society demonstration, a hypnotist puts a student in trance and tells him that when the hypnotist touches his right earlobe he'll stand and sing the British national anthem. Out of trance, back in his seat among 300 students, the student does exactly that, beginning to end, while everyone howls. He isn't embarrassed; asked why he decided to sing, he gives a logical reason. Ajahn Brahm realises the student believed he had sung of his own free will.

Teaching point

Conditioned impulses feel like free choices; our real freedom is the power to say no.

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 50:36 to 52:58 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'psychic research Society' = psychical research society.

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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