Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The camel's one more round

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Power of Kindness | Ajahn Brahm | 22 October 2021

2 min read

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

And this guy he he he was helping at like a school fate raising money for the local primary school. I don't know why they have to raise money for the local primary school. They always manage to find enough money for nuclear submarines and other stuff they buy. But you know, schools, you have to raise your own money. But they're raising money in the local park. And one of the things they had, one of the fundraising initiatives was camel rides. Have you ever been on a camel ride? Anyway, this guy always wanted to go on a camel ride, but when he got to the park, it was really late and they're about to close up and it was been a really, really hot day. So, I thought, well, you know, just can I just have the last camera ride, please? And the guy who was organizing it said, I'm sorry, but the camera's been working hard all day, and the poor camel is really tired. It's been very hot. and we've got enough money now for the you know the school so sorry you missed out and this guy looked at the camel and looked at the man and said look you know it's not just for the sake of money but it's something I always wanted to do in life to ride a camel and you know I can pay double triple I don't care about the money just can I please ride that camel and apparently said the man who was organized this looked up in the up at the camel, looked in the eyes. It was, you know, he's almost like a pet, almost part of the family. Looked at the camel and said, "Dear camel, this gentleman's come such a long way. And I know that you've worked so hard and you're really tired. I'm tired, too. Would you mind? Just one more round." And of course, the camel went straight down. And he jumped on its back and the clam lifted up. One more round out of kindness.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 39:46 (to 41:57)

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

A tired camel had finished for the day, until its keeper asked it gently: you're tired, I'm tired, would you mind just one more round? It knelt straight down. People respond the same way. A kind request gets far more than criticism or pressure, at work and at home.

In brief (our summary)

A man who told Ajahn Brahm the story after hearing the Nandivisāla tale arrived late at a primary-school fete in a park, longing for a camel ride. The organiser refused: the camel had worked all day in the heat and was tired, and they had raised enough. The man pleaded — it was a lifelong wish; he'd pay double or triple. The organiser looked up into the camel's eyes and said, 'Dear camel, this gentleman's come such a long way. I know you've worked so hard and you're really tired. I'm tired too. Would you mind? Just one more round.' The camel knelt straight down, and the man got his ride.

Teaching point

A kind request achieves what pressure cannot.

When this story may help

  • asking for extra effort
  • managing tired people

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Power of Kindness | Ajahn Brahm | 22 October 2021 · 2021-10-22 · ▶ watch from 39:46 to 41:57 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; words left exactly as captioned. 'school fate' = school fete; 'camera ride' = camel ride; 'clam' = camel.

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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