Don't revise the day before

Related stories

• Meditating through Cambridge finals

  In brief: During six days of Natural Sciences finals in 1972 — three hours each morning and afternoon — Ajahn Brahm skips lunch to meditate in his…

  Read full story▾▴

  when I was doing the final examinations at Cambridge University that's where I did my studies, 1972, Natural Sciences Tripos final exams, final exams I really meant that FINAL, everything else in the whole time you did in the University counted for absolutely nothing. You got your Degree or you failed on one series of examinations. Those examinations on Natural Sciences, that year, 6 days -- Monday, Tuesday Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, one after the other, morning examination 3 hours, afternoon 3 hours, 1 hour for lunch. I don't think Amnesty International was formed at that time, if they had found out that was torture, 3 hours, 1 hour lunch, 3 hours, 6 days in a row. The worst of that, everybody was telling me that my future depended upon those examinations. If you did well, you would have a wonderful life, if you failed you will be snuffed for the rest of your life. If only I had known I was going to become a monk, I wouldn't have worked so hard. I didn't know at that time so as other people I really worked hard But my trick was, this is how you deal with stress, this was a stressful situation for me, how I dealt with that was using basic tricks of meditation I've already had started meditation about 2-3 years when I first went up to that University. So, I never had any lunch for those 6 days. Had a big breakfast and a nice dinner in the evening. At lunch time I went back to my room only 5-10 minutes from the examination room, and I meditated for half an hour, Now this is what happens, as soon as I sat down, the first thing which came in to my mind was the morning exam, how did I do, did I do that question correct, we all know how stupid that is, the examination paper is in, right or wrong is too late to change it, it's obvious isn't it, you should let it go, let go of the past this is not the time you can do anything anymore, it's easy to say but I trained, I could do that, I could let go, of that very very important exam in the morning. This is what you can learn in a place like this. It doesn't matter what has happened in the past, you can't change it, examination paper of your past is in, it's a waste of time thinking about it. Good or bad you can't do anything about it. I could let that one go. So, the next thought I was not concerned about the morning paper, The next thought which came up in my mind was the afternoon exam. Should I get out of my meditation, get out a book and start studying, last minute just in case and of course if you remember your studies, every time I did that, whatever I looked at, half an hour before the examination never ever came up, never, total waste of time. It was a waste of time, because this was the time I am supposed to rest, not work, if you are worried about the future, you can't stay in this present moment, and do the preparation necessary for success in the future, that preparation was resting. If you don't know how to rest you will fail again and again and again, because you don't know how to prepare your mind for the challenges it faces in the future. I had to let go of the future because I trained in meditation, it was easy to do, even though important, what I thought was a life defining moment, those afternoon examinations, I could totally forget about them and stay in the moment. So, that was called present moment awareness, when I put in the context of an important part of my life you can understand how relevant it is. But what happens next shocked me because when I stopped thinking about the past which for me was the morning exam, the future-the afternoon exam, I found out I was physically shaking, Look ! I go up here every Friday and talk to people, watched on internet by 1000s of people, I go on live TV, I am not a nervous person, but at that time I found out I was physically shaking, the pressure of final examinations had got to me, I was nervous. What shocked me even more than being nervous, was that I hadn't noticed it before that point. I've been so fixated, with the future exam, what I'v done in the past I was totally unaware of the present reality of my body. That shocked me and from that moment on I learnt why many people get sick. They get sick because you are not aware of your body, so up in the future, so up in the past, so busy, you are not here, with your body, listening to the signs. When I got into that present moment and saw I was shaking, it was pretty easy to relax the body, exactly as I told you here at the beginning of the meditation. With mindfulness, kindness the body totally relax and all that shaking stopped. The next part of that meditation when I let go of the past, let go of the future, the shaking all stopped, the next thing I noticed was how tired my brain was. How totally worn out it was. I compared it to like a tea bag which had already been used, no juice left, an old used tea bag that's what my brain felt like. And again those experiences told me again why a lot of depressions and negativity, where they come from. Most of the people in this room, if you've only noticed the status of your brain, you'll probably know it's really tired. It just really needs a rest, because I noticed the need for my brain to rest, I could just keep it not working for 10 or 15 minutes, really relax it keep it still, so by the end of that meditation, all the energy had come back to my brain. I was awake, alive, clear, energised and I still remember, my friends after the examinations they commented, I was the only student who went in to that examination hall in the afternoon with a smile on my face. I could do that because I was relaxed and that's why I did really well.

  Open story page·Watch this telling

• Top of medicine by being silent

  In brief: A woman tells Ajahn Brahm she came top every year in medicine at Melbourne University with first-class honours because she knew how to…

  Read full story▾▴

  One girl who told me she did medicine at Melbourne University top every year, first class honours because she knew how to meditate and be silent when the lecturer was speaking. Exams came make her mind absolutely silent, read the question in silence first thought which came up in her mind wrote it down, perfect answer.

  Open story page·Watch this telling

• White knuckles on the first bicycle

  In brief: Young Ajahn Brahm's father saves up for his first bicycle; he keeps falling off until he notices his white knuckles and plank-stiff body —…

  Read full story▾▴

  This story I remember when I was young. I was young and my father, I begged him, and he saved up, I think, for a birthday or a Christmas. I can't remember what. He bought me a bicycle. The first bicycle I ever had. And, of course, being a kid with his first bicycle, you get on that bicycle and try to ride it and keep falling off. And I kept falling off and I never realised why until I looked at myself. I was holding on to those handle bars with so much fear that my knuckles went white. I was so afraid of falling off and my body was as stiff as a plank. And because I was so stiff, I was holding on too tight. Whenever the bike would move to the left, I would never be able to compensate. My body was too stiff to bend and to accommodate, which is why I kept falling off. It was fear that kept pushing me over. And it was only later on when I just relaxed, I found that I could stay on that bicycle with more ease. In fact, when you're really relaxed, you didn't fall off at all.

  Open story page·Watch this telling

• Between Cambridge exams he meditated instead of revising

  In brief: During six-day Cambridge natural-sciences finals (3 hours morning and afternoon), after astrophysics of the galaxy he skipped lunch,…

  Read full story▾▴

  after the first exam on something simple like astrophysics of the galaxy, that was one of the subjects honestly. After 3 hours just like maths, just like sums, that's what it was. After 3 hours of that, then I went back to my I didn't have any lunch. I was a student at the time actually very different than you see today. I was really thin and I had lots and lots and lots and lots of hair. My hairstyle of that time was what we used to call the donut look. It was really bushy hair all over the top. And where the hair stopped, that's where the beard began. And so I remember my grandmother used to say, "We can hardly see you. Is that you in there?" But it certainly kept my my my head warm without needing any beanie or something. So anyway, so I went back to my room after astrophysics of the galaxy and I never had any lunch. Ate in the morning and evening. Instead of having lunch, I decided to meditate. It surprised me how well it works. You sit down, close your eyes, you've just done an exam which is supposed to define your life. You pass and then you sort of, you know, you get a degree, you don't pass, and then you're stupid. I wish I'd have known I was going to become a monk. Honestly, I would have even tried, but I never knew that at the time. So anyway, so I tried my best but what I did was after uh sitting down, closing my eyes, the first thing I thought about was the past. How did I do? Did I answer the questions correctly? You do an exam. You worried about, you know, it's important for you. So you worry about was that the right answer? Did I do it correctly? But by that time I knew I couldn't change anything now. The exam papers were in finished. So I because I'd been a meditator, you could let go of the past. It gave you no assistance to actually worry about the past, where you came from, what had happened. And the next thing when I let that go, the next thing which came up, afternoon exam. Oh my goodness. Should I do some more revision? Should I look at the books again? And I said, "No, cuz this is just from uh from experience. Even at that age, the more you worry about the future and try and predict it, whatever you look at never ever comes up in the paper. Never. Not once." And I realize the best way of preparing for the future is not studying but relaxing. That's why any of you ever do important exams. Please relax before those exams. Relax to the max. Your brain needs to rest so it re-energizes so it can actually see those answers. So that's what I did. Let go of the future. Because as I say here every week when I'm here, the future is made right now

  Open story page·Watch this telling