# Mango orchard planted by the Buddha

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Analogy
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-chah-mango-orchard-planted-by-buddha
- Themes: Dhamma, teacher, humour, insight
- Life situations: learning, monastery

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

First-year monk puzzled — no mango trees at Wat Pah Pong. Ajahn Chah: the monastery is a mango orchard planted by the Buddha himself, trees full of ripe sweet mangoes. Brahm wants to taste them; then realises the mangoes are the Dhamma — wisdom few others see.

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

Wat Pah Pong was a mango orchard." I remember this simile the first year when I became a monk and stayed with him. I didn't see any mango trees in Wat Pah Pong in those days. I said, "What is wrong? There's no mango trees in Ajahn Chah's monastery." And he said, "This is a metaphor. There are so many mango trees in Ajahn Chah's monastery and they've all been planted by the Buddha himself. This is getting weird. Cuz the Buddha actually never visited Thailand. And would the Buddha actually go to this this forest in the northeast of Thailand and not other places? So anyway, he carried on. It was planted by the Buddha. And now all of those mango trees which the Buddha planted and now full of ripe sweet mangoes. And I got interested because I don't know about you, but I love the mangoes in the northeast of Thailand. They were really tasty. And there was something which you could eat when the only alternative was to eat things like frogs. Honestly. That was often part of the meal for the day. One meal of the day, frogs and sticky rice. But in the mango season, you had these beautiful delicious mangoes. So anyway, when I heard there were mangoes in Wat Pah Pong planted by the Buddha according to Ajahn Chah's statement, I thought I'd like to try some of those. And then they were delicious. But then I realized what Ajahn Chah actually was saying. What he was saying was the mangoes, they represent the wisdom of the Buddha

## Teaching point

The sweet fruit was always the teaching, not the literal trees.

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

Ajahn Chah told the new monks that Wat Pah Pong was a mango orchard planted by the Buddha himself, full of sweet ripe fruit. Young Ajahn Brahm couldn't find a single tree. Then he understood: the mangoes were the Dhamma, insight into body, mind, kindness and not being upset by others. The sweetest fruit is wisdom.

## Source

- [Meditating under the Mango Tree | Ajahn Brahm | 4 July 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kaf-tp43W4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 19:20 to 21:35: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kaf-tp43W4&t=1160s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 15 February 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVOHNAJZVwE) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:19:44 to 1:21:18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVOHNAJZVwE&t=4784s
- [12 Insight Into the Path](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO3bq37SIGY) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 52:52 to 53:47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO3bq37SIGY&t=3172s