# The novice who stopped

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-chah-novice-when-am-i-going-to-stop
- Themes: meditation, stillness, letting go, monastic life
- Life situations: restless meditation, impatience

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A novice of 12 or 13 at Ajahn Chah's monastery, tired during a very long sermon, kept thinking: 'When is Ajahn Chah going to stop?' Then he turned it around: 'When am I going to stop?' He stopped, and fell into a deep jhana. When he came out, the talk and chanting had long ended, the monks had gone back to their huts, and it was morning — he had missed the alms round and didn't mind. It was the most beautiful meditation of his life.

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

It reminds me of that novice in Ajahn Chah's monastery, just a novice, who was listening to one of Ajahn Chah's sermons, which was going on and on and on and on. And he said, "I'm just a little novice. You know, I didn't sort of elect to come and stay here. Just I had no place else to go, so this is what But this senior monks, they could listen, but I need to go to bed. I'm tired." He's only like 12 or 13 or something. And so this little novice started thinking, "When is Ajahn Chah going to stop? When is he going to stop? When is he going to stop?" And that became repeated in his brain again and again and again until then the novice thought had an insight, changed things around. Instead of when is Ajahn Chah going to stop, he thought, "When am I going to stop?" That's when this little novice stopped. He got into one of the really deep meditations, one of the jhanas. Just that simply, but just saying, "I will stop." Not doing anything. And went so deep that when he came out of meditation, Ajahn Chah had finished the the talk a long time earlier. All the monks had done the chanting to end the meditate to end the talk. And they all packed up their things and went back to their cottages or their huts to rest. He'd been sitting really still all that time. Couldn't hear a thing. It was the morning time. He'd missed the morning arms route. He didn't mind. He wasn't hungry. He just got into the most beautiful meditation for the first time in his life by stopping.

## Teaching point

Deep meditation comes from stopping, not doing.

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

Bored by a long sermon, a young novice kept wondering when Ajahn Chah would stop, then asked when he himself would stop. He sat in deep stillness until morning, missing alms round and not minding. Next time you pass a stop sign, take it personally. Stop judging and controlling, and just be here.

## Source

- [The Nature of Suffering | Ajahn Brahm | 10 February 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvMmZICc1Y) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 26:36 to 28:51: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwvMmZICc1Y&t=1596s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Emotional Intelligence and Acceptance | Ajahn Brahm | 19 May 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejSaOOQ3VrY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 58:17 to 59:15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejSaOOQ3VrY&t=3497s
- [Freedom | Ajahn Brahm | 22 February 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuRrk9hnChU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 43:25 to 46:12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuRrk9hnChU&t=2605s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 19 December 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNcxDL_KFwY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:05:04 to 1:05:33: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNcxDL_KFwY&t=3904s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 10 June 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-XGvOZG_I) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:07:05 to 1:07:46: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-XGvOZG_I&t=4025s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 4 May 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o540fqEFO4U) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 3:39 to 5:05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o540fqEFO4U&t=219s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 18 April 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yP53pkFDIo) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 10:32 to 11:14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yP53pkFDIo&t=632s
- [Content and Easily Satisfied - Armadale Meditation Group | Ajahn Brahm | 14 March 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRCoonJk1U4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:11:13 to 1:12:40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRCoonJk1U4&t=4273s