# “If you're going to sweep, give it everything you've got”

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-chah-sweep-give-it-everything
- Themes: mindfulness, wholeheartedness, teacher-student
- Life situations: distracted life, work stress, seeking a teacher, feeling scattered

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A busy Sydney man flies to remote north-east Thailand just to ask Ajahn Chah his life questions, but after hours waiting among 200 people he gives up. With an hour to kill, he picks up a broom and sweeps with the monks; after a few minutes a hand on his shoulder turns out to be Ajahn Chah's, who gives him one line: “If you're going to sweep, give it everything you've got” — and walks away. It transformed his business, family life and meditation.

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

He lived in Sydney. He came to see me in Perth and no one else knows his story except him because it's a personal story which changed his life. He told it to me, I share with other people. When the great Ajanchar in Thailand started to become famous, this guy in Sydney heard this and he wanted to ask a real wise person these important questions he had in life. And so he traveled all the way from Sydney to Thailand not to go to any hotel or resort just to see Ajancha, ask the questions and come back home again. A very busy man, big family. So he finally found the way to the northeast of Thailand, which is quite remote, and find where this monk lived, find in the monastery where his hut was. And he succeeded. He saw this great monk surrounded by about 200 people, all wanting to ask their questions. And he waited and waited and waited and he wasn't getting anywhere closer. If ever that happens to me, please Buddhist society, buy a machine, take your number. And so I say, calling number 64, please come up to ask your question. Have you been to those places where they give you numbers and they have to wait until your number comes up? I did that about two months ago. I went to get my visa to go to Indonesia and I was waiting. I got a ticket and I was waiting there for 1 hour and then I had to go for lunch. So never got my ticket. uh answered. Anyway, I actually gave it to somebody else cuz I was ahead of them. I have my ticket. That's very nice. If you have these tickets, don't screw up. Give them to somebody else. It was really nice. Anyway, what was I going on about asking questions? Yeah, he was surrounded by all these people. So, this guy's waiting a couple of hours, two and a half hours, getting no closer. So, he he gave up, came all that way just for seeing the monk, and he realized there's no way he could see him. And so he was walking to his uh taxi to take him back to the airport to go back to Bangkok to fly back to Sydney and he realized he had another hour to kill and he saw the other monks were sweeping doing some cleaning in the temple. Now remember, if you volunteer to do some cleaning in any temple, even this one, it's amazing the karmic, the good karma you get, just washing up the dishes on a Friday evening, sweeping, tidying up the chairs. You wouldn't believe the amazing good karma you get by helping out the temple. So what he did, he saw them sweeping. He picked up a boom. He started sweeping too. He was sweeping, sweeping only for five or 10 minutes and he said he felt a hand on his shoulder. And when you feel know someone behind you putting the hand on your shoulder, you turn around abruptly and that hand was connected to an arm and that arm was connected to Ajancha. Wow. Now, those of you who have lived with these monks, you know that they do have powers. They know what's going on. He realized this guy had come a long way and had to go home soon. So, he was actually got up from his seat. Even though the other people waiting to talk to him, went up and wanted to give this guy a teaching and the teaching was this a oneliner which changed this guy's whole life. He said after this oneliner he went back his business really flourished his family life was great his meditation really soared everything in life just got so much better from this one line teaching said if you're going to sweep give it everything you've got that's all and then he went away

## Teaching point

Give whatever you are doing — working, resting, eating, sleeping — everything you've got.

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

A man flew from Sydney to ask Ajahn Chah life's big questions, gave up waiting, and picked up a broom. The one line he finally received changed his business, his family and his meditation. Whatever you're doing, sweeping, working, eating or sleeping, do only that, fully. Put the phone down at dinner and actually taste the food.

## Source

- [When to attach and when to let go? | by Ajahn Brahm | 17 March 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_3coMDunIM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 32:14 to 36:26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_3coMDunIM&t=1934s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Making Decisions | Ajahn Brahm | 19 February 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELi1VJlj-0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 42:35 to 43:05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pELi1VJlj-0&t=2555s
- [Effective Management | Ajahn Brahm | 06 Nov 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_5tfQRkAZ4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:06:45 to 1:07:58: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_5tfQRkAZ4&t=4005s
- [Emboldening the Mind with Fizz & Sparkle (3/14) | Ajahn Brahm & Venerable Canda | 7 December 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQscbNiNQek) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 6:24 to 8:43: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQscbNiNQek&t=384s
- [Meditation in Trying Times - Armadale Meditation Group | Ajahn Brahm | 17 May 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-REkEnSRIc) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 4:47 to 7:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-REkEnSRIc&t=287s