# The chanting worked too well

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-chanting-dying-man-recovered
- Themes: mistakes, death, chanting, humour
- Life situations: dying relative, hospital visits, miscommunication

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Invited to chant for a dying Chinese man in Royal Perth Hospital's ICU, Ajahn Brahm chants his strongest — and the man goes into remission. The family scold him: the funeral was arranged, relatives had flown in; they only wanted a peaceful death, and now must come back in a few months. Since then he always asks which kind of chanting they want.

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

But this was the story of when I got called to go to Royal Perth Hospital, by a family of this Chinese fellow who was passing away. They said ‘you've got to come quick, he's really really sick, he's in the ICU, maybe only an hour or two to go’. So I rushed into the hospital, got up to the ICU, saw the family, just said ‘hello, I’ve arrived, I’ll see what I can do’. Went into the ICU, stood by the bed of this guy who was totally unconscious, obviously close to death. And I really gave full power chanting. Now this doesn't always work, but that day I was really on song. You know, that’s just like people playing football or tennis, sometimes you just ‘crack!’ - the ball always goes in. And this was one of those days I was just really on my game. And I chanted and chanted and chanted… He came out of coma. It was like a miracle. And it doesn't always happen, very rarely actually, but this time it actually did. He came out of comma, the daughters were amazed, he was gonna survive now. So when I went out, feeling all good about myself, and then went out to see the family, and said ‘oh well, I really did it, he came out of the coma, he's probably gonna live now'. And that's when the S.H.I.T hit the fan. Because these were the family who'd come from Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China. They stopped all their work, they got these expensive flights, a moment's notice; they came over to be with their patriarch for the last few hours of his life, they had already arranged the funeral service. [Laughter] Now they're gonna have to stop it and cancel it and they say ‘you have cost us a lot of money, Ajahn Brahm’. He's gonna die again, maybe in another six months, he comes back again and dies properly, but this time - no. [laughter] So they were not happy with me at all. All that way - stopping.. [laughter] I got no donations for the monastery, not even for the cost of the petrol in the car [laughter]. I never heard from them again. [laughter] So that was my mistake. What would you do, when you make mistakes like that, you learn. So now, when I go to the hospital, [laughter] I ask first of all, ‘what type of chanting do you want?' “Get-better” chant, or “die-peacefully

## Teaching point

Share your mistakes so people can laugh; mistakes are where we learn.

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

Asked to chant for a dying man, Ajahn Brahm chanted his strongest, and the man went into remission, to the family's dismay; the funeral was booked. Now he asks first: get-better chant or die-peacefully chant? He tells his mistakes so everyone can laugh. Laugh at your own, learn from them, and you keep the confidence to help.

## Source

- [Give Yourself Peace, Kindness and Forgiveness | Ajahn Brahm | 29 January 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--PPWbmzp6M) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 44:46 to 48:01: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--PPWbmzp6M&t=2686s

Other tellings of this story:

- [How to deal with blame and criticism | Ajahn Brahm | 18 Nov 2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39mEezTbMcc) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 32:45 to 34:23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39mEezTbMcc&t=1965s
- [Uncertainty | Ajahn Brahm | 15-07-2011](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswsVGVdISY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 15:50 to 16:32: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswsVGVdISY&t=950s
- [Having a Good Relationship with Life | Ajahn Brahm | 9 October 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_3C-49o_78) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 30:25 to 33:50: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_3C-49o_78&t=1825s
- [The Importance of Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 07 Nov 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:50:58 to 1:52:42: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg&t=6658s
- [How to Handle Anxiety | Ajahn Brahm | 15 March 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ZmTRI7NUU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 43:06 to 45:40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9ZmTRI7NUU&t=2586s
- [Chanting | Ajahn Brahm | 6 May 2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a9TRG8soYQ) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 35:01 to 35:36: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a9TRG8soYQ&t=2101s
- [The Middle Way of Wealth | Ajahn Brahm | 26 January 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnYkOjzYQgU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 57:38 to 58:26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnYkOjzYQgU&t=3458s
- [Vesak and Inspiration | Ajahn Brahm | 21 May 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y85OWhID1c) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 44:16 to 45:33: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y85OWhID1c&t=2656s