Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

He won the Chiang Mai lottery — and went mad

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Blaming Yourself And Others | Ajahn Brahm | 7 April 2017

1 min read

Content note: crime; violence threat; mental health

The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

Chiang Mai in north of Thailand they have illegal notaries there I think it's the last two or three numbers and they bet on it and he won it and a lot of money I think he actually sold his house and put a fortune on this lottery number and because it was run by the gangs in Chiang Mai they said no we're not going to pay you the full amount you know just a couple of million is enough he said no no it's 10 million I said a couple of million and they said no we're only going to give you two million he said no I demand 10 million he couldn't take them to court because his illegal Lottery and they told him listen mate a bullet only cost about ten dollars but he still wouldn't accept it and he went crazy they're committed to a mental institution simply because he won and couldn't accept a lesser payment greed sent him mad

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 19:08 (to 20:08)

A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

A man in Chiang Mai sold his house, won a fortune in an illegal gang-run lottery, and was offered only a fraction. He refused, and the stress broke him. If only he hadn't won. We can't know where any path leads. Stop blaming yourself for the past. Acknowledge it, learn, and move on.

In brief (our summary)

In Chiang Mai illegal number-lotteries run by gangs: a man sells his house, wins a fortune, then the gangs offer only a couple of million of the ten owed. He cannot sue; they remind him a bullet costs about ten dollars. He refuses the lesser payout, goes crazy, and is committed — greed at winning destroyed him.

Teaching point

Winning what you cannot safely collect can be worse than never winning.

When this story may help

  • lottery fantasy
  • refusing a compromise

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Blaming Yourself And Others | Ajahn Brahm | 7 April 2017 · 2017-04-07 · ▶ watch from 19:08 to 20:08 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'notaries' = lotteries.

The narrative is Ajahn Brahm's own telling, quoted from the talk captions. The summary and reflection are Being Mindful Stories's editorial notes. Please credit the teacher and link the original talk. Markdown version

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