Story · Ajahn Brahm
Easier for rich Buddhists
Content note: quotes the Gospel saying; light-hearted religious comparison
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
I said this at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce about six months ago. I gave a talk at the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in W.A and somebody actually asked this question, so it didn't actually come from me, it comes from the audience. They said, because the Chinese Chamber of Commerce is all these rich Chinese business people, and of course you know, the rich people, yeah they're doing okay in this world, but they want to know what happens after you die. So they said they knew in the Christian Bible, it does actually say that it's harder for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven than a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, that's actually in there. Now a camel goes through the eye of a needle, that's a pretty tough thing to do. And actually a lot of people say, well doesn't actually mean like a sewing needle, it was some door in Jerusalem or something, but whatever it was, everyone agrees it's a very difficult thing for a camel to pass the eye of a needle, so it must be even more difficult for a rich person to go to Christian heaven. So when he asked me, so what do you say about that Ajahn Brahm? I said look we don't have that in Buddhism at all, so it's actually much much easier for rich people to go to heaven if they're Buddhists. You lot are rich people over there, so it's quite obvious what religion you should have if you want to go to heaven. I said, that's our marketing, you want to go to heaven and you're rich, come here. Of course we also get more donations that way. But that’s only jokes, so of course that totally untrue.
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 28:34 (to 30:23)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
Asked by wealthy business people about the camel and the needle's eye, Ajahn Brahm joked that rich Buddhists go to heaven far more easily, and the donations are better too. Then he told the truth. No religion, race or group earns you goodness. You earn it by how you act, speak and treat people.
In brief (our summary)
At a talk to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in WA, a wealthy business audience asks about Jesus' saying that it's harder for a rich man to enter heaven than for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Ajahn Brahm replies that Buddhism has nothing like that — so it's much easier for rich people to go to heaven if they're Buddhists. 'That's our marketing… we also get more donations that way.' Then he says it's only a joke: what counts is how you act, not what group you belong to.
Teaching point
Goodness is earned by conduct, not by belonging to a religion.
When this story may help
- wealth
- religious identity
Themes
- interfaith
- wealth
- humour
- conduct
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Why Is It So Hard To Be Kind? | Ajahn Brahm | 05 March 2010 · 2010-04-12 · ▶ watch from 28:34 to 30:23 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
2 other tellings of this story
- Skillful Speech | Ajahn Brahm | 03-07-2009 · 2009-11-19 · ▶ watch from 24:00 to 26:05 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaJul 2009 telling ('8 or 9 days ago'): what he thought of saying (be a Buddhist instead) versus what he actually answered — it's not how much money you have but how you use it; flexible camels 'who have done yoga'.
- Tradition and Truth | Ajahn Brahm | 14-05-2010 · 2010-05-16 · ▶ watch from 24:47 to 25:39 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaMay 2010: Hyatt; camel/needle vs Buddhist heaven for the rich.
Caption notes: Manual (volunteer) captions; occasional misspellings kept as is.
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