# The crooked trees are the beautiful ones

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Analogy
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-crooked-trees-beautiful
- Themes: self-worth, belonging, trauma, acceptance
- Life situations: low self-worth, childhood abuse, mental illness, feeling damaged

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

At a mental-health conference a woman apologises to Ajahn Brahm: when he walked in she thought “who is this wanker?” — but his talk made her laugh and cry. What made her cry was his 'perfect tree' story: no tree in a natural forest is straight, unscarred and all-green; the bent, crooked, scarred ones are the beautiful ones.

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

this is the story I told this at a conference on mental health during the wintertime last year, and that was over in the convention centre in Perth. And they were the person came up to me afterwards and said, she apologised to me, because she said, "When I first saw you coming into our conference", now please excuse the language. This is what she said, "I thought who is this wanker coming to our conference?" And she came to apologise for thinking like that, because I made her laugh, I made her cry, what made her cry. These were clients who have been through mental health problems. And were just trying to do something to improve the service for others. So the story which made her cry, is my story of the the trees in the forest. I often use this when people go to Bodhinyana monastery or go to Jhana Grove, but you know, don't need to say it there, say it here as well. If you go this weekend and go for a walk in the forest somewhere, please find a perfect tree for me. A tree which has got all of the branches equally spaced, only green leaves, no yellow leaves, no brown leaves, no leaves which have been eaten by the insects, which is perfectly straight, not crooked, or leaning to the left or the right. And with a bark, which hasn't been damaged by the bush fires or by the winds and things hitting it. A bark without scars on it. If you can find such a tree, you'll be the first in the world to find a tree in the natural forests because every tree you look at them. They're all bent and crooked. They've all got branches which have fallen off and that leaves holes where the birds and other animals can nest. And if you look at the leaves, there's lots of yellow leaves and brown leaves and leaves which have been eaten by insects and all the trees are crooked and bent. And the scars on their bark, they're just the bark is really rough, and knobbly and scarred. They're the beautiful trees. And I said in this talk if you are one of those trees, all bent and crooked, with heaps of scars on the bark with branches which have been ripped off by the storms of your life. You belong as one of the beautiful trees in the forest, you're my favourites. Because certainly I like the crooked trees, the bent trees, with all the scars and the knobbly bits on the outside. They're the ones which are beautiful.

## Teaching point

If you are bent, crooked and scarred by life, you belong; your scars are what make you beautiful.

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

No tree in a wild forest is straight and unscarred; the bent ones with storm-torn branches are where the birds nest. If life has knocked you about, you haven't failed some test of perfection. Your scars are part of what makes you real, and beautiful. Look for the same beauty in other weathered people too.

## Source

- [How to deal with rejection and lack of self-worth | Ajahn Brahm | 30-01-2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enFEj7wKrnM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 42:27 to 45:18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enFEj7wKrnM&t=2547s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Contentment | Ajahn Brahm | 11 Mar 2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Sd2HpnpBU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 42:45 to 43:26: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_Sd2HpnpBU&t=2565s
- [Speaking From The Heart Without Fear | Ajahn Brahm | 16-05-2014](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTUZ-DLPSR4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 16:47 to 17:19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTUZ-DLPSR4&t=1007s
- [Guided Meditation with Q&A | Ajahn Brahm | 18 Apr 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRXpXVjoWCw) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:13:58 to 1:14:16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRXpXVjoWCw&t=4438s
- [Being Afraid | Ajahn Brahm | 16 March 2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYHTHj4PGPU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 41:31 to 42:59: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYHTHj4PGPU&t=2491s
- [Jealousy | by Ajahn Brahm | 15-11-2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nBSPHe1RCc) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:00:49 to 1:01:39: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nBSPHe1RCc&t=3649s
- [Power of Kindness | Ajahn Brahm | 22 October 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXlaUjymZU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 48:37 to 54:15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHXlaUjymZU&t=2917s
- [Hatred and how to overcome it | Ajahn Brahm | 17 Jun 2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvrZ7q7LTtY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 53:13 to 53:48: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvrZ7q7LTtY&t=3193s
- [The Pure Land | Ajahn Brahm | 08-01-2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWZ4umyhHA8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 40:29 to 40:55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWZ4umyhHA8&t=2429s
- [Investing in Inner Qualities | Ajahn Brahm | 19 June 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Ej95GN7tY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 32:35 to 33:01: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Ej95GN7tY&t=1955s
- [Right Speech | Ajahn Brahm | 22 March 2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89YXjb1rWSo) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 13:18 to 14:15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89YXjb1rWSo&t=798s
- [Caring and Mental Health | Ajahn Brahm | 20 May 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5tZV6YoEg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 31:46 to 32:48: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO5tZV6YoEg&t=1906s
- [Virtue and Kindness | Ajahn Brahm | 30 May 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y529kJC6opI) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 9:43 to 10:50: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y529kJC6opI&t=583s
- [Celebrating and Empowering People Who are Different | Ajahn Brahm | 5 April 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCdAozsFgDY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:17 to 9:43: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCdAozsFgDY&t=497s
- [Dhamma Talk | Ajahn Brahm | 28 April 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFy2ztNpf64) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 13:13 to 14:59: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFy2ztNpf64&t=793s