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Story · Ajahn Brahm

One phone call to the vice-chancellor

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Mindfulness and Kindfulness | Ajahn Brahm | 16 April 2021

1 min read

Content note: fatal car crash

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

There was a Sri Lankan woman and she would come here, not that often because she was very busy looking after two children. And her husband was actually working two jobs to get enough money, because the wife was actually doing a training in nursing at Curtin university. And unfortunately that one night, double job, not enough sleep, he crashed the car and killed himself. It was a tragedy, you know, just trying to work too hard. And the wife, the two kids, no way she could pay the tuition fees at Curtin. So, I got on the phone to the vice chancellor, Jeannette Hackett. She became a good friend. I confessed this that on one occasion, she was just retiring "Ajahn Brahm, I just loved my association with you" she said. She said "I'm going to give you a hug." You're not supposed to do that to a Buddhist monk but she was too fast for me. (laughter) It's only once. But anyway, I called her up I said "Look, this is real tragedy." She said "What is it?" And because they know you, you can actually get straight through

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 59:13 (to 1:00:41)

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

When a nursing student's husband died, Ajahn Brahm rang the university's vice-chancellor, who simply said leave it with me; a full scholarship followed and the student became a fine nurse. Powerful people like doing good too. Don't exploit them. Give them a chance to help, and they'll run with it.

In brief (our summary)

Many years ago a Sri Lankan nursing student at Curtin University lost her husband: working two jobs to pay the bills, he fell asleep driving home early one morning and was killed. The community's collection only covered her immediate needs. Ajahn Brahm, who knew the vice-chancellor (he recalls her as 'Theresa Hackit') from giving talks there, rang her directly. 'Thank you for letting me know... I trust you.' Within a short time the student was awarded a full scholarship; she graduated and became one of the top nurses in Perth, repaying the kindness by caring for others.

Teaching point

Kindness and trust built over years let you help others; repay kindness by serving more.

When this story may help

  • sudden bereavement
  • financial hardship
  • studying while grieving

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Mindfulness and Kindfulness | Ajahn Brahm | 16 April 2021 · 2021-04-16 · ▶ watch from 59:13 to 1:00:41 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

3 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; words left exactly as captioned.

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

  • “I forgive. No payback.”

    In brief: At a Curtin University human-rights course, Dennis Eggington (later head of the Aboriginal Legal Service) tells Ajahn Brahm of a funeral…

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    I gave a talk maybe a year or two ago in Curtin University, as part of the human rights course, Human Rights and Religion. And one of the students at that human rights course was Dennis Eggington. He's now the head of the aboriginal legal, what's it called? Aboriginal legal support group, whatever. Sorry? Aboriginal Legal Service. Yeah. Often see them in the paper. And during my talk he said, 'It's amazing what you've just been talking about', because he had an experience a couple of weeks before. A couple of drunk drivers had rammed in to a car containing two Aboriginal boys and killed them. And these two Aboriginal boys were really good students, were not getting in to any sort of trouble at all. Were doing really well at school, very promising, really good guys. The cream of the crop. And they'd been killed by these stupid drunk drivers. The problem was, the drunk drivers were also Aboriginal. And at the funeral service, because it was all Noongars, everybody had to be there. The two drivers were in custody but the father and other relations of those two drivers had to attend the funeral ceremony. Together with the relations of the two boys who had died. Noongar custom meant there had to be payback. And payback means if you can't give payback to the people who killed your children, to the closest relations. So the whole crematorium, it was in Karrakatta, I think he said, was so tense. Because no one knew when payback would happen. In the middle of the service the father of one of the boys who had died got up and before, there was police there, and before the police could stop him went for the father of one of the murderers. One of the boys who had killed his son. Went for him, hugged him and said, 'I forgive. No payback.' He'd broken the custom. But everybody was so impressed. Even though he was quite young, at that time they made him an elder. The person who was wise, who gained the respect of the whole community. It's amazing just what the power of forgiveness can do. It can change a whole custom.

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  • 'Welcome to Australia, mate. Have a beer.'

    In brief: A Vietnamese boat person, just in sight of the Australian shore, was greeted by two West Australian fishermen: 'Welcome to Australia,…

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    I don't know if you know that one of those boat people years ago know he's uh that's right he was uh from he was was it Bangladesh no from Vietnam also Vietnamese and when he arrived you know in Australia actually just in sight of shore he received this wonderful welcome to Australia by these two West Australian fishermen These two West Australian fishermen shouted at him, "Welcome to Australia, mate. Have a beer." And he always remembered that. And eventually, you know, got settled in South Australia and became the governor of South Australia for two terms.

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  • You're the only one who deserves this award

    In brief: Receiving his Order of Australia medal at Government House under Governor Kim Beazley, Ajahn Brahm wonders whether a monk should accept…

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    Some years ago they gave me this That's right, the Order of Australia medal. I had to go to Government House over there. Kim Beazley was the governor then. Uh to get this award. And I often wondered, should I be going to this? A monk getting awards. You just do this for no You don't expect anything back in return. And but the best part of that ceremony was I don't know actually who they actually were. I think they were working in Government House. There's these two or three ladies. They came up to me and said you're the only person who deserves this award. Cuz they too had gone through a terrible divorce or separation. They said, "You saved our life, too." And those words meant far more than the little medal which you got from the governor. And so I said, "Okay, yeah, it's worthwhile coming to get that. That is real job satisfaction.

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  • The pound note that blew into the fire

    In brief: In his poor London childhood, a gust blows his father's one-pound note off the shelf into the coal fire; his father burns his hand trying…

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    that I would do remember once that there must have been at nine or ten or eleven that my we were Legitimately poor because my father put a 1 pound note on this shelf above the coal fire They didn't have electric fires just have coal now to keep you warm during the really freezing winters and This mother was sitting down their kids were myself and my brother doing homework or something I don't know how this happened, but a gust of air Just took that one pound note and it fell into the fireplace and started burning And my father just tried to get it out. He burned his hand and my mother's just started crying. Oh weeping That was so much for them

    Open story page·Watch this telling

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