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Story · Ajahn Brahm

Darlington: the church or the gasworks?

As told by Ajahn Brahm in The Process of Rebirth | Ajahn Brahm | 03-04-2009

1 min read

Content note: unflattering remark about an unnamed monk

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

I remember an experience when I went to visit England for the very first time after I became a monk about seven or eight years as a monk and we had a monastery over there which was just building up up and so the the Abbot over there Su took me off with him to a tour of the north of England in Scotland was visiting some more remote some more remote Buddhist groups and we went to this C mining town of of Darlington we went there on a weekend for a retreat and the first thing which the locals told us it's very rare for someone to visit that that rundown City on a weekend most people get out on the weekend and go somewhere else so we went to that town and then we went for a walk in the morning after breakfast we went to the gardens and we found a beautiful little church to go and have a look inside and when we went back our host said where did you go to a walk for a walk we told him said you went to the most beautiful parts of town that's very indicative of your characters because there was a monkey of a few months before and when he went for a walk he went down to the Gas Works and the rundown old canal in the industrial area and we laugh and said yeah that's his character he a very negative monk

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 34:16 (to 35:44)

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

Given a free morning in run-down Darlington, Ajahn Brahm found the gardens and the pretty church; a gloomier monk before him had walked straight to the gasworks. Where we wander says a lot. Notice where your thoughts drift today: the beautiful parts of life, or the gasworks. You can choose the walk.

In brief (our summary)

On his first visit to England as a monk (seven or eight years ordained), touring northern groups with the abbot, he visits the run-down town of Darlington. On a morning walk they find gardens and a beautiful little church. Their host says they went to the most beautiful parts of town — a monk who visited months earlier had walked to the gasworks and the derelict canal. They laugh: that was his character.

Teaching point

Where you gravitate shows your inclinations — and inclinations carry on, even at death.

When this story may help

  • negativity
  • habit of fault-finding

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in The Process of Rebirth | Ajahn Brahm | 03-04-2009 · 2009-04-25 · ▶ watch from 34:16 to 35:44 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'C mining town' = coal mining town? 'monkey' = monk (not changed).

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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