# Darlington: the church or the gasworks?

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-darlington-walk-beautiful-parts
- Themes: inclinations, positive attitude, character, rebirth
- Life situations: negativity, habit of fault-finding

## Synopsis (editorial 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.

## 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

## Teaching point

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

## 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.

## Source

- [The Process of Rebirth | Ajahn Brahm | 03-04-2009](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWFSAFHpx_U) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 34:16 to 35:44: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWFSAFHpx_U&t=2056s