# Dog poo under the mango tree

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Analogy
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-dog-poo-mango-tree
- Themes: adversity, transformation, wisdom, humour
- Life situations: setbacks, things going wrong, crises at work

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Simile: walking home from the temple you tread in dog poo. Don't scrape it off; take it home and scrape it off under your mango tree. A year later the mangoes are sweeter — and when the juice runs down your cheek, remember what you're really eating, transformed.

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

it is the simile of coming to the temple and when you walk home you tread in a big pile of dog and what do you do with dog when it gets on your shoes number one do not absolutely forbidden in buddhism breaking the precept of wisdom you don't scrape it off your shoes you must always take it home with you and only scrape it off when you get to your garden and scrape it off under the flowers or the apple tree or the mango tree whatever fruit you like that's where you scrape off the dog poo because one year later your mango tree would have so many more mangoes they'll be much sweeter than ever before and whenever you bite into that mango and the juice drips down your cheek you must always remember what you're really eating and it's true you're eating dog that's where it came from but it's all been transformed into anger

## Teaching point

Life's messes, used wisely, become fertiliser for wisdom and compassion.

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

Tread in dog poo? Scrape it off under the mango tree, and a year later the fruit is sweeter. When a newly built wall fell down, Ajahn Brahm called it more fertiliser. Crises, muddles and mistakes come to everyone. Don't just fight them; dig them in, and let them feed your wisdom and compassion.

## Source

- [Facing Difficult Situations in Life | Ajahn Brahm | 6 October 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yy0k6zefVM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:01 to 9:41: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yy0k6zefVM&t=481s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Energy in our Body and Mind from Inspiration | Ajahn Brahm | 2 November 2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWz3LAAj-J0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:03:21 to 1:04:45: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWz3LAAj-J0&t=3801s
- [Why? Is an Important Question to Ask | Ajahn Brahm | 1 January 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3v0vceM7-0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 58:51 to 59:16: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3v0vceM7-0&t=3531s