# How the donkey caught the carrot

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Analogy
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-donkey-and-carrot
- Themes: craving, stillness, meditation, meaning of life
- Life situations: chasing goals, restlessness, meditation struggles, perfectionism

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A stubborn donkey is driven by a carrot dangling on a string from a stick tied to its own back — always two feet ahead however fast it runs: that's your life. But a donkey that has heard the teaching stops. The carrot swings further away — four feet, and doubt arises — then comes back towards it, faster and faster, and at the right moment the donkey says, “The door of my mouth is now open to you, carrot.”

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

It's a story, one of my favourite stories of the donkey and the carrot. Those of you who know the story because you've been on the retreats, it's also in the book of "Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond." You know that donkeys are very stubborn animals, that's why they say in English - as stubborn as a donkey. You hit them with a stick, they won't move. So the only way you get donkeys to move, is you tie the stick to their back, so the front of the stick is about 2 feet, in front of the donkey's head, at the end of the stick you put a string, on the end of the string, a carrot. So there's this donkey, seeing this carrot 2 foot in front of it , craving is what drives the donkey, not fear of punishment. So there the donkey moves forward to try and get the carrot but because this carrot is on the end of the stick, and the stick is tied to the donkey, it doesn't matter how fast the donkey moves forward, the carrot goes at the same speed so it's always 2 foot in front of the donkey's head. But it's stupid enough to think, well, if I run a bit faster I might catch that carrot. You understand the simile - that's called your life [laughter] chasing a carrot. Do you ever get it? Now it's always 2 foot in front, you almost get it, sometimes, just perfection you know, happiness, even deep meditation, it's almost there, and you just go a bit further, and it goes further away from you. But many donkeys have actually heard my talks on YouTube. [laughter] And they now know how to catch the carrot! How to find meaning in life. You know how you do that? The donkey's already been running really fast, and the donkey hears the word, "stop", stop chasing that carrot, "stop" so the donkey stops. You know what happens when you stop? The carrot moves further away than its ever been before. If you've got patience and trust and faith, you've heard Ajahn Brahm, you actually believe he may be on to something, so you stop. And as soon as it's 4 foot away from you, twice as far as it's ever been you get a little bit of doubt, is this going to happen, is it true? But then something amazing happens, the carrot starts coming towards you. And soon it's in its normal position, 2 foot in front of your mouth, but now it's coming at great speed [laughter] towards you, you don't have to do anything, you just sit there, And just at the right moment, you remember the most important phrase, "The door of my mouth is now open to you, carrot" [laughter] And the carrot gets into your own mouth!

## Teaching point

You don't reach peace, meaning or nirvana by chasing; you find it by stopping.

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

The donkey chases a carrot tied to its own back, always two feet ahead. When it finally stops, the carrot swings further away, then comes swinging back, straight into its open mouth. Much of what we chase, peace, meaning, contentment, works the same way. Stop running, bear the moment of doubt, and let it come to you.

## Source

- [Putting Meaning Into Life | Ajahn Brahm | 03-12-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG5IadQxhvE) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 58:40 to 1:01:24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG5IadQxhvE&t=3520s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Buddhism and Rubbish | Ajahn Brahm | 5 February 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9QPTOp-axA) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 59:40 to 1:00:19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9QPTOp-axA&t=3580s
- [The Importance of Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 07 Nov 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:18:44 to 1:21:10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg&t=4724s
- [Expectations Cause Suffering | Ajahn Brahm | 24 June 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z8q_FWbWa8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:00:50 to 1:01:21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z8q_FWbWa8&t=3650s
- [Transcending Negativity of Our World | Ajahn Brahm | 12 April 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8WL9MQss2o) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 51:41 to 52:23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8WL9MQss2o&t=3101s
- [New Year's Eve with Ajahn Brahm | 31 December 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk6GJ499J5k) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 7:16 to 9:18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk6GJ499J5k&t=436s
- [Patience and Renunciation | Ajahn Brahm | 19 January 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TNyHK0hbnA) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 25:39 to 26:08: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TNyHK0hbnA&t=1539s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 5 November 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnvhZM8bIW4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:19:04 to 1:20:24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnvhZM8bIW4&t=4744s
- [Hard Questions To A Soft Teacher (2/2) | Ajahn Brahm & Venerable Canda | 7 November 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Qs6v1orD8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 12:48 to 14:48: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Qs6v1orD8&t=768s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 27 March 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PnoqBpeOOU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:02 to 8:44: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PnoqBpeOOU&t=482s
- [14 Enlightenment - November 2011](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS6WOsnoiwc) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 34:56 to 40:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oS6WOsnoiwc&t=2096s
- [12 Insight Into the Path](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO3bq37SIGY) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 42:26 to 43:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO3bq37SIGY&t=2546s