No BS — Fremantle jail audience

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• In this jail — no BS

  In brief: On an early prison visit (Bunbury, then Fremantle while it was still open), a prisoner tells the monks they do not care who they are: in…

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  I remember the first time I went to prison I think was I no it was actually down in uh in bunby but I started going to freem manle prison when it was still open and I remember this guy came out to us and you know I was going to sit around a table and talk to him and he said look you know we don't care who you are but in this Jael no you know BS b u l s h i t I'm not I'm still not g enough to say that word but you want know what I mean that's what they said to me because this is a prison there's a sense of honesty in here straightforwardness you tell it how you feel you be honest and we'll listen to you you try and just make up or just be something you're not and just you might as well walk out of here because we won't listen and accept you and I really respected that thank you that's the sort of people I love talking with straightforward is not just going to listen and accept because I'm a monk

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• The cold that vanished mid-talk

  In brief: On his first visit to Canberra, his hosts take Ajahn Brahm everywhere all day in the cold, getting lost, with no rest. By evening he has a…

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  first time I went to Canberra to give a series of talks and to my house they took me all over the place all day and they got lost and it was one of these days no rest and just from early in the morning it was really cold so by the end of the day I had this terrible cold and I was supposed to give a talk public talk in a big Temple advertised all these people came and as soon as I started trying to give a talk every other sentence I'd sneeze and cough and stuff was coming out of my nose ears everywhere it was disgusting so after about 15 minutes there's no way I could give a talk like that so I said let's all meditate so I had half an hour meditation altogether and afterwards I gave this beautiful talk Not a Cough not a sneeze really impressive people saw that wow is that possible he had a cold you know any stuff coming out of your nose you weren't sort of imagining this it's real you meditate you know because I had to sometimes we're lazy don't really do it unless you really want to unless you have to mostly so you'd sit there and just after a while the cold vanish and I gave us lovely fluent talk without any interruptions wow that's interesting this meditation actually works

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• No side entrance — through the public bar

  In brief: Lions Club talk at the back of a Pinjarra pub; he expects a side door for the monk — there is only one way in, straight through the public…

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  pub in Pinjara many years ago. There was I know these little stories about monks just getting into trouble. Not real big trouble, but I was giving a talk at the Lions Club and it was in the back room of a pub. That's where they have these talks. And I thought there'd always be like a side entrance around the back. we can go around the back and said, "No, there's only one way in and out to that room through the bar." And so, so the driver dropped me off at the entrance cuz we're not allowed to drive at the entrance. They went off to do something, pick you up later. And I was outside the pub in my [laughter] Thank you for laugh encouraging in my robes, not knowing what to do next. and he said, "Oh, the horse in the back." And I could actually, it's a straight line. I could see it through the door down the back where that room was. Okay, let's go for it. Very courageous. So, I put my head down. I didn't look to the left, the right, and I just went for it. And I almost almost got there almost like 80% of the way. And then somebody hand on my shoulders, pulled me around. Braum, what you drinking? Do you want a beer?

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• The anti-war rally on Parliament steps

  In brief: Just before an Iraq war, Ajahn Brahm, with Dennis, accepts an invitation to speak on the steps of Western Australia's Parliament House —…

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  I remember that once I did accept an invitation to go to a well I don't know if it's really a political demonstration because n Dennis was there with me that time it was just before the in invasion of Iraq the Iraq War I think it's the first one was the second one I don't know what which one it was I can't remember now so I accepted the invitation to go to the state Parliament House you know on the steps where the where the um demonstrations are and just give a little speech I wasn't trying to be um political I was just trying to be just pacifist and come on you don't need to invade a country there's other ways to solve problems and it's just going to cause huge amounts of of suffering no real suffering afterwards I thought I was Mo I should go there but I was very concerned because as soon as I started talking about you know no we shouldn't send the send the troops into Iraq and all the ORD yeah no troops in Iraq and I had to be very careful because even just one word and people get motivated with like anger and irritation and that was such a dangerous thing to actually to see that happening in giving a talk and actually arousing people's what they thought was righteous indignation justifying anger because you could see just how that could motivate people to violence seeing that was just really dangerous

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