Being Mindful Stories

Analogy · Ajahn Brahm

The frog beside the lotus

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Wisdom and Stupidity | Ajahn Brahm | 04-02-2011

1 min read

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

There's an old story, it was about the frog who was so close to the lotus, he could never smell it because he was used to it, and someone came afresh and they could savour the beautiful scent of the lotus because they didn't grow up with it.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 55:55 (to 56:11)

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

The frog that lived beside the lotus never noticed its scent; a visitor smelled it at once. Being close to something can dull our appreciation. Ajahn Brahm's lesson is to respect what really matters, truth and compassion, more than custom. Let people with sore legs point their feet wherever they need.

In brief (our summary)

An old story: a frog living right by the lotus could never smell it because it was used to it; someone coming afresh could savour the scent because they didn't grow up with it. So Westerners, coming to Buddhism without cultural baggage, can see it more clearly.

Teaching point

Familiarity dulls appreciation; come to things afresh.

When this story may help

  • taking things for granted
  • religious tradition

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Wisdom and Stupidity | Ajahn Brahm | 04-02-2011 · 2011-02-05 · ▶ watch from 55:55 to 56:11 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: Manual (volunteer) captions; occasional misspellings kept as is.

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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