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Story · Ajahn Brahm

Ajahn Ganha patted the mayor's tummy

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Getting Along with Difficult Family Members | Ajahn Brahm | 18 June 2021

1 min read

Content note: named person

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

Clem Kentish his name was and he came to check us out. Who are these Buddhist monks? He was also our neighbor down the hill at the time and he was the mayor and he basically he ran the council to check us out and he came if you think I'm fat he was probably fatter than me wearing a suit. You know may have to wear suits and I really fel felt for the suit because the the buttons were almost coming off. It was just only just managed to button it up and it was just stretching and the button could pop at any time. But then what happened next really shocked me. This time monk Ajang Ganha saw him first and I was a bit too far away to stop Ajang Ganha and Ajang Ganha went right up to him and started patting him on the tummy. That's okay to pat me on the tummy maybe, but to pat the mayor, [laughter] this Australian guy who was came [snorts] to check us out to make sure that we were legitimate people. And I thought, "Oh no, that's the end of our buildings. He'll never give us approval anymore." But you know what I saw next was just so wonderful. And again, I'm saying it accurately. This man, this really important person is is he got a smile on his face and he was gurgling like a baby. Loved every minute of it. And Ajang Gunha could do that to a he could do that, I don't know, to to Donald Trump, Clive Palmer, he do anyone like that, you know, especially Clive Palmer. He's a bit tummy fat and if he if a gun Yeah. is so much kindness. People love that and it's so much so that you know no problem with our building licenses after that. But what was for me he became a really good friend in the end

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 22:53 (to 25:05)

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

When the local mayor came in a tight suit to inspect the new monastery, Ajahn Ganha walked up and patted his tummy. The mayor gurgled happily, the building permits sailed through, and he became a lifelong friend. Disarming warmth can win over even the gatekeepers. Let kindness lead.

In brief (our summary)

Serpentine mayor Clem Kentish, neighbour and council head, came in a tight suit to vet the monks for building approval. Before Ajahn Brahm could stop him, Ajahn Ganha walked up and patted the mayor's tummy; Clem gurgled like a baby and loved it — licences no longer a problem, and they became friends.

Teaching point

Disarming kindness can win over the person who holds your fate.

When this story may help

  • needing approval
  • authority figures
  • first impressions

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Getting Along with Difficult Family Members | Ajahn Brahm | 18 June 2021 · 2021-06-18 · ▶ watch from 22:53 to 25:05 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'Ajang Ganha'/'Gunha' = Ajahn Ganha.

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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