Joke · Ajahn Brahm

Most humble monk in the Guinness Book

1 min read

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

I mentioned a few years ago that I'm going to write off to the Guinness Book of Records to be the most humble monk in the world. [laughter] I love little oxymorons like that. You know, you can't sort of But anyway, it's like feeling comfortable. And that's actually what we really do in a retreat

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 5:37 (to 6:04)

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

Ajahn Brahm jokes he'll apply to Guinness World Records as the most humble monk alive. A retreat isn't about attaining anything, he says, but about learning to stop improving yourself. A tree doesn't compete with its neighbour; it grows naturally. And his favourite flower? The only one he isn't allergic to: cauliflower.

In brief (our summary)

He jokes about writing to Guinness to be listed as the most humble monk in the world — an oxymoron he loves.

Teaching point

Even humility can chase a record.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in You're Good Enough | Ajahn Brahm | 3 July 2020 · 2020-07-04 · ▶ watch from 5:37 to 6:04 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; words left exactly as captioned.

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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