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Story · Ajahn Brahm

One Heinz baked bean after the retreat

As told by Ajahn Brahm in The Art Of Disappearing Retreat : Day 1 - Ajahn Brahm : Opening Talk & Meditation | 13 November 22

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

after the retreat was finished I had my breakfast the first breakfast and during that breakfast I just was a baked bean baked beans were given for breakfast they had baked beans this morning and when I bought I just put one baked bead just one a single one on a spoon and put it in my mouth I'm not exaggerating that was amazing it was a taste sensation I didn't know who would cook that baked bean was it one of these celebrity chefs who just made it just the most delicious single baked bean I've ever eaten in my life and I asked the cooks in my Monastery hook up there oh just out of the tin a tin of baked beans Mr Heinz or something but because my mindfulness had increased enormously that bait being tested so amazing

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 19:45 (to 20:53)

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

After a long retreat, Ajahn Brahm put a single baked bean on his spoon and was astonished. Which celebrity chef made this? Just a tin of Heinz, the cooks said. His mindfulness had grown, so the ordinary became a feast. Tea, sunsets, everything shines. Don't be afraid of that joy. It's free happiness, once you learn to switch it on.

In brief (our summary)

After a long retreat, breakfast is baked beans from a tin. Ajahn Brahm puts a single bean on the spoon — taste sensation so amazing he asks who the celebrity chef was. Cooks: just Heinz from a tin. Heightened mindfulness made one ordinary bean extraordinary.

Teaching point

Mindfulness turns the ordinary into a feast; the reward of practice is often the next bite.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in The Art Of Disappearing Retreat : Day 1 - Ajahn Brahm : Opening Talk & Meditation | 13 November 22 · 2022-12-14 · ▶ watch from 19:45 to 20:53 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

2 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'baked bead'/'bait being' = baked bean.

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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