# Miso soup against the bomb

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-jagaro-miso-soup-nuclear-war
- Themes: fear, humour, world affairs, monastic life
- Life situations: fear of war, anxiety about world events

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

When Ajahn Brahm first came to Perth in the early 1980s, many feared nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union; there were films about it. His predecessor Ajahn Jagaro made sure the two monks drank miso soup every morning, because it supposedly made you more tolerant of radiation. It was quite nice. The war never happened, and the expensive bunkers were never used.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

when I first came to Perth many people thought there was going to be a nuclear war between um I think was it President Reagan and um Soviet Union at the time and there were movies about it and we were told to watch them. At that time my predecessor Ajan Jakaro he made sure that every morning there's only two monks at that time. We had to drink miso soup. You know why? Because apparently miso soup makes you a little bit more tolerant to nuclear radiation. It was actually quite nice but nevertheless that's what we drank it for and it never happened. There was many bunkers built a huge expense which were never used. So that fear came in years ago but it never happened.

## Teaching point

Fears of catastrophe usually don't come true; have some confidence in human beings.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

In the early eighties, when everyone feared nuclear war, Ajahn Jagaro had the monks drink miso soup each morning against radiation. It tasted nice; the war never came, and expensive bunkers sat empty. Today's fears feel different, but often aren't. Have some faith in people, and maybe watch less news.

## Source

- [Emotional Intelligence and Acceptance | Ajahn Brahm | 19 May 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejSaOOQ3VrY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 54:45 to 55:48: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejSaOOQ3VrY&t=3285s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Buddhism and Worldly Events | Ajahn Brahm | 11th March 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbvKfJS-_vo) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:11:34 to 1:12:20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbvKfJS-_vo&t=4294s