# I'm leaving — but there's only ocean

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-janice-yacht-nowhere-to-leave
- Themes: conflict, marriage, travel, forgiveness, perspective
- Life situations: relationship conflict, wanting to walk out, shared crisis

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Janice and her husband, finishing a mining contract in WA, sold their house, bought a yacht with another couple and sailed for Vancouver. Mid-Pacific the engine failed; the two men argued in the engine room until one packed his bags, put on his best clothes and appeared on deck ready to leave — only ocean in every direction. Embarrassed, he went back to help. They finished as friends.

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

Janice was uh from Canada came with her husband he was working up in the mines somewhere some engineer here on a contract when it finished they had to go back home to Canada the young couple and they were very smart very wise instead of doing what most people would do get an air ticket they decid no no let's sell the little house we have and use the money to buy a boat so they got a yacht idea let's sail to Vancouver in Canada when we get there sell the the yacht we got our deposit for the next house a brilliant idea you have an adventure of a lifetime imagine that my sailing from Perth you know over to the north of Australia and then through the South Seas over to you know maybe up the Atlantic coast eventually up to Vancouver like a journey of a lifetime and on the cheap too because you know you buy the boat you sell it when you get to the other end brilliant idea and of course you know they wrote to us when they arrived safely back in Vancouver but what Janice said in the story you in a letter a brilliant thing happened in the middle of the ocean their engine stored that actually I should have said that Janice and a husband they teamed up with another couple two married couples you know to help on the journey so in the middle of the ocean so the engine store they will be calm they couldn't go anywhere now this was 26 years ago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean you can't call up the RAC you're stuck you have to fix it up for yourself no satellite phones so you're in big trouble but you know they had a good tool kit and they knew what they were doing and so the two guys went into the engine room to sort out the the problem with the engine the two girls apparently were on Deck reading magazines sexist but that was 26 years ago so two guys in the engine room now any of you guys who've ever tried to fix up an engine you know that sometimes as I said in the book it just does not want to be fixed up and they were getting more and more frustrated maybe you haven't tried to fix up an an engine of a boat but maybe you try to fix up your computer and you start swearing that's what these guys did they started swearing cuz they're getting frustrated and frustration led to blaming each other it's your fault stupid and blaming each other soon led to a full on argument and the argument got to such a high level of conflict that one of them threw down their wrench in anger and said right that's it I'm leaving and this actually occurred he was so mad with his rage he went to his cabin he actually changed cleaned up he's all dirty changed into his best clothes packed his bags and appeared on Deck carrying his two suitcases and the two women almost fell off the boat laughing cuz he looked around and there was ocean in all directions as far as you could see there's no place to go so he had only one choice red in the face with embarrassment he turned around went back to his cabin got back changed back into his work clothes back into the engine room to help out and they ended that Voyage as they began the best of friends I love that story CU that's like our world we like a boat in the ocean there's nowhere to go you may think right that's it I'm leaving where you going to go to instead go back into the anent room help your enemy fix up the problem

## Teaching point

On this planet there is nowhere to storm off to; you have to go back and fix the engine together.

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

Mid-Pacific, two friends on a yacht argued over a broken engine until one packed his bags, dressed up, and stepped on deck to leave. Nothing but ocean. Embarrassed, he went back to help, and they finished the voyage friends. Our planet is that boat. Stop blaming. Fix the engine together.

## Source

- [Ending Conflict | Ajahn Brahm | 22-10-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ6R-MeXNuo) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 45:48 to 50:05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZ6R-MeXNuo&t=2748s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Harmony | Ajahn Brahm | 14-11-2008](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFY_AY2dB9s) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 3:14 to 7:20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFY_AY2dB9s&t=194s