Being Mindful Stories

Joke · Ajahn Brahm

The 86-year-old who pleaded guilty

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Unresolved Issues | Ajahn Brahm | 04-04-2014

1 min read

Content note: rape joke — complaint received; do not use in app without review

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

two 80 year old men and they always met every now and then in the park and they'd tell a few stories. You know, solve the problems of the world, feed the pigeons. and they became close friends and one day one of the men never turned up. His other mate, friend got very concerned that his mate never turned up. They both thought, "He's old, in his late 80s, he could get a cold or flu or something, but when he never turned up for a whole month, his friend thought he may have died. So, you can imagine just how relieved he felt when his friend turned up after one month. And he said, "I was so worried about you, I thought you died. Whatever happened to you?" And this guy said, "Well, actually I went to prison." He said, "How old are you?" He said, "I'm 89. I spent 30 days in prison." "How on earth did you end up in prison? He said, "Well, you know that beautiful young girl who serves us coffee in the cafe sometimes? She accused me of rape and when I went to court, I was so flattered, I pleaded guilty

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 18:44 (to 19:52)

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

Ajahn Brahm told a joke that some listeners found offensive. Afterwards he wondered whether he should have told it. But you can't 'if' the past, he says. It's done; acknowledge it and let it go. The future can't be 'if-ed' either. What you can do is meet whatever comes with a wise, kind mind, and learn from feedback.

In brief (our summary)

Two old men meet in the park for lunch every day. The 86-year-old disappears for a month; when he returns he says he's been in jail. The girl who serves their coffee accused him of rape, and when the judge read out the charge he was so flattered at 86 that he pleaded guilty. The judge gave him 30 days for lying in court.

Teaching point

Recalled to discuss why some listeners take offence.

When this story may help

  • being offended

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Unresolved Issues | Ajahn Brahm | 04-04-2014 · 2014-04-08 · ▶ watch from 18:44 to 19:52 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

2 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: Manual (volunteer) captions; occasional misspellings kept as is.

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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