Being Mindful Stories

Joke · Ajahn Brahm

No bad hair days

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Buddhism and Sects | Ajahn Brahm | 01-06-2007

1 min read

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

I hated going to hairdressers when I was a kid. They would never get it right. [audience laughing] Finally, you shave your head and it's right. As a monk or a nun you never have a 'bad hair day' ever again.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 1:01:19 (to 1:01:32)

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

Haircuts as a boy were never right, Ajahn Brahm grumbles; shave your head and they always are. Monks and nuns never have a bad hair day. No comb, no brush, just a quick wash under the shower. There's a small freedom in caring less about appearances. Fewer things to fuss over means more room to be happy.

In brief (our summary)

He hated hairdressers as a kid — they never got it right. Shave your head and it's always right: monks and nuns never have a bad hair day.

Teaching point

(Joke.)

When this story may help

  • appearance worries

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Buddhism and Sects | Ajahn Brahm | 01-06-2007 · 2007-06-05 · ▶ watch from 1:01:19 to 1:01:32 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

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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