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Joke · Ajahn Brahm

Why the bride wears white

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Get Real | Ajahn Brahm | 12-06-2009

1 min read

Content note: sexist joke (wife as domestic appliance) — he flags it himself

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

one of the jokes was now why is it in a marriage that the bride wears white and the groom wears black and the answer is you know this is the answer I've told before it's because why is a symbol of Purity and that's the bride so now you understand why the boy wears black but I heard another another reason why the why the the bride wears white at a at a wedding ceremony and that's because all domestic appliances are white

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 11:43 (to 12:29)

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

Ajahn Brahm teases the groom at weddings, then the bride, and insists he's being fair. The jokes lead somewhere serious. Desire and dislike bend what we see. Couples begin with unreal expectations of each other. Base your relationships on who people really are, and you'll suffer far less.

In brief (our summary)

Wedding joke he tells at ceremonies: why does the bride wear white and the groom black? White is the symbol of purity — so now you understand why the groom wears black. Another answer he heard: because all domestic appliances are white. He says he's being fair — first a dig at the boys, then the girls.

Teaching point

A light joke about how desires and expectations bend what we see in marriage.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Get Real | Ajahn Brahm | 12-06-2009 · 2009-07-07 · ▶ watch from 11:43 to 12:29 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned.

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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