# Joke: everything hurts

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Joke
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-joke-broken-finger
- Themes: pain, perception, humour
- Life situations: chronic pain, seeing problems everywhere

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A man tells the doctor his whole body hurts: he touches his head, it hurts; his nose, his mouth, his belly, his elbow, his knees, his feet — all hurt. 'I know your problem,' says the doctor. 'You've got a broken finger.'

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

There was a person who who went to the doctor. And he said, "What's wrong?" And he said, "My whole body hurts. My whole body's in pain." "What do you mean?" said the doctor. "Well, I touch my head, that hurts. Touch my nose, my nose hurts That hurts. I touch my mouth, that hurts. I touch my belly. My belly's down here, sorry. I touch my belly Belly that Touch my elbow, that hurts. Touch my knees, that hurts. Touch my feet, that hurts." "Well, I know your problem. You've got a broken finger."

## Teaching point

What are you watching with? Often the pain is in how we look and touch, not in everything we touch.

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

A man complained that everything hurt, his head, belly and knees, until the doctor found he had a broken finger. Sometimes the problem isn't everything we touch, but how we're touching it. With pain and difficulty, look at how you're watching. Pain is often the body asking for care, not a fight.

## Source

- [How Do We Deal with Deeper Suffering | Ajahn Brahm | 5 June 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFqMQgo36tw) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 15:29 to 16:07: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFqMQgo36tw&t=929s