# Brown Paper Bob

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Joke
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-joke-brown-paper-bob
- Themes: humour
- Life situations: needing a laugh

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A rider finds a Wild West town deserted: everyone's gone to the hanging of Brown Paper Bob, an eccentric who wears a brown paper bag for a hat, another for a shirt and another for trousers. What's he being hanged for? “Rustling.”

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

it's a story about brown paper Bob this fellow many years ago in United States in the wild west he rode his horse into town and he St to this town and it was deserted there's no one there it's like a ghost town and so he wonder what was going on he managed to see this old man outside inside the saloon and said where is everybody and he said oh they've gone to the hanging of brown paper Bob and this visitor said why did anyone call themselves brown paper Bob he said oh he's a bit of an Ecentric brown paper Bob instead of having a proper cowboy hat he puts a brown paper bag on his head he doesn't have a shirt and a jacket he has a big brown paper bag he he cuts a hold in one side a hold in the other side he puts his arms through that not even any trousers you guessed it another brown paper bag he does wear poer cowboy boots but everything else is brown paper I said well what are you hanging for oh for rustling

## Teaching point

(Even a bad joke is something you can make peace with.)

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

A whole Wild West town turns out to hang a man dressed entirely in paper bags, and the crime, naturally, is rustling. Ajahn Brahm admits it's a groaner. That's the point: you can make peace even with a terrible pun. Imperfect jokes, people and days are what life is made of; enjoy the bits of honey when they come.

## Source

- [The Meaning of Life - Peace of Mind | Ajahn Brahm | 16 Jan 2009](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNiS2OI-bSk) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 46:05 to 47:18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNiS2OI-bSk&t=2765s