Joke · Ajahn Brahm

Why did the chewing gum cross the road?

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Give Yourself Peace, Kindness and Forgiveness | Ajahn Brahm | 29 January 2021

1 min read

Why did the piece of chewing gum cross the road? [laughter] Why did the piece of chewing gum... People are already just shaking their heads in disbelief I’m saying this. Why did a piece of chewing gum cross the road? Because it was stuck to the foot of a chicken.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 42:45 (to 43:08)

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

Why did the chewing gum cross the road? It was stuck to the chicken's foot. Ajahn Brahm apologises, then takes it back: he forgives himself every time he tells a joke. That's the real point. If even a jail sentence ends, your guilt can end too. Forgive yourself and let happiness in.

In brief (our summary)

Riddle he promised to try out: why did the piece of chewing gum cross the road? Because it was stuck to the foot of a chicken. ('I forgive myself every time I tell a joke.')

Teaching point

(A bad joke as a lesson in self-forgiveness.)

When this story may help

needing a laugh

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Give Yourself Peace, Kindness and Forgiveness | Ajahn Brahm | 29 January 2021 · 2021-01-29 · ▶ watch from 42:45 to 43:08 · 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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The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)