Joke · Ajahn Brahm

What do people drink in England? Grey tea

1 min read

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

everything is gray and you know the punchline of this joke what do people drink in England oh Gray tea it's all gray no wonder people get depressed and it is a depressing time of the year can I remember that and that's why you know they say the British have got a stiff upper lip that's not voluntary it's just Frozen

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 3:41 (to 4:11)

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

English winters: grey sky, grey streets, grey coats. What do they drink? Grey tea. That stiff upper lip, Ajahn Brahm jokes, isn't voluntary; it's frozen. Even Thai forest monks lost energy in that drizzle. Dark seasons weigh on everyone. Be gentle with yourself and others when the light is low.

In brief (our summary)

Winter England gag: sky, buildings, coats all grey — punchline grey tea; stiff upper lip is just frozen weather.

Teaching point

Sometimes the national character is just the climate with a reputation.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Interconnectedness | Ajahn Brahm | 29-06-2007 · 2007-07-05 · ▶ watch from 3:41 to 4:11 · 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

All stories·Find a story for your situation