# The lawyer who tried to take it with him

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Joke
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-joke-lawyer-money-in-attic
- Themes: attachment, wealth, death, humour
- Life situations: attachment to money, facing death, greed

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A dying rich lawyer, sure he can find a loophole, has his wife stash suitcases of cash in the attic above his bed so he can grab them on his way up to heaven. After the funeral she finds the bags untouched: “If he'd asked me, I'd have put them in the room below him.”

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

This really wealthy lawyer, you know, he thought he was smart. He made a lot of money. And when he got very sick and the doctor said he only had a few weeks to live, he thought, "How can I take it with me? Just because other people say you can't take it with you, I'm a lawyer. I can find loopholes so I can take it with me. So he's looking for the loophole so he could take it with him afterwards. He worked so hard to get all that money and so laying in bed having nothing else to do but think he had this brilliant idea. He told his wife he said go to the bank with my two suitcases which I usually go overseas with big suitcases. go to the bank and draw out as much money as you can from my bank account in cash. I think the biggest note is euro note, isn't it? A€,000 euro note is,000 euro notes so I can get as much money in my bags as possible. And once you brought the suitcases back, stash with millions in cash, put them in the attic just above my bed. Because my plan is when I die and I go up to heaven, I can grab the bags on my way up and take them with me. That's my plan. So the wife now, it's a waste of time arguing with husbands, especially if he's a lawyer. a waste of time. So she said, "Okay, I'll do that." So she went to the bank, got all the money out, and put them in the attic above her husband's bed, just on either side of the bed. So he went straight up. He could actually grab them. Not too far to the left, not too far to the right. She got it perfect. And a couple of days later, he died. And after doing the ceremonies for him, she went up to the attic for the first time. And of course, the bags were still there full of cash. I say, "Stupid old guy. If he'd have asked me, I'd have put the bags in the room below him cuz I know where he's gone.

## Teaching point

You can't take it with you — not even if you're a lawyer.

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

The rich lawyer thought he'd found a loophole: stash the cash in the attic and grab it on the way up. His wife's verdict is the punchline. Whatever we pile up stays behind. Work hard when it's time to work, enjoy what you have, and learn to let go and rest long before anyone has to clear out the attic.

## Source

- [When to attach and when to let go? | by Ajahn Brahm | 17 March 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_3coMDunIM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 13:06 to 15:20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_3coMDunIM&t=786s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Ajahn Brahm's 71st Birthday Party | 6 August 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzp9iUJ7VUk) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 6:06 to 7:46: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzp9iUJ7VUk&t=366s