Joke · Ajahn Brahm

I lied about my age — I told her I was 90

1 min read

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

70 years of age, and he married this very you know, he's quite wealthy, and he married this very, very young woman. And his friend said, "How did you get to marry her? Did you lie about your age?" He said, "Yeah, I lied about my age. I told her I was 90

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 13:25 (to 13:43)

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

A wealthy seventy-year-old married a very young woman. His friend asked whether he'd lied about his age. Yes, he'd said he was ninety. Ajahn Brahm explains the joke for online viewers and insists there's no meanness in it. Laughing kindly at life's silliness brings joy, and a monk with just a cave and a bat needs his joy.

In brief (our summary)

Seventy-year-old marries a young woman; friend asks if he lied about his age — yes: he said he was ninety.

Teaching point

Sometimes the flattering lie is in the other direction.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Importance of Having Fun and Joy | Ajahn Brahm | 15 May 2020 · 2020-05-15 · ▶ watch from 13:25 to 13:43 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; 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

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