# He didn't have a leg to stand on

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Joke
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-joke-no-leg-to-stand-on
- Themes: humour, hospital
- Life situations: cheering up patients, needing a laugh

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A motorcyclist's wrong leg is amputated; they take the other too. He sues and loses — he didn't have a leg to stand on.

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

About the one... I think I told a few people. It is from Indonesia or Hong Kong. It's about that guy who went to hospital because he had an accident on a motorbike And they had to amputate his leg. Unfortunately it does happens; it happens here as well sometimes they amputate the wrong leg! Have you been in a hospital... actually even in these days high-tech hospitals like we have in Australia they actually write on there "this one" (Ajahn pointing) So they know which one they're supposed to be operating on. As soon as they realised their mistake they had to go into the surgery and get the other one cut off as well. And of course once he recovered the first thing he did was hire a lawyer and sue the hospital. But he lost his case. He lost his case, he didn't have a leg to stand on

## Teaching point

(Hospital joke.)

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

A hospital removed the wrong leg, then the other; the man sued and lost, because he didn't have a leg to stand on. Ajahn Brahm tells it to patients, who laugh until it hurts less. You can't change the world, but you can change how you see it. Add fun and kindness to pain instead of more negativity.

## Source

- [How to deal with chronic pain | Ajahn Brahm | 04-07-2014](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As9jmZBCUWU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 38:20 to 39:14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As9jmZBCUWU&t=2300s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Grant Yourself a Moment of Peace | Ajahn Brahm | 11 April 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZvNc4BpW_Q) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 12:51 to 13:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZvNc4BpW_Q&t=771s
- [Importance of Being Able to Ask Questions | Ajahn Brahm | 11 January 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0lzUMdwFEs) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 59:58 to 1:00:44: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0lzUMdwFEs&t=3598s
- [How to Deal with Blame | Ajahn Brahm | 6 December 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgqytieFvqI) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 10:29 to 10:58: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgqytieFvqI&t=629s