Joke · Ajahn Brahm
One sentence every seven years
Content note: well-known joke, no source given
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
This is an old joke about this man who joined a monastery, and as he joined this monastery, was a very strict monastery, where you weren't allowed to speak at all, its absolute silence except after seven years, you are allowed to say one sentence to the abbot, the idea was so he could have some idea of your spiritual progress. So this young man joined this very strict monastery. And after six years, 11 months and 30 days of absolute silence, you can imagine his excitement when the next morning he could say his first sentence to the abbot. So he decided to practice in his cell something wise, you know, to inspire his abbot, something very meaningful something, you know, like one saying you find in a book. And he practices this amazing wise saying, when he went into the abbot's room, his mind went totally blank, you know what it's like, and the words which came out was “the food in this place is terrible”. Now the point was he didn't have another chance to say a word, he'd had his sentence and he'd blown it and he felt so terrible! Now he has to wait another seven years. So 13 years 11 months and 30 days, now he had his second chance to say something, and this time he was more relaxed, you know, spiritual life had done something, he is more in control of himself. So he had a good night's sleep, really relaxed, rested and his wise words he was supposed to say seven years ago, he went to open his mouth and again he forgot and the words which came out he said “you make us work too hard.” Very good, said the abbot, come back in another seven years. He blown at the second time! And of course, after twenty-one years, now he was totally at ease and he went into the Abbot office, he said precisely what he intended to say, his one sentence was this: “can't stand this place any longer, I'm leaving.” And the abbot replied “very good because you've done nothing but complain ever since you came here.”
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 44:41 (to 47:18)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
Allowed one sentence every seven years, a monk complained about the food, then the work, then left; the abbot said he'd done nothing but complain since he came. Whatever we think about people in private comes out of our mouths. Promising to be nice tomorrow won't work. Practise seeing their good qualities today.
In brief (our summary)
In a strict silent monastery a monk may say one sentence to the abbot every seven years. After seven years, the wise words he rehearsed vanish and he blurts: 'The food in this place is terrible.' Seven years later: 'You make us work too hard.' After twenty-one years he says exactly what he planned: 'Can't stand this place any longer, I'm leaving.' The abbot: 'Very good — you've done nothing but complain ever since you came here.'
Teaching point
What you dwell on in private is what comes out of your mouth; cultivate kind thoughts about people when they're not there.
When this story may help
- complaining
- relationships
- workplace
Themes
- speech
- habits of mind
- complaining
- humour
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Why Is It So Hard To Be Kind? | Ajahn Brahm | 05 March 2010 · 2010-04-12 · ▶ watch from 44:41 to 47:18 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
2 other tellings of this story
- Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 25 February 2023 · 2023-02-25 · ▶ watch from 1:01:40 to 1:03:37 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaFeb 2023: seven / fourteen / 21 years; work too hard, food is terrible, then 'I'm leaving' — 'nothing but complain since you came.'
- 2023 April (3/19) | 9 day Retreat | Ajahn Brahm · 2023-04-26 · ▶ watch from 10:08 to 12:04 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaApr 2023: one sentence every seven years; food is terrible, you make us work too hard, then 'I'm leaving' — the abbot: you've done nothing but complain. Used to show that silent inner complaining is what comes out when you finally speak.
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