# Twenty-six sheep — ten die — how many survive?

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Joke
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-joke-twenty-six-sheep-sick
- Themes: humour, listening, riddles
- Life situations: needing a laugh, teaching kids

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Math riddle: 26 sheep in a field, 10 die — how many survive? Not 16 — twenty sick sheep.

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

26 sheep in a field. 10 10 die. How many survive? 16. No, you're no good at math. Sorry, everybody fails this one. 26 sheep in the field, 10 die. How many survive? I'll say it again. Listen carefully. That's an important part of meditation. You got to be really mindful. 20 sick. Just keep my fault. So you can tell that to your math teacher when you go to school. Sick. Yeah, that's what I said. That's why they die. They were sick

## Teaching point

(Listening riddle.)

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

Twenty-six sheep in a field, ten die; how many survive? Twenty, sick. Ajahn Brahm says listen carefully; mindfulness matters. His riddles catch us assuming we know what we heard. Slow down and really listen. It's a fine way to practise awareness, and good fun besides.

## Source

- [Relax the Mind | Ajahn Brahm | 13 June 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_HZAqnmAYM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:04:30 to 1:05:21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_HZAqnmAYM&t=3870s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Why I Became a Monk | Ajahn Brahm | 28 March 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-U28g_SVuc) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 3:35 to 4:08: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-U28g_SVuc&t=215s