Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The tiger that was a mouse

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Dealing with Fear | Ajahn Brahm | 25 Nov 2016

2 min read

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

so I was meditating in the jungle really dark no lights had a sort of flashlight but it was you know had to conserve the power and there was no mobile phones no one took court if there was any danger there deep in the jungle alone meditating now the jungle can be really peaceful at first especially you know when they see Carters you know start to die down after Sunset you'll be very peaceful and very cool you know Tyler is a very hot country but in the forest the shade of the trees maybe it's just the oxygen which they give up gives a beautiful atmosphere it's really cool and very peaceful and so secluded hardly any disturbances at all so I was getting into some really nice deep meditation until I heard a sound there's always something in the jungle crawling around and so I was mindful as you know I've been practicing this for years I was very mindful I didn't need to open my eyes if I did I couldn't say anything it was pitched dark I just listened and and assessed I was brought up as a scientist in Cambridge University so I did some like assessment gather some data and use some reason and by the sound of this animal it was only just you know not really crushing leaves it was just a little bit of rustling in the leaves so I assessed it and said oh it's only maybe a small little animal just you know walking through the jungle nothing to be afraid of so then I started meditating again but then after another couple of minutes I realized it was coming much closer and as it was closer I could hear it more clearly and I realized no no it's not a small animal it's a medium-sized one you could tell by the way it was actually crashing the leaves and breaking the Twigs but still nothing to be really afraid of and then when it got really close wow that's not a medium-sized one that's a big one because the way it was making a noise it must be something really heavy to actually to break not tweaks but like almost like small branches and crushing the leaves on the forest floor because you can't walk in the forest without any noise there's too much undergrowth and too much leaves litter on the ground this was a big animal that was dangerous and I got really scared and I picked up my flashlight and you know the waste of time for that really was a tiger that just tell you the tiger where you were but that's how stupid you are you pick up your flashlight and you look for it where's the big tiger and then I saw it I saw it just not that far in front of me this tiny Mouse about this big that's what it was and that tiny Mouse had been making us more noise but it was my fear with an exaggerated that sound into thinking it really was a tiger

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 6:35 (to 9:54)

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

Meditating alone in the jungle, Ajahn Brahm heard the footsteps grow from small to heavy and dangerous, grabbed his torch to face the tiger, and found a tiny mouse. Fear turned a mouse into a tiger, even in a Cambridge scientist. When you're frightened, remember how loud mice can sound. Look before you panic.

In brief (our summary)

Meditating alone at night deep in the Thai jungle, Ajahn Brahm hears rustling. As a Cambridge-trained scientist he assesses it: a small animal. As it comes closer: a medium-sized one, breaking twigs. Closer still: something heavy, crushing small branches — dangerous. Terrified, he grabs his torch to find the tiger — and sees a tiny mouse. His fear had magnified its sound into a tiger.

Teaching point

Fear exaggerates; what is a mouse becomes a tiger in the mind.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Dealing with Fear | Ajahn Brahm | 25 Nov 2016 · 2016-11-25 · ▶ watch from 6:35 to 9:54 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'Carters' probably = cicadas; 'Tyler' = Thailand; 'tweaks' = twigs.

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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