# The runny nose before live TV

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-korea-tv-runny-nose
- Themes: kindness, body, meditation, public speaking
- Life situations: illness before a performance, public appearances

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

In Korea, at −15°C with snow everywhere, Ajahn Brahm wakes with a cold and a dripping nose — and has half an hour before a live interview on South Korean TV, where a running nose just isn't done. He sits and meditates on his irritated sinuses, not forcing them to stop but being kind to them, like his mother kissing a wound: “everything will be okay.” It works.

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

what happened in career a couple of years ago having a a cold woke up in the morning as -15° snow everywhere and my nose was dripping you know no snot I don't know what the correct word for it is but that's how I grew up with that just with the stuff in your nose so nasal fluid mucus whatever you call it to be polite so all this stuff was coming out of my nose and only had one half an hour and I was going on live TV for an interview in NKT that was South Korean TV and it's very it's so basically not done to go on TV we're stuff coming out of your nose so I had half an hour so what did I do sit down meditate focus on the irritable sinuses focus on them not force the scientist spinal fluid to stop but just be kind to it opening the door of my heart to this irritating we really like my imagining my mother kissing a wound to just a real eye sit let it be be kind be compassionate there knows everything will be okay and it works

## Teaching point

Mindfulness with kindness relaxes the body's overreaction; he has used it often to perform in public.

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

Half an hour before live Korean television, with a streaming cold, Ajahn Brahm meditated on his sinuses kindly, the way his mother used to kiss a scraped knee, and the dripping stopped. That is his experience, not a remedy. But fighting an irritated body often makes it worse; gentle attention can help it settle.

## Source

- [The Importance of Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 07 Nov 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 20:45 to 22:15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg&t=1245s