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Analogy · Ajahn Brahm

Set the exam so most pass and no one gets 100%

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Trauma and Tragedy | Ajahn Brahm | 12-02-2010

1 min read

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

I was a school teacher for one year. And when I was setting examinations and tests I was taught if you're going to set a test you want to sort of make sure that most people get at least sort of 50 percent but no one gets 100 percent. If everyone gets 100% that's a waste of time. That's not a good examination. It's just too easy. You know if too many people fail then you actually, you're getting them dispirited. You know it's too hard. You're trying to set that standard so most people pass but a few people fail a couple of questions. So actually they learn just, you know, their weak points so they can get stronger for the next examination. And that's exactly the same with life. You know, you have been examined many times and if life was too easy, if you never had any trouble or trauma, it would be a total waste of time. You wouldn't learn anything. You have a great time but there will be no, no oomph, no essence, no learning. Nothing which really is there for you to grow with. There'll be no spirituality. It's one of the reasons why in traditional Buddhist dogma you can't get enlightened up in heaven. You don't have enough to test you. It's just too fine, too nice. The same if you have too much difficulty. It's just too much pain. There's just too many sort of wrong answers and you just fail too many times. But in this human realm that you most the time you succeed, but a few times you fail. It's just the right level for learn

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 32:26 (to 33:56)

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

As a trainee teacher, Ajahn Brahm learnt to set tests most pupils pass and nobody aces: too easy teaches nothing, too hard crushes. Human life is pitched like that. Mostly we succeed, sometimes we fail, and the failures teach us. Having known hunger, you can't ignore a hungry person. Let hardship make you kinder.

In brief (our summary)

As a school teacher for one year he was taught to set tests so most students get at least 50% but no one gets 100% — too easy wastes time, too hard dispirits. He maps human life the same way: heaven is too easy for enlightenment; hell too hard; this realm is the right difficulty to grow.

Teaching point

Life's difficulty is pitched so you can learn — not so you never fail, and not so you always do.

When this story may help

  • feeling life is too hard
  • wanting meaning in suffering

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Trauma and Tragedy | Ajahn Brahm | 12-02-2010 · 2010-04-11 · ▶ watch from 32:26 to 33:56 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

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

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