Being Mindful Stories

Joke · Ajahn Brahm

They lost the plot (Guildford Cemetery)

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Stress - Overreaction to Life | Ajahn Brahm | 9 March 2018

1 min read

Content note: death humour

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

I know you don't heard the joke about you know the funeral Directors, you know who couldn't find the gravesite They lost the plot For that actually happened to me once I think in Guildford Cemetery and As we're doing the procession from the gates and when they were going and just now we're going in the front end and the hearse was following myself and the funeral director and the northern mourners behind and they Were going and I said, no. This is a long way. He said you know. I don't know where it is And we looked over there maybe about 300 meters away and that people were waving at us there's over here

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 1:04:51 (to 1:05:34)

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

Even a funeral director can lose his way in a cemetery, with the hearse and all the mourners following on behind. Ajahn Brahm tells it with a grin, not a frown. Solemn days still have their muddles. When you take a wrong turn in front of everyone, look up for the people waving, and laugh with them.

In brief (our summary)

After the joke about funeral directors who 'lost the plot', Ajahn Brahm recalls it really happening at Guildford Cemetery: walking ahead of the hearse, the funeral director admits he doesn't know where the grave is, until mourners 300 metres away wave them over.

Teaching point

Mistakes at solemn moments are part of life; laughing at them frees us.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Stress - Overreaction to Life | Ajahn Brahm | 9 March 2018 · 2018-03-18 · ▶ watch from 1:04:51 to 1:05:34 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: Captions are unpunctuated with many mis-hearings although TubeAlfred marks them non-auto; words left as captioned.

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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