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Story · Ajahn Brahm

“There is no problem in the Middle East”

As told by Ajahn Brahm in What to do when everything falls apart | by Ajahn Brahm | 18-05-2012

1 min read

Content note: attribution doubtful (Macmillan was not PM in 1967)

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

the famous story of the Prime Minister of Britain many years ago, Harold Macmillan, who was interviewed during what was known as the six-day war between Israel fighting Jordan, Syria, Egypt and I don’t know who else but a lot of countries. It was called the Six Day War. One of the beginnings of the difficulties in that part of the world and this journalist interviewed the prime minister and the first question was, what is your view about the problem in the Middle East? To which the Prime Minister replied without hesitation. Sir, there is no problem in the Middle East. What do you mean said the journalist, there's the war on as we speak, people are blowing each other up, bullets are flying all over the place people are dying. There's a war on. What do you mean there is no problem in the Middle East? To which this Statesman said very calmly. "Sir, a problem is something with a solution," there's no solution in the Middle East. Therefore it can't be a problem.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 44:13 (to 45:34)

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

Whoever really said it, the line is useful: a problem is something with a solution. If you can do something about a worry, do it wholeheartedly. If you truly can't, it isn't a problem to chew on, and you may set it down. Sorting worries this way frees a lot of energy for what you can change.

In brief (our summary)

Asked during the Six-Day War about 'the problem in the Middle East', a British Prime Minister (Ajahn Brahm says Harold Macmillan) replies there is no problem: “a problem is something with a solution” — and there is no solution, so it can't be a problem.

Teaching point

If there is a solution, give it everything; if there is none, it isn't a problem — stop wasting energy on it.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in What to do when everything falls apart | by Ajahn Brahm | 18-05-2012 · 2012-05-21 · ▶ watch from 44:13 to 45:34 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

2 other tellings of this story

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

  • The 18-hour flight delay

    In brief: Ajahn Brahm's flight to Indonesia is delayed 18 hours; he thanks the desk and goes back to the monastery, while the passengers behind him…

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    And just was it in January, when I was going off to Indonesia to give a series of talks I got to Perth airport and found that the Garuda flight was cancelled. It was actually delayed by about 18 hours. And I was a monk so I just went up to the counter and said, "Oh is it delayed? When is it going to leave? 18 hours. Okay, thank you very much," and I sort-of called the monastery and got a lift back to the monastery. But the people behind me they were thumping the counter - "You can't do this to us! I've got all of these arrangements and plans!" I had arrangements and plans as well - thousands of people were waiting to listen to my talks. But I couldn't do anything about it. And you know all that anger and all that thumping and all that shouting.. it didn't make the plane leave earlier. It didn't do anything good at all except making people upset. Themselves upset, and other people upset.

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  • Fifteen minutes of goodbyes from a brain-tumour coma

    In brief: As reported (Ajahn Brahm recalls) in a Time magazine issue on the mind, a US patient with an aggressive brain tumour lies in a coma for…

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    there was an even better example which was in uh a Time Magazine of all things article on the mind this was the most amazing uh time when the Mind separated from the brain I think it was so we did have a copy of this in our Monastery I think 2009 or 10 or something January Edition Time Magazine the mind but anyway there was a doctor over in the United States was treating a person with brain tumor and it was a very aggressive tumor and he was uh in hospital just waiting for the end in a coma for many days because apparently the brain tumor just grows and takes over the other part of the brain until there's nothing left know for a person to be able to speak all higher brain functions disappear and eventually the last part of the brain is just used for keeping the body alive for doing the the basic functions of breathing and keeping the heart going and the other organs going but as soon there's no capacity left in the brain to do anything and that's when the person dies so the fellow would being UNC ious for a long time and the doctor told him what the prognosis was you go into this coma and never come out again but this person did come out he just again opened his eyes he bent up but this fellow talked to his family for 15 minutes saying their last goodbyes for 15 minutes he was totally clear before he died and the doctor was totally amazed it couldn't have happened but it did because by that time there's nothing left in the brain to perform such functions

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  • The woman who refused to go back

    In brief: A woman who dies on the operating table meets a spirit telling her it isn't her time; she refuses — she's having too good a time — until…

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    there's this one lady who died on the operating table and so she left her body looking at her body over there just a mess so off she went but apparently that she described it as meeting some Spirit and the spirit saying you know it's it's not your time you know you got to go back and she said no way I'm having too good a time I don't want to go back sorry and the spirit said but you have to go back I don't care about that I'm not going you know like people are pretty independent these days and you know you don't actually do what you're told by your parents or by the government or by God or anybody so Spirits you know go and get lost I'm having a good time so that degree of Independence know she didn't want to sort of go anywhere until eventually having this argument you you got to go back no way apparently she described because obviously she did go back that's why she could tell this story this Spirit sort of got hold of her and threw her back into her body and it just had all this aches and pains and heaviness again and she was really pissed off of that spirit I mean really big time so when she gave this interview said now when I die next time of course I would die eventually I'm going to find that guy and I you do know what I'm going to do to that guy what he did to me that's how you described it

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  • Tolstoy's screaming patient falls quiet

    In brief: Ajahn Brahm recalls a Tolstoy story read as a student: a wealthy man in constant pain screams day and night for weeks, no therapy helps,…

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    there was a story of a person quite a wealthy person in his country house who had his sickness and who was uh in to in pain constantly moaning and screaming literally 24 hours a day would not sleep and it was driving all the people in the house crazy imagine you're in a house and there's someone moaning and screaming in pain and there's nothing you can do about it being wealthy they tried to get all sorts of therapists homeopaths allopaths everything but nothing could relieve this person's pain and there were tolto when a beautiful writer was describing the emotions of the people who had to deal with this for many weeks but at the end of the story he mentioned that everything suddenly went quiet in the house but the man hadn't died yet for 5 or 10 minutes he was free of pain clear Lucid before he passed away

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