Story · Ajahn Brahm
Fridge full, no one came
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
When we first came here to we lived in a little house in Magnolia Street there with Ajahn Chah the two of us and we have a rule that you know, we can't sort of eat food ourselves. It has to be presented to us in the morning time. It's presented the night before the day before that set. We can't eat it. Has to be presented to us that particular day. And it did happen many times. We get up in the morning and no one came. We looked inside the fridge. The fridge was full of food. We were counting down to noon. After we can't eat after noon. 11:00 still no one had come. And you can look inside the fridge and all this food was there. 11:30 still no one had come. 11:55 12:00 no food that day. We used to survive. It's only just fasting for a day. It's no big deal. But that was only in the first few the year or two of being a monk over here.
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 30:39 (to 31:41)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
In the early days in North Perth, a fridge full of food meant nothing unless someone came to offer it, and sometimes no one did. Noon passed, and the monks fasted. No big deal, Ajahn Brahm says. Living on trust taught him people are kind. Trust the world a little more, and it often comes through.
In brief (our summary)
In the first year or two at Magnolia Street, food in the fridge could not be eaten unless presented that day. Sometimes nobody came; they watched the clock to noon with a full fridge and fasted. Ajahn Brahm says fasting a day was no big deal — but it taught trust that someone would feed them.
Teaching point
Monastic life is built on giving trust that the world will care for you.
When this story may help
- uncertainty about support
- new beginnings
Themes
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Trust | Ajahn Brahm | 01-04-2011 · 2011-04-02 · ▶ watch from 30:39 to 31:41 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
1 other telling of this story
- Finding fault or finding beauty | by Ajahn Brahm | 5 June 2015 · 2015-06-08 · ▶ watch from 15:22 to 16:02 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaJun 2015 telling: waiting for offering before noon; late arrivals; hungry often — leads into Kosambi lay people stopping food.
Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'Ajahn Chah the two of us' likely slip for Ajahn Jagaro / Chah tradition.
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