# The matchbox on the head

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-matchbox-on-head-sleepiness
- Themes: sleepiness, meditation, letting go, humour
- Life situations: drowsiness in meditation, exhaustion

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A malnourished young monk in steamy north-east Thailand — sticky rice with a boiled frog, under four and a half hours' sleep, up at 3 a.m. — is always sleepy in meditation. Effort fails, so he balances a matchbox tray on his head: if he nods it will fall. Within days it never falls in an hour — until a monk tells him he's still asleep, just nodding forwards and backwards instead of down. So he lets go, accepts the dullness kindly, and like the sun burning off mist his energy returns, his back straightens and he is peaceful.

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

when I became a monk who was in the jungles of Northeast Thailand I was malnourished one meal a day sticky rice I was a vegetarian I sometimes sticky rice and a frog on top that's all we had sweet yeah for a boiled frog no garlic no sauce notice abortive glutinous sticky rice with a fork on top that was all the villagers had in fact they gave us the best Fox it was disgusting but I was malnourished and in the morning we would get up but we only supposed to meditate to sleep for hours and nights I could never get below four and a half so three o'clock in the morning will be up in the hall to meditate steamy jungles I was made in England I was not used to such hot weather such sticky weather malnourished not enough sleep of course I was sleepy so I had the tricks what we tried to do first of all no use effort didn't work so then I tried a matchbox you take the cover off the matchbox you put the tray on your head because it means if you start nodding you see the matchbox fall on the ground you'd hear it only about three or four days I'd overcome my slot and talker I could put the matchbox on my head for one hour meditate in the morning it never fell off at all amazing until one of my monks took me aside and said this is why the matchbox is not falling off you're still sleepy but instead of doing this you're doing this their mind is so sneaky and tricky so after a while I started contemplating look made in England I'm not used to that climate are not enough sleep not enough our food it's natural so I decided to let go when I let go there's not much energy in my mind so you are dull but you knew you adult and little by little just like when the Sun comes up in the morning and it had evaporates all the mists that burns off the mist because I wasn't wasting energy fighting my sleepiness but just letting it be being kind to it opening the door of my heartless my energy started coming back again him my back straightened up my head lifted up naturally and I was peaceful

## Teaching point

Fighting sleepiness prolongs it; be kind to it and energy returns.

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

Exhausted and underfed, the young monk balanced a matchbox on his head to stay awake, and learned to nod off without dropping it. Only when he stopped fighting and was kind to the dullness did his energy return. Tiredness is a message, not a failing. Rest when you're tired, and the clarity will come back.

## Source

- [The Importance of Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 07 Nov 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:25:49 to 1:28:55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDoKJJdevvg&t=5149s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Learn to Not Blame Yourself | Ajahn Brahm | 25 May 2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNBuRBzCJrY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 22:59 to 26:18: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNBuRBzCJrY&t=1379s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 11 June 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb1CkyG2Pok) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 15:30 to 16:02: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb1CkyG2Pok&t=930s