# Bare midriffs in a Melbourne winter

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-melbourne-winter-midriff-fashion
- Themes: fashion, simplicity, suffering, humour
- Life situations: peer pressure, wanting to fit in

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Giving talks in Melbourne in winter, Ajahn Brahm sees the fashion for halter tops and low-slung jeans leaving about six inches of bare midriff in the cold; he swears some girls' skin had turned blue. Suffering for fashion, he says, is crazy — especially if the point is only to attract a partner.

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

and I always also remember the time I was in Melbourne once don't worry about Fashions you know just do what you want to do because I remember going to Melbourne during the winter time giving a series of talks there and going from one place to another looking through the window I saw there was a fashion of these halter tops you know these low slung jeans or skirts and just you know High um jumpers or whatever leaving the whole midriff you know about 6 Ines of bare flesh in the cold me Melbourne winter and I swear I saw a few girls it was blue those poor women they were suffering so much because of fashion what what do you do that for you attra attract a guy do you really need a guy you get freezing to get a guy there's other ways so in the end sort of you know live simply

## Teaching point

Fashion that makes you suffer is not worth the attention it buys.

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

In a Melbourne winter, Ajahn Brahm saw young women in crop tops, bare midriffs turning blue, all for fashion. Why suffer like that? Chasing more never ends; there's always another promotion and never enough. Live simply and enjoy today. Visit your old mum now, not tomorrow.

## Source

- [Problems and Solutions | Ajahn Brahm | 30 Oct 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivjWh2yuumk) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 31:42 to 32:55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivjWh2yuumk&t=1902s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Entanglement | Ajahn Brahm | 17 March 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFCyORlZP4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 19:02 to 19:28: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFCyORlZP4&t=1142s