Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The gay leader at Mercy Hospital

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Gay Marriage, Why Not? | by Ajahn Brahm

1 min read

Content note: religious trauma; LGBTQ discrimination

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

I was giving a talk used to be called Mercy Hospital. It's St. An's. What's that hospital called now? It's you know by the river. Is it Mercy? It's Mercy. I think it's called St. An's Hospital before. I was giving a talk and I give a talk you know all over the place. But there's times when you give a talk when somebody comes up to you and they say something which you never forget and I'll keep this to the end of my days. This guy came up to he was maybe in his 60s maybe early 70s. He was getting on and he said to me, he said, "I'm a leader of the gay community." And he said, "Religion has been so harsh on us, so cruel to us over the years." And when he saw that, he just opened his heart to all the pain he'd felt over those years. And that was a catalytic point in my life. He said, "Look, that's not good enough. Anybody, any human being who experiences such pain and discrimination, I will stand up for them. Why not?

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 30:40 (to 31:46)

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

After a hospital talk, an older gay man told Ajahn Brahm how cruelly religion had treated his community. Seeing that pain changed him: anyone suffering such discrimination, he would stand up for. Don't hide behind what the books say. Look at the hurt in front of you, feel what is right, and act on it.

In brief (our summary)

After a talk at what was then Mercy / St Anne's Hospital by the river, a man in his sixties or early seventies, a leader in the gay community, tells Ajahn Brahm that religion has been so harsh and cruel to them. The pain in his words becomes a catalytic point: anyone who suffers such discrimination, he will stand up for.

Teaching point

Felt truth in front of you outweighs book rules; discrimination that hurts people demands a response.

When this story may help

  • facing religious rejection
  • standing up for others

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Gay Marriage, Why Not? | by Ajahn Brahm · 2012-03-21 · ▶ watch from 30:40 to 31:46 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

3 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; words left exactly 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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