# The Mexican fisherman

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-mexican-fisherman-siesta
- Themes: contentment, wealth, work, simplicity
- Life situations: career ambition, work-life balance, money worries

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

An American business professor on holiday meets a Mexican fisherman unloading his morning catch: enough to feed his family, then lunch, a siesta, playing with his kids, dinner with his wife and guitar with friends. The professor lays out a plan — fish all afternoon, buy bigger boats, a fleet, a cannery, move to LA, float the company, become a millionaire in ten years. 'And then?' asks the fisherman. Then, says the professor, you can retire to a fishing village, fish in the mornings, have lunch with your wife, a siesta, play with your children and go out in the evening. 'Señor, I do that already.'

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

it's a story of the old Mexican fisherman you know there was American who went on vacation to the Caribbean coast and when he was uh just walking around by the shore he saw a fishing boat come in to unload its morning catch and his Mexican fisherman unloaded the catch and this American came up to have a conversation with him said what are you doing seor he told the American I've been out fishing all morning I've got enough fish here to sell to feed my family so now I'm going to go home and have a nice lunch after lunch I'm going to have a sleep a cesta it's good for your health you don't get stressed out if you have a siesta can you have a siesta or you're too busy I'm going to have a cester and after cester I'll be home when my kids come back from school they play with them help them with their homework and in the evening I'm going to have dinner with my wife and maybe you know go to the the canteen or the pub in Mexico having a a couple of tequilas not much and play the guitar with my friends now life is good and that's when the American said sir I am a professor of business studies in a business school in the United States I think I can help you don't be so lazy you are not exploiting this wonderful resource of a fishing boat yeah go home and have lunch but go out in the afternoon you'll catch twice as much fish with the extra profit from twice as much fish you'll be able to buy a much bigger boat with a crew that way you'll soon be able to catch about four or six times as many fish with that extra profit you'll be able to buy a second boat in about four or five years you'll probably have a whole Fleet of boats and then with a whole Fleet of boats you can even make your own caner so you can process the fish it's Downstream processing to make increase your profits and then with that business you can actually uh move the center of your business to Mexico City or even better to LA and then because you own the whole business you can float it on the stock market know sell shares because you're the CEO you can award yourself these amazing obscene salaries and give yourself stock options which means if the stock goes up you can buy if it doesn't you don't need to you can make a millionaire many times over in about 10 years now I'm a professor of business studies that's how it's done and the Mexican fisherman listened very respectfully until the end of this presentation the Mexican fisherman said but Senor what will I do with all those millions of dollars and Professor thought for a few moments he hadn't thought the business plan out that far so he had to think that's all people think about making the few Millions but then what and the professor said well yeah with all that Millions few Millions you know you can retire you know you can retire to you know a nice fishing Village like this buy yourself a small boat just to go out in the morning for fun you'll be able to have lunch with your your wife every day you'll be able to take a siesta afterwards and you always be home to play with your children when they come back from school and you'll be able to go out in the evening with no worries at all Senor I do that already

## Teaching point

Ask what you really want and why; people want to be rich so they can live like a contented poor man.

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

A business professor showed a contented fisherman how ten years of toil could make him a millionaire, so he could retire, fish in the mornings and nap after lunch. 'Señor, I do that already.' People want to be rich so they can live like a happy poor man. Ask what you really want. You may already have it.

## Source

- [Wanting For Nothing | by Ajahn Brahm | 02-10-2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JXoSyx-G-Q) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 41:22 to 45:04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JXoSyx-G-Q&t=2482s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Expanding Your Circle of Compassion | Ajahn Brahm | 08 December 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82YR5zJpcQc) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 9:48 to 10:24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82YR5zJpcQc&t=588s