# Seeing his monastery through a visitor's eyes

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-monday-morning-visitor-eyes
- Themes: doing nothing, acceptance, fault-finding, rest, burnout
- Life situations: overwork, workaholism, perfectionism, running an organisation

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

When Ajahn Jagaro disrobes, Ajahn Brahm is left running Bodhinyana: building and abbot's work all week, teaching in Perth all weekend. He even grows jealous of relaxed visitors. So he resolves to make Monday mornings 'doing nothing' mornings, walking round the monastery not looking for jobs, letters or calls, but seeing it as a visitor would. It is hard at first — but he finds the monastery is beautiful, and wonders why he kept wanting to change it.

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

That was one of the reasons why another little anecdote, the former abbot of Bodhinyana monastery, Ajahn Jagaro, he was a great monk. When he disrobed, and I was left looking after the monastery, again, I would work very hard cause I had all my ideas I'd like to do for that monastery, I worked very hard. So from Monday to Friday, I'd work like a dog for that monastery, building and looking after the place and being abbot at the same time. Many of those buildings there, I did, built myself, made the bricks, Dennis knows that, he's seen me down there, he's our President, and then on the weekend, I'd come here, Friday, give the talk, Saturday, Sunday, just counsel people, talk with people, do ceremonies, so go back late Sunday evening, Monday morning, back to work again. It was 7 days a week and because of that sort-of I could never enjoy that monastery. So much so, I thought, when people came, you know you come sort-of to visit the monastery to bring danna, you're all relaxed. Because you relaxes it's your day off and you come to the monastery to feed the monks or to feed the nuns and have a peaceful time maybe go to the meditation hall, do a bit of meditation, have a walk around, to relax and I got jealous of you. And so you come to that monastery and you're relaxed and I've got all these jobs to do. I've got to talk to you, I've got to fix things up, And I realised that there's something wrong with my life. My life was always getting things done and doing things. So I remember just seeing that having enough space just to look back and seeing the mistakes that I was making in my life. I made this resolution, every Monday morning when I, Sunday, Saturday, Sunday just working here, Monday morning, I'd go back to that monastery and that'll be a doing nothing morning. And I'd walk around that monastery, not looking for the things which needed to be fixed up, not looking for the letters which needed to be written, not looking for the telephone calls which I had to make, no, this was not my work time. So I wanted to see that monastery with the same eyes that a visitor on holiday could see that monastery. That was a hard thing to do, but you learnt how to do that. Cause when you go there, you can't see all the things which need to be done. It's not your monastery. So I did that and found, wow, that's how I can be free. Not with the fault finding mind, but the opposite, a mind of compassion, which can accept things as they are and see the value in things as they are. To realise, not everything every moment needs to be fixed up. It does not need to be changed, you don't need to make it better you don't need, to sort of, push it forward, leave it as it is, for goodness sake! And at first it was a tough thing to do, to leave things as they are, because you think, that's being lazy. Our society, it creates depression and anxiety because we don't allow people to be lazy. I want to create a Lazy People Society. So lazy people's rights, so you have right to be lazy, at least one day of a week or one morning of a week. So you can actually sit and actually do nothing and have permission to do nothing. If you really want to I'll give you a certificate. Ajahn Brahm hereby gives you permission to do nothing one morning a week. You can show it to your partner, I've got permission, so [laughter]. Cause if we don't do that, you're not enjoying anything in life. I could not enjoy the place which I lived, cause it was also a work place for me. I couldn't even enjoy my body, because I always had to wash it, take it to toilet, do something with it. I could never enjoy my life, cause it was always something to improve. You're missing out on the meaning of life, when you're so active in doing things, making things better. So I left it alone, you know what I found on those Monday mornings? That monastery was beautiful, why did I keep wanting to change it?

## Teaching point

Not everything needs fixing; drop the fault-finding mind and see things as they are — 'I am good enough.'

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

Running a monastery, building it by hand and teaching all weekend, Ajahn Brahm grew jealous of relaxed visitors. So he gave himself Monday mornings off: no jobs, no letters, just walking round as a guest would. The place turned out to be beautiful. Try one unhurried hour without improving anything, and see what looks good enough already.

## Source

- [Putting Meaning Into Life | Ajahn Brahm | 03-12-2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG5IadQxhvE) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 43:20 to 47:59: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG5IadQxhvE&t=2600s

Other tellings of this story:

- [I Don't Own My Past | by Ajahn Brahm | 03 May 2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcSaCfuH-GU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 34:54 to 36:28: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcSaCfuH-GU&t=2094s
- [Does Life Suck? | Ajahn Brahm | 1-05-2009](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSIEN0pZkxE) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 57:07 to 58:21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSIEN0pZkxE&t=3427s
- [The Power of Mindfulness & Compassion | by Ajahn Brahm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkKF9fWXHmY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 41:24 to 43:53: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkKF9fWXHmY&t=2484s
- [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 29:54 to 31:48: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JXoSyx-G-Q&t=1794s
- [2. Letting Go in Meditation - Ajahn Brahm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk3jZskZU6c) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 12:50 to 14:43: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk3jZskZU6c&t=770s
- [Ownership and Anger| Ajahn Brahm | 14 February 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adpMTYPFELs) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 7:04 to 8:47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adpMTYPFELs&t=424s
- [Is religion no better than Prozac? | Ajahn Brahm | 06-06-2014](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPhlS0bllPU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 29:14 to 30:03: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPhlS0bllPU&t=1754s