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Story · Ajahn Brahm

A monk costs less than a dog

As told by Ajahn Brahm in How to deal with rejection and lack of self-worth | Ajahn Brahm | 30-01-2015

1 min read

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

when the monks in this tradition first went to England, the people there were a bit concerned, I mean, can we... this was in the early days when there wasn't so many supporters. Now, can we afford to look after a monk? You know, how much does it cost to look after a monk and there was this guy he was, he became the head of this trust, which looked after our monastery in England. He was an economist, and he was actually on the board of the Bank of England. He was a professor at one of the universities in England. So you know, he really knew his stuff about economics, so he decided to work out before they invited any monks to their place. How much does it cost to look after a monk? And surprise, surprise, he found out that it's much cheaper to look after a monk or a nun than to look after a dog. Dogs are far more expensive.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 15:41 (to 16:48)

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

An economist on the board of the Bank of England worked out that a monk costs less to keep than a dog, and Ajahn Brahm happily runs with it. Little huts, one bowl, walks on alms round, and tails wagging if they had them. Happiness needs surprisingly little. A simple life, one good meal and friendly company go a long way.

In brief (our summary)

When monks of the tradition first went to England, supporters worried whether they could afford one. The head of the trust, an economist on the board of the Bank of England, calculated the cost — and found a monk or nun is much cheaper to keep than a dog.

Teaching point

(Lead-in to a joke comparing monks and dogs — huts, bowls, walks, wagging tails — and the unconditional love dogs give.)

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in How to deal with rejection and lack of self-worth | Ajahn Brahm | 30-01-2015 · 2015-02-01 · ▶ watch from 15:41 to 16:48 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

2 other tellings of this story

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

  • Sleeping on a door with a hole in it

    In brief: In the first days of Bodhinyana Monastery the two monks sleep on doors propped on bricks; the senior monk gets the flat one, Ajahn Brahm…

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    when I first went to that monastery, the first night I was there, we had a door which I slept on. It was three bricks in each corner and a door. We only had two doors in that monastery. So we didn't sleep on the floor because there's lots of insects and animals that go biting you at night. It was this time of the year, just in January, hot and I was on the door. We only had two doors. Because I was the second monk, because of hierarchy, the senior monk got the flat door. I got the ones with the ribs on it, these houses had the ribs on the door. It's true, I'm not making it up, so I had ribs on the door. I was fortunate, there was one of the doors which the doorknob was actually in the centre of the door, rather than on the edge. So there was a big hole in the middle of the door. And being a positive thinker, I thought, well that's actually very good because that means I don't need to get up out of bed to go to the toilet. It's very, very good. I don't know why they don't make other beds like that, with a hole in the centre, a bucket underneath. You know what it's like getting these hot days or cold days, getting out of bed to go to the toilet.

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • “What day of the week is it?”

    In brief: As a forest monk he lived without calendars or clocks and sometimes didn't know the month or year. In the first months in Perth, at the…

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    but then the first few months when i came to perth we were staying in a small house in north perth you know lynn knows that she was there at the time and even erica you know you went there there was she's around here somewhere and uh there was a nepalese man who came to visit he had a um you know buddhist background and he had an epileptic epileptic fit just in front of the house so he called the ambulance and then uh first thing the ambulance guy said to him is what day of the week is it and why do you ask that so what if you don't know what day of the week it is they take you away straight away so oh my goodness if you ask me i'd be in big trouble so from that time on i realized i better always at least know what day of the week is

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • First night at Bodhinyana, under a tree

    In brief: On his first night at the Serpentine land that became Bodhinyana, Ajahn Brahm's bed was an old door — but he couldn't find it. The…

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    I literally spent the first night at that place under a tree on the ground I did have a a bed to sleep on which was just an old door but I couldn't find it the batteries in my torch gave out I was wandering around an hour and after hour not finding where I was supposed to be sleeping there was a blanket there and a pillow so I just found the nearest tree and slept underneath it at night that was my first time at a monastery at Bodin Monastery in Serpentine it was really cold but he could sleep it was okay it was a bit of fun really

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • “Is this heavy?” — Ajahn Chah and the stick

    In brief: Walking back from alms round, Ajahn Chah picks up a stick and asks the young Ajahn Brahm whether it is heavy, then throws it away: it is…

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    The first way of letting go, it was starting off with an old experience with my teacher Ajahn Chah, a long time ago, we were walking back from alms round and a great teacher, they always find an opportunity to, sort of you know, give you some teaching, but not these teachings with so many words and big concepts just simple down-to-earth teachings which once you hear, you think "Crikey, that's really good," and you remember it, and it changes much of your life. What he did on this occasion walking back, he picked up this stick, there's forest all over the place, picked up a stick, turned around and says "Brahmavamso, is this heavy?" Is this heavy? [throws stick away] Not now. I was very careful, I didn't throw that too far, wonder what it's gonna bust. It's only heavy when you hold it. But if you let it go it's got no weight at all. Profound, simple, and unforgettable.

    Open story page·Watch this telling

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