# Tickets sold faster than Lady Gaga's

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-more-famous-than-lady-gaga
- Themes: humour, fame, Indonesia, talks
- Life situations: needing a laugh, public teaching

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

In Medan, Indonesia, about 3–4,000 cheap tickets for Ajahn Brahm's talk sold out in ~30 minutes the same weekend Lady Gaga's Jakarta concert sold out in 40 — so they teased that he was more famous than Lady Gaga.

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

Lady Gaga was uh selling tickets for a concert of hers over in Jakarta and her ticket sold out in 40 minutes. Mine is 30 minutes. So that's when they said ajam bra you are more famous than lady gaga

## Teaching point

(Humorous fame anecdote; the point is uplift, not celebrity.)

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

Tickets for Ajahn Brahm's talk in Medan sold out faster than Lady Gaga's concert that weekend, so friends teased him that he was more famous. Then came the obvious question: can he sing? He laughs it off. Fame is fun to joke about. What matters is whether people leave lighter and kinder.

## Source

- [Relax the Mind | Ajahn Brahm | 13 June 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_HZAqnmAYM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:26 to 1:55: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_HZAqnmAYM&t=86s

Other tellings of this story:

- [70% not 100% | Ajahn Brahm | 1 Apr 2012](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6k6DMp1TxQ) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 0:23 to 1:15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6k6DMp1TxQ&t=23s