Story · Ajahn Brahm

“Monastery” — a word from his mother with Alzheimer's

1 min read

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

I was talking about this about my mother in London because she's got you know complete Alzheimer's disease two years ago a year and a half ago when I went to see her she just cannot recognize me she doesn't know who I am I I was with her for two years two sorry for two hours and just talking to her being with her she didn't know who I was although just strangely just out of the blue in two hours with all the talk she said she mentioned the word Monastery which was really weird and my brother picked up on that it was totally out of context with everything else she was saying but there was something in there just obviously uh knew that there was something monastic there you know with a person know she was with

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 11:41 (to 12:28)

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

His mother no longer knew who he was, yet after two hours of simply being with her, the word 'monastery' surfaced from nowhere. If someone you love is living with dementia, your visits are not wasted when recognition is gone. Presence, patience and kind words may reach further than we can see. This is a family story, not medical advice.

In brief (our summary)

Visiting his mother in London, who no longer recognises him, Ajahn Brahm spends two hours with her; out of the blue she says the word “monastery”, and his brother notices — something in her knew.

Teaching point

Something of the mind's knowing may remain even when memory and recognition fail.

When this story may help

  • parent with Alzheimer's or dementia
  • visiting an elderly parent
  • not being recognised by a loved one

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in What Happens After You Die? | Ajahn Brahm | 08-04-2011 · 2011-04-09 · ▶ watch from 11:41 to 12:28 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

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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