# Mother Teresa held the man from the gutter

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-mother-teresa-held-the-smelly-man
- Themes: compassion, illness, Mother Teresa, service
- Life situations: caring for the dying, revulsion

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Journalist with Mother Teresa watches her pick up a stinking, oozing cancer patient from a Calcutta gutter and carry him to her sanctuary — asked how she stands the smell.

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

Mother Teresa where that when there was another journalist with her and she was picking up this poor fellow from the the gutters of Calcutta who had very bad cancer and was stinking and oozing and the sort of person which a lot of people would just be repelled. Almost naturally in spite of their their kindness, be pushed away. But this Mother Teresa just went straight for her and just uh him and just held him up and picked him up and took him to her little um hospital sanctuary to look after him. And they asked him, "Didn't you see his smell

## Teaching point

Compassion goes straight to what others push away.

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

A journalist watched Mother Teresa lift a dying man from a Calcutta gutter, sores and smell and all, and carry him to care. Didn't you notice the smell? No, she said; I saw someone who needed love. That's forgiveness: looking past the two bad bricks to the 998 good ones. See the humanity first.

## Source

- [Importance of Giving | Ajahn Brahm | 24 April 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzDe0ZdN4DE) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 29:33 to 30:28: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzDe0ZdN4DE&t=1773s

Other tellings of this story:

- [A Buddhist's Valentine | Ajahn Brahm | 14-02-2014](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4RusDxPXmw) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 39:36 to 40:13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4RusDxPXmw&t=2376s