# Move huts every two years — by wheelbarrow

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-move-huts-every-two-years
- Themes: simplicity, monastic life, possessions
- Life situations: decluttering, garage full of stuff

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Bodhinyana rule: monks may stay in a hut only two years, then must move — no tractor or car, only a self-pushed wheelbarrow — which reveals how much stuff has accumulated.

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

every two years as a monk in voting down a monastery we have to move we have to move huts so you're only allowed to stay in heart for two years and what when you move you cannot use the tractor you cannot use a car you can use a wheelbarrow but you have to push it yourself

## Teaching point

Forced moves make greed visible as weight you have to push yourself.

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

At Bodhinyana, monks move huts every two years with only a wheelbarrow they push themselves. It's amazing how much stuff piles up. Ajahn Brahm suggests the same deal for a husband with a crowded garage. Owning less is easier to carry. Imagine moving everything by hand, and keep only what's worth pushing.

## Source

- [Entanglement | Ajahn Brahm | 17 March 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFCyORlZP4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:07:13 to 1:07:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfFCyORlZP4&t=4033s