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Story · Ajahn Brahm

Mr Jones — afternoon off for Wembley

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Joy and Power of Peace | Ajahn Brahm | 13 February 2026

1 min read

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

Mr. Jones his name was and he was a very scary teacher. But I still remember one of my experiences with Mr. Jones. [snorts] My father, this is very worldly but please excuse this. My father had the afternoon off work and I uh went home for lunch and my father sort of saw me in uh you know my mother's little apartment just close by and my father said, "Oh, it's a shame you have to go to school this afternoon. I got these two tickets for a World Cup soccer match against Poland at Wembley Stadium. And he said, "It's a shame you have to go to school. You could have come with me to watch the match." Now you know what in places like UK and even Poland a soccer match is like this is World Cup qualifying match. And so I said, "Oh, you never know. You can always ask." So I had the guts to go up to Mr. jokes and I asked him, "Uh, please, sir, can I have the afternoon of school to watch a soccer match?" That's totally against the rules. But he told me, he said, "Well, you're doing okay. Off you go

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 17:52 (to 19:37)

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

Young Ajahn Brahm's teacher, Mr Jones, was a strict disciplinarian. When his dad got tickets to an England match at Wembley, the boy gathered his courage and asked for the afternoon off. Against every rule, Mr Jones said: you're doing well, off you go. Kindness and trust can bend rules. And it never hurts to ask.

In brief (our summary)

Scary disciplinarian primary teacher Mr Jones. Dad has two World Cup England–Poland tickets at Wembley and lunch with Brahm; the boy asks for the afternoon off — totally against rules. Mr Jones: you're doing okay — off you go.

Teaching point

Kind firmness can bend a rule for a kid who has earned trust.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Joy and Power of Peace | Ajahn Brahm | 13 February 2026 · 2026-02-14 · ▶ watch from 17:52 to 19:37 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

2 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; words left exactly as captioned. Alan Rickman school aside in setup; Mr Jones is the teller.

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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