Story · Ajahn Brahm
Nasrudin at the archery stall: “That was me”
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
And there's one of these Sufi stories, Nasrudin stories, when - this was like a Mulla in Persia, before it was called Iran, many, many years ago. A great Sufi story. Now, in those days, any people of religion were very highly respected. You know, not so much these days. But they were like pillars of society. Now, this pillar of society, this great Mullah who was so respected in the community, decided to take his students to the fair for an outing. They had been meditating and studying and practicing so hard, "Let's give them a day out". So he took them to the fair. And at that fair there were many stalls. And one of the stalls was an archery stall. Just like the old coconut shys, but with bows and arrows. And if you managed to hit the target, the ball, you would get a prize. And so this Mulla Nasrudin said, "Yes, this looks easy enough. Give me a bow and three arrows!" And so he paid over, you know, a few dollars. And all his students were really surprised, because he was like a holy man. What does a holy man know about weapons like a bow and arrow? He said, "Oh, it's just concentration. Just mindfulness. That's all it is." "You know, I can do this!" So he put the first arrow in the bow. And everyone was really quite surprised. It's like if you give me a bow and arrow. I've never shot a bow and arrow in my life. You know, could the power of Samadhi, if Ajahn Brahm had a bow and arrow, how accurate would he be? And that's what they were thinking with this Mulla. And so he pulled the - put the bow - put the arrow in the bow - see, even I don't know which one goes in which - put the arrow in the bow and shot it, and it only went about halfway to the target. It didn't even, you know - not even miss it, it just didn't get there to miss it. And everybody started to giggle, because the guy was making a fool of himself. And people love it when people in authority make a fool of themselves. And then he just turned around and said, "That, that was a shot of a hasty man". And then he put his second arrow in the bow. And this time, he took more time. And he pulled that arrow further back as the wood of the bow stretched. And he shot the next arrow and it certainly made the distance, but went about, you know, a $2 train ride to the left. It missed it a long way. And people really started to guffaw. And he just turned around and said, "That, that was a shot of an arrogant man". And then he put his last and third arrow in the bow. Took his time, aimed and shot that. And that one went right in the middle of the bullseye. But as he claimed his prize, the relieved students said, "Well, if the first shot was the shot of a hasty man and the second was a shot of an arrogant man, what was the third shot?" And he said, "That was my shot. That was me.
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 40:15 (to 43:43)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
The bullseye was 'me'; the misses belonged to a hasty man and an arrogant one. We all do this, claiming our successes and explaining away our failures. Yet that carefully guarded self-image is exactly what makes us dread looking foolish. Own the wide shots too, laugh at them, and you'll be freer to try new things.
In brief (our summary)
Mulla Nasrudin takes his students to a fair and tries the archery stall. The first arrow falls short — “the shot of a hasty man”; the second goes wide — “the shot of an arrogant man”; the third hits the bullseye — “That was my shot. That was me.”
Teaching point
We claim our successes as 'me' and disown our failures; that self-image is what fears ridicule.
When this story may help
- fear of ridicule
- making excuses
- perfectionism
Themes
- ego
- self-image
- humour
- fear of failure
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Letting Go of Fear | Ajahn Brahm | 22-05-2009 · 2009-06-12 · ▶ watch from 40:15 to 43:43 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
4 other tellings of this story
- No-Self Esteem | by Ajahn Brahm · 2012-07-10 · ▶ watch from 39:09 to 41:25 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaTelling framed as a Sufi story: the fair like the Royal Show in Perth; second arrow 'almost killed bystanders'; prize a teddy bear; moral: with no self you can choose who to be.
- Learn to Not Blame Yourself | Ajahn Brahm | 25 May 2018 · 2018-05-25 · ▶ watch from 8:49 to 11:50 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaMay 2018 telling: after a meditation retreat at a fun fair; the prize is a teddy bear (with a Jhana Grove teddy-bear aside); the first arrow almost kills a bystander; 'hasty man', 'conceited man', 'that was me'.
- Death and Grief | Ajahn Brahm | 30 November 2018 · 2018-11-30 · ▶ watch from 1:07:47 to 1:09:21 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaNov 2018 telling: Nasrudin salt-trade / donkey-on-bridge — son finally follows 'push right' and donkey falls in; father furious at being obeyed.
- Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 1 April 2017 · 2017-04-01 · ▶ watch from 1:10:19 to 1:12:22 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaApr 2017: Nasrudin/teacher three arrows — hasty, proud, then 'that was me'.
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