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Story · Ajahn Brahm

The woman who refused to go back

As told by Ajahn Brahm in What Happens After You Die? | Ajahn Brahm | 08-04-2011

1 min read

Content note: unverified claim

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

there's this one lady who died on the operating table and so she left her body looking at her body over there just a mess so off she went but apparently that she described it as meeting some Spirit and the spirit saying you know it's it's not your time you know you got to go back and she said no way I'm having too good a time I don't want to go back sorry and the spirit said but you have to go back I don't care about that I'm not going you know like people are pretty independent these days and you know you don't actually do what you're told by your parents or by the government or by God or anybody so Spirits you know go and get lost I'm having a good time so that degree of Independence know she didn't want to sort of go anywhere until eventually having this argument you you got to go back no way apparently she described because obviously she did go back that's why she could tell this story this Spirit sort of got hold of her and threw her back into her body and it just had all this aches and pains and heaviness again and she was really pissed off of that spirit I mean really big time so when she gave this interview said now when I die next time of course I would die eventually I'm going to find that guy and I you do know what I'm going to do to that guy what he did to me that's how you described it

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 28:38 (to 30:02)

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

She was having such a good time after dying on the operating table that she argued with the spirit who sent her back, and vowed to return the favour one day. It's told as a funny story and a reported experience, not proven fact. Its comfort is that many such accounts describe peace rather than terror, which may ease a little of our fear of death.

In brief (our summary)

A woman who dies on the operating table meets a spirit telling her it isn't her time; she refuses — she's having too good a time — until the spirit throws her back into her aching body. In an interview she vows to find that spirit when she dies and do the same to him.

Teaching point

Near-death accounts consistently describe dying as pleasant and free — which can take away fear of death.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in What Happens After You Die? | Ajahn Brahm | 08-04-2011 · 2011-04-09 · ▶ watch from 28:38 to 30:02 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

3 other tellings of this story

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

  • She came back to see what her husband was up to

    In brief: A retreat participant tells how, dying in hospital while her husband raced to reach her, she was out of her body having a blissful time —…

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    I just remember one lady saying, "Oh, it was just so blissful and beautiful being out of my body," she was in a hospital with some terrible sickness. Her husband was racing to the hospital to try and catch her before she died, but she had already died, she was away having a wonderful time, but then she came back when she was wondering what her husband was up to. [laughter] I mean in a good way, I'm not saying that he was playing around, but you know whether he was worrying about her, whether he was coming, that brought her back. She told us afterwards, "That was the most wonderful experience of my life." I said, "Yeah, probably you like everybody else who's had those experiences are no longer afraid of death." "Yes," she said "I'm not afraid of death. Why should you be afraid of death when you know it's gonna be nice?

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • Floating above the paddy fields

    In brief: An Australian soldier in Vietnam, going to help an injured mate, steps on a landmine that blows off his legs. After the intense pain, he…

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    that was a story of one of the state mp no the government in peace a long time ago and now what was his name again but anyway he was in vietnam during the vietnam war australian soldier and he was helping one of his colleagues who was injured and as he went to help his colleague he stepped on a land mine and blew off his uh his legs and because he blew off his legs he described what happened next i remember reading the article which he wrote about this experience obviously immense pain but the next thing he noticed was so intense pain the next thing you notice in his words which i can always remember was floating above the paddy fields of vietnam without a care in the world one of the most happy peaceful blissful experiences of his life and of course this was written by a politician who was always trustworthy come on when they talk about worldly things maybe you can doubt what they're actually saying but this was actually real honestly describing what he felt one of the most blissful peaceful experiences of his life but then he recalled that his wife back here in perth had just given birth to his first child a son and the thought came up it is not a kind thing just to die for his wife who had just given birth he had to come back for her so he next thing he noticed was being pulled back into his body and when he was in his body it was enormous pain again so much that he uh fainted and when he came to again he was in the hospital getting treated starting the long journey to um being a recovery he had to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and apparently that because of him in the federal parliament in canberra they did make sure there was adequate wheelchair access for everybody but anyway the important part of that story was just what happened when he left his body the first initial shock of the explosion which blew his legs off so peaceful so blissful so joyful

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • Dying peacefully like Dad (the bus-driver joke)

    In brief: A comedian wants to die peacefully in his sleep like his father — unlike the screaming passengers on the bus his father was driving.

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    He said, "When I die, I want to die in my sleep just like my father. He died in his sleep. Not like the passengers in the bus he was driving at the time, screaming and shouting."

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • The meditator taken to hospital as dead

    In brief: A member of the Perth community meditates so deeply at home that his wife finds no signs of life; paramedics and hospital doctors find a…

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    this was a person who got into such a deep meditation at home I'll tell it very briefly that his wife was concerned he died and so called the ambulance and it got taken to S Charles Garden the hospital it was on a weekend he was just an ordinary person meditating in his bedroom he was meditating for too long and his wife checked him up could find no signs of life so call the ambulance ambulance could find no signs of life so took him to Charlie Gardner's hospital where they put ECG and EEG on him both were flat the guy had died at least so the instrument said now ECG there was no heartbeat for long time EEG no brain activity the brain was not working and he was just in a meditation I told the story elsewhere so I won't elaborate on it after giving him defibrillators and many electric shocks nothing worked but eventually he came out of his meditation he just decided I've had enough now I come out just like you do and as soon as he came out of meditation both machines worked perfectly ECG and EEG started beeping in the proper way and he felt fine he just wondered what the hell he was doing in hospital he was in his bedroom and gave him a quick uh uh sort of check over the doctor nothing wrong with the guy so he actually went home he walked home and obviously didn't live that far away from s charar g Hospital in Netherlands he walked back home he was that fit but during that whole time he was perfectly alert perfectly conscious but not of his uh body or his surroundings he was deep inside so he's having a wonderful time one of the best experiences of his life

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