Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

“I can't understand Thai ghosts”

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Sex and Booze | Ajahn Brahm | 01-07-2011

1 min read

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

When I remember I just went uh Ajahn Chah's I think his brother died when I first went up to to Thailand and they did this open cremation. And so, it's after they they had all the monks around the fire and we all did the chanting and as soon as we could, all the monks left. Then afterwards, I said, "Oh, I'm just going to go by the fire." They said, "You go by the fire?" I said, "Yeah." They said, "Alone?" I said, "Yeah." "Aren't you afraid of the ghosts?" I said, "No, I'm not afraid of the ghosts. I can't understand Thai." Cuz even if the ghost goes something in Thai, I don't know what they're talking about. So, what's the point of being afraid? Is that the case that Thai ghosts only speak in Thai? And Sri Lankans only in Sinhalese? So, if it's a Western ghost and you don't understand English, you've got nothing to worry about

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 32:53 (to 33:44)

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

Everyone fled the cremation ground once the chanting ended, but the young Western monk stayed by the fire. Afraid of ghosts? No, he said; he couldn't understand Thai. Much of our fear is like that, built from stories we tell ourselves. A little humour can show how flimsy some of them are.

In brief (our summary)

At an open-air cremation in Thailand (of Ajahn Chah's brother, he thinks) all the monks leave as soon as the chanting ends. The young Ajahn Brahm says he'll go and sit by the fire alone. 'Aren't you afraid of the ghosts?' 'No — I can't understand Thai.'

Teaching point

(Humour about fear of ghosts.)

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Sex and Booze | Ajahn Brahm | 01-07-2011 · 2011-07-05 · ▶ watch from 32:53 to 33:44 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned.

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

  • The prankster ghost and the three leaves

    In brief: Two young English friends share a house in Perth; one dies young of cancer, promising to come back and haunt his mate. Pranks follow: the…

    Read full story

    one of our members he's got a great Ghost Story one of his friends let's go back for earlier his friend I moved to to Australia to Perth from England two young men they were friends so they shared a house together as they shared a house there two guys you know they weren't gay or anything they're just um to uh say on R when out had a great time but one of them developed cancer very young he died but before he died he always says I'm going to come back and Haun you you know like what some young people say I'm going to come back and Haun you and apparently he did and he was you know what you call those Lans always like doing practical jokes and so the other fellow who kept the house you know his girlfriend moved in after his mate died and little things would happen like be in the shower and it would turn from the hot to cold so you turn the hot on and it' be boiling little silly things like that but he said and he's quite sure about this one day he went out to work when he came home all the furniture from the landro was in the garden and there was just silly little things but sometimes you know if it's a a mate a friend they do this little jokes on you and his wife apparently could see him his wife wife never knew him and could see this Spectre in the in the house and described he said oh yeah that's him and so they just after all I just accommodate to these people but this member of our Buddha Society I better not say who it is he went to visit his friend I don't believe in ghosts she's just making it up and he was having coffee with his friend at the time and his friend said look he's he's around I'm sure he's around and he asked his friend come and prove to this visitor that you exist there's a pot plant on the table a leaf fell off that pot plant floated horizontally and then went down on the edge of the table half on half off and the visitor said no that's just it's just a wi just [Applause] coincidence and then another Lea fell off horizontal and then went vertically down exactly on top of the second Leaf no no no no just Charles thirdly exactly the same hor is onto straight down on the edge of that Lea and our friend who comes here said I've got to go and just jumped in his bed and just put the foot on the acceler just w didn't run away H you can have nothing to be afraid of it's just ghost playing around

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • Ghost stories on the walk to the grave

    In brief: At a Chinese burial in Kolkata Cemetery he kills ten minutes walking with an elderly funeral director and asks for ghost stories — she has…

    Read full story

    Kolkata Cemetery. There was a Chinese funeral and so those of you who know Kolkata cemetery that you start at the gate and we go in procession leading the cortees in this case was a burial and the Chinese burial site is the furthest away from the entrance and I knew I've been there many times about 10 or 15 minutes walk so I knew I had no know uh 10 minutes to kill that's the wrong word at a funeral but you know I knew it's just know 10 minutes walk. So we were just uh the funeral director, she was an elderly woman and uh I said, "How long you been in this industry?" And she said, "Oh, you know, for 20, 30 years." Said, "Oh, great. Just to pass the time till we get to the the grave site. Have you got any ghost stories

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • The wife who came back for the will

    In brief: A Thai woman who never trusted her Chinese husband asks Ajahn Brahm to do her funeral and pay for it, in return leaving her assets to the…

    Read full story

    there was this this Thai lady married to a Chinese man and she never trusted her husband at all. So much so she asked me a bra can you please uh do the funeral for me and pay for it and in return we'll I'll dedicate uh you know my assets is not that much my assets to the Buddhist society and I told them at the time I can't do that I can't do deals as a monk but I'll give it to our committee and they said yeah this is a nice little earner you know they're paying for funerals a few thousand dollars but the what would you get from the inheritance or from the will be worth much more than that. So we signed off on that and I did a funeral for them. Then after the funeral was finished that uh I did ask the widow George said have you got the the will said no I can't find it it's disappeared and I didn't want to harass him so just left it be. Then one morning that's when he came to monastery very early in the morning. George, I've never seen a man of any tradition so frightened. He said, "AJ," he came in a taxi all the way from, I think, Mlands all the way to Serpentine really early in the morning. He said, "AJ, can I give you this?" What is it? He says, "It's the will. Here, take it now, please. Quick, now." And what happened? Last night, my wife came as a ghost. George, George, you know where that will is. Take her to Ajam Brahm now. He was so scared. He was scared of her when she was alive. She was doubly scared. No, she was dead. So sometimes that's what you have to do. You just she was making sure her husband did the right thing and then after he did the right thing, then she could disappear.

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • The man who attended his own funeral

    In brief: A terminally ill man in the United States decides to hold his funeral service a week or two before he dies, so he can be there to hear the…

    Read full story

    that gentleman in the United States who decided okay this is a bit of a pattern but here it comes decided to think outside the box decided to have his funeral service when he was still alive just a week or two before he died what a wonderful thing to do now his death was gonna happen you know it was predicted and one was unstoppable some disease we decided a week or two before his demise to hold his funeral service so he could be there and listen to the effect which he had had on other people's lives and he could be there to listen so what a great idea that would be but he also said that is also he could see a she who turned up for his funeral what he still had time to adjust the will

    Open story page·Watch this telling

All stories·Find a story for your situation