Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The boy who failed grade one three times

As told by Ajahn Brahm in How to deal with rejection and lack of self-worth | Ajahn Brahm | 30-01-2015

3 min read

Content note: past-life claim

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

There was one of my favourite monks in Thailand long time ago. I only heard about him when I was a young monk. I never actually met him. But the reason why I was impressed by him was his story how he became a monk, and how he became fully enlightened. Because he was a young kid when he went to grade one in school in the northeast of Thailand, it was only basic education. Only four years of school. This was over 40 50 years ago. Only four years at school and then you are out in the fields ploughing and doing stuff with your father and mother. It was subsistence economy. So when he went to grade one at school after finishing the year, his teacher said "I'm sorry, I can't pass you. You can't go on to grade two. You have to repeat grade one." I don't know how anyone could fail grade one at school. Maybe plasticine, you can't do. Otherwise how can you fail grade one? But this kid was so stupid, he failed grade one and had to repeat it when all his friends went on to grade two. And after another year in grade one, his teacher said "Look, I'm sorry. Just for the best one in the world. You have to repeat it for third year." And after three years of repeating grade one at school, that teacher the headmaster again "Sorry we can't pass this kid. He's that stupid." And anyone who can't pass grade one after three tries, it's a waste of time, sort of getting him to help plough the fields. He doesn't know one end of a water buffalo from another end. And so the only place they could send him and this was in Thailand in those times if you're that stupid, you can't pass grade one after three years, was to send him into the monastery and make him a novice monk. Now not all novice monks start their life out like that. [laughter] And the reason they sent him to the monastery, village monastery, because that was just a catcher that was a social safety net. And at least the head monk in these monasteries they are always incredibly kind and so patient. Much more patient now than any sort of teacher in a school. So, this head monk in this monastery took this young kid under his wing and tried as much as he could to train him. Now we have to do some sort of chanting, you know, as a Buddhist monk. He tried to teach him how to chant simple things like the Namo Tassa. And so you get the first word Namo. Yeah, what's the second word? Tassa? Oh, yeah, Tassa. What's the first word again? He was just so dumb. He could not even do Namo Tassa. And after a couple of years in the monastery in the village, even the abbot just could not teach him. So the last resort, the final resting place for such hopeless little kids were the forest monasteries, where I come from. [laughter] They said send him to one of these forest monasteries. That's where you don't have to do the chanting, and you just meditate all day. And this fellow, his mind was so simple. They just asked him, just notice and watch your breath go in and out. And he could do it no problem at all. Because he, you know, he didn't think that much, not like you guys. And so this person who everyone thought was stupid, he got into the deep meditations really quickly, and very quickly became fully enlightened, an arahat. So you say, who's a stupid one? Not this guy, his mind was so peaceful, they're so pure and kind. Interestingly, I remember the story. They said, well, you know, as a monk, he has to do some chanting. And he could chant very well after that experience. Because what he actually did. So he said, with a powerful mind like that he could remember his past lives, remember the past life when he was a monk before and when he actually did learn the chanting. And he would actually connect with that past life whenever he had to do the chanting. So you know he's actually sent his memory back. And that's where he could chant in this life.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 28:11 (to 32:27)

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

Judged too slow for school or even simple chanting, the boy found his place in a forest monastery, where his uncluttered mind settled quickly into deep meditation. The past-life part is traditional; take it as you like. Its heart is plain: someone who seems a failure in one setting may shine in another. Keep looking for your niche, and help others find theirs.

In brief (our summary)

A north-east Thai boy fails grade one three years running, so he is sent to the village monastery, where even the patient abbot can't teach him to chant 'Namo Tassa'. Sent on to a forest monastery, he is told just to watch his breath — his simple mind settles quickly, he enters deep meditation and becomes fully enlightened. Afterwards he could chant by recalling a past life in which he had learned it.

Teaching point

Don't judge a person's worth by school; lack of self-esteem often means we haven't found our niche.

When this story may help

  • failing at school
  • learning difficulties
  • feeling stupid
  • not fitting in

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in How to deal with rejection and lack of self-worth | Ajahn Brahm | 30-01-2015 · 2015-02-01 · ▶ watch from 28:11 to 32:27 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

7 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

  • The noisy breather on the Sydney retreat

    In brief: On a nine-day retreat in Sydney one man breathes so loudly that a meditator complains. Ajahn Brahm explains he has a terminal tumour…

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    At meditation retreats I always remember this one man when I was teaching a Meditation Retreat in Sydney many years ago and a 9-day retreat. You know that people are supposed to be quiet when they are meditating but this man (Ajahn breathing noisily) He was breathing so heavily through every meditation sitting so much so that someone came up to me to complain Can you please tell this person to keep quiet. I am trying to meditate. He had a tumor in his nasal passages blocking both nostrils. It was terminal; the doctor had given up surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy So the doctors have abandoned him and he came to the meditation retreat as a last resort So when I told all the meditators that, they felt very embarrassed and guilty that they were complaining about somebody who got only few weeks to live. He told me that; on the last day of the retreat (Ajahn making the sound) breathing loudly again but not thinking being silent; he had a 'pop' He said he could breath again. That's what he said 'a pop' as his nasal passage cleared but only for about 5 or 10 minutes then it closed again. That was an amazing thing which happened I thought that meditation was working but he left it a bit too late. I never thought he would survive. Few years later teaching meditation in Sydney, this guy came up to me 'do you remember me?' I said 'of course I don't remember, who are you? ' As a monk I am honest He was that man. He cared with his meditation and his nose had cleared and now he was going around teaching people how to be peaceful, how to be silent. because his cancer had got into regression even though he should have been dead years ago.

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • IQ and thongs

    In brief: A Vietnamese-Australian comedian's joke: as a schoolboy he asked his dad what IQ meant. 100 is average, 120 intelligent, 140 university;…

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    this was by that Vietnamese comic over in Melbourne who was said when he was at school, he heard about IQ. So, he went home and asked his dad, "What does IQ mean?" And his dad said, "If you've got an IQ of, say, 100, you're kind of average. 120, you're intelligent. 140, you can go to university. If you've only got an IQ of 80, you'll struggle. And if you've only got an IQ of 60, you're so stupid you can't even tie up your own shoelaces." And that's when the kid said, "Is that why most Australians wear thongs?"

    Open story page·Watch this telling

  • The 'bikie' who came to the retreat

    In brief: A huge man with scraggly hair, tattooed all over, turns up at a Jhana Grove retreat. Stereotyping him as a bikie-gang leader, Ajahn Brahm…

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    this guy turned up to one of my Retreats at jro the opposite side of the road to bodana Monastery but this guy was really big really scraggly hair and was covered with tattoos all over his body and as soon as I looked at him my mistake was judging him stereotyping him he looked like the leader of a biky gang not the sort of people who would come for Meditation Retreat so straight away I said sir you've got the wrong place the prison farm is up the road in that direction totally stereotype I was totally wrong he said no I've joined up for the retreat okay fair enough I said well okay all sorts but you know this guy on the outside he really looked just rough the sort of person you'd be afraid to meet in North Bridge on a a Saturday night you know just by yourself really was really mean looking guy but he got the best meditation on that Retreat when he came to the interviews to tell me what he was doing it's incredible the Bliss and the joy and the Deep meditations was getting and he realized this guy had opened himself up and inside was incredible beauty and I was really admiring just his mind in his meditation excellent

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  • “Thank you, I do deserve this medal”

    In brief: At the annual John Curtin Medal ceremony, a woman with decades of community service insists others deserve it more — just as Ajahn Brahm…

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    Because four years ago on that day the John Curtin University gave me this medal, the John Curtin medal, which is actually for community service, for doing good things for other people. And the first year after I got the medal I thought well, other people came to see me get a medal. I should go and see them. So I rocked up thinking I was just doing a duty, but I really was impressed with what I saw because there were people who'd done good things for the world, especially just this part of the world; and they were getting rewarded. I was just really impressed every year to see how people were really giving and serving for others. It was inspiring, so I've gone every year since. Just a couple weeks ago there was one lady there who'd done a huge amount around the Kalamunda area for the local community, but when she got her medal she came up to give a little speech and she said "I don't know why you've given it to me. There are so many other people who are much more deserving than me and even in my group, these other people work much harder than I do in this group. I've founded it and led it but.." And she was saying all this stuff and I remembered "oh here we go again - why can't you see that actually you do deserve that," because when I was listening to what she did -- she's an amazing woman -- how much she'd given and sacrificed and served for no reward through 30 or 40 years of her life she'd given to others. I thought wow you really deserve that medal. But could she say she deserved it? No. I did the same when I got my medal. "What the heck are you giving it to me for? There are many other people who work harder than me." Me, too, I could not see the beauty in myself. Really what I should've done was go up there and say "Thank you very much, I do deserve this medal." [laughter] But it was true, I did deserve it And she deserved it.

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