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Story · Ajahn Brahm

You're the only one who deserves this award

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Buddhism and Ghosts | Ajahn Brahm | 10 March 2023

1 min read

Content note: suicide-adjacent (saved lives)

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

Some years ago they gave me this That's right, the Order of Australia medal. I had to go to Government House over there. Kim Beazley was the governor then. Uh to get this award. And I often wondered, should I be going to this? A monk getting awards. You just do this for no You don't expect anything back in return. And but the best part of that ceremony was I don't know actually who they actually were. I think they were working in Government House. There's these two or three ladies. They came up to me and said you're the only person who deserves this award. Cuz they too had gone through a terrible divorce or separation. They said, "You saved our life, too." And those words meant far more than the little medal which you got from the governor. And so I said, "Okay, yeah, it's worthwhile coming to get that. That is real job satisfaction.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 1:02:52 (to 1:03:57)

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

Unsure whether a monk should accept an Order of Australia medal, Ajahn Brahm went anyway, and staff at Government House told him his talks had saved their lives after painful divorces. Those words meant far more than the medal. Real reward comes from lives quietly helped, not from honours.

In brief (our summary)

Receiving his Order of Australia medal at Government House under Governor Kim Beazley, Ajahn Brahm wonders whether a monk should accept awards. Two or three women working there tell him he is the only person who deserves it — his talks saved their lives after terrible divorces. Those words mean more than the medal.

Teaching point

The real honour is lives helped, not the metal.

When this story may help

  • receiving an award
  • recovering from divorce

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Buddhism and Ghosts | Ajahn Brahm | 10 March 2023 · 2023-03-10 · ▶ watch from 1:02:52 to 1:03:57 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions with machine-added punctuation; 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

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