# 'Thank you for saving my life'

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-oban-retreat-valium-cold-turkey
- Themes: meaning, service, addiction, recovery
- Life situations: prescription drug dependence, withdrawal, finding purpose

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

As a young monk assisting another teacher at a retreat in Oban, Scotland, Ajahn Brahm is dulled by the usual complaints — until a woman comes to thank the teacher for saving her life. As a stressed student she had been prescribed Valium and become addicted. On an earlier nine-day retreat she misunderstood the fifth precept as covering prescribed medicine and stopped taking it; in the calm of the retreat she managed. Afterwards she threw the pills away — then nearly lost it in the chaos of Glasgow station and spent about a month barely able to move from a chair as the drug wore off. But she came through with her life back. The young Ajahn Brahm resolves: if just one person ever says that to him, his life will have found its meaning.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

this anecdote I'm not sure when the last time I told it but this happened in the fishing village of Oban in the northwest of Scotland it was not the summertime when it's really beautiful it was maybe spring time maybe about this time or maybe just February cold but we could hire a place to have a retreat as really have you been to the north west of Scotland is through modes it was peaceful just a fishing village and with her I thought as a hotel or something it was a nice retreat center there well steer but a place where people could come just to do some meditation and I was just listening to the same old stories again and again again again about not being able to meditate and not being good enough having problems with the family at the same old same old and then this woman came in and she really shook me out of my miletti dullness she said to the the teacher they'll come here to thank you for saving my life people can say that but when it's real when you really have a have had your life saved you know big time I just woke up with the power of where that came from and I was really interesting why what had happened what had happened with this woman she told her story interesting story that she was a student somewhere in middle England and she got a bit difficult with their studies with her social life with the pressures on any young woman trying to sort of achieve under pressure and she got a little bit depressed and the GP at the time just this was maybe 40 years ago GP at the time just gave her some volumes just no easy to take this pills but she got addicted got addicted to valium and sometimes that some things are very hard to break off their addiction to then I told the monks I think on Wednesday night I knew this gentleman who was addicted to brake fluid it's a brain fluid but he said he could he could stop at any time that was a joke addicted to brake fluid but he could stop at any time you fishing there what can we expect from our children anyway bingo serious dated the valium and when she comes on one of these retreats I have these things called no precepts especially the Five Precepts sometimes people listen and they don't really understand totally I needs Buddha's not supposed to take alcohol or drugs fifth precept and it wasn't explained to this means like Norma dissing all drugs like the recreational drugs nothing about sort of you know if you've been prescribed in medicine for by your doctors but she never understood that she got it wrong but on a retreat when it's nice and peaceful people aren't talking much to one another they're smiling they're kind everything is there there's no stress she could give up that valium for nine days it was hard but you know she could do it and she started to feel what it's like to be without that drug in their system not totally but then the problem came when they were treat finished and she thought I've done nine days this see if I can carry on without the valium so she decided to throw the pills away but she never realized that being in a retreat in a place of safety where people nice and kind you don't feel the people are threatening you or putting pressure on you to be anything but then she had to go through Glasgow to get back home and that meant going through Glasgow railway station you been through any terminus a station this is so distressing it soaked crazy it's just people all over the place running this way and and so noisy it's like a chaotic environment and she said that she almost has totally lost it and of course you can imagine when someone is that sensitive so actually it's a go through a railway station not like Perth Mint think more like like Sydney central or the Victoria Station in England or something it's crazy place and then she managed to get back home where she said that she spent the next I was a month I think just sitting in a chair hardly able to do anything as the effects of that works slowly wore off and it is not recommended for people to do such cold turkey it was just by mistake she did this because she started off misunderstanding about the precepts in Buddhism and had a supportive start and then just managed just to keep it together long enough to get back home and was this immobilized just sitting in a chair but she got through it and she said thank you because now she has her life back a life which is clear and free said thank you no she left and I was so impressed I remember that certainly the details that I made a resolution arrogant young monk I was said if I if I ever do that and hear someone say that because of how I've served whatever I've done I Tim Brom thank you for saving my life I think my life had found its meaning just one that's all I wanted just one

## Teaching point

Meaning comes from serving others; one life changed is enough.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

A woman told the teacher at a Scottish retreat that he'd saved her life; she'd come off tranquillisers through practice, at real cost. Never stop prescribed medication without your doctor. Young Ajahn Brahm resolved that if one person ever said that to him, his life would have meaning. Serving others is where meaning lives.

## Source

- [Discovering and Following Meaning in Your Life | Ajahn Brahm | 3 May 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nYirce5Un0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 23:04 to 29:46: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nYirce5Un0&t=1384s

Other tellings of this story:

- [What path to take in life? | Ajahn Brahm | 08-02-2013](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn47GEy51WM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 43:38 to 48:05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn47GEy51WM&t=2618s
- [Real Happiness | Ajahn Brahm | 22 November 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKpp1Z-6kA0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 11:36 to 12:05: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKpp1Z-6kA0&t=696s
- [What Is The Meaning of Life? | Ajahn Brahm | 4 Nov 2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNqnOB5OA5E) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 15:06 to 22:09: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNqnOB5OA5E&t=906s
- [Always do your best - Armadale Meditation Group | Ajahn Brahm | 17 January 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPfm13oKlTI) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:03:36 to 1:04:20: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPfm13oKlTI&t=3816s
- [How to Make Meditation Attractive to Young People | Ajahn Brahm | 16 January 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMgqdoq4SHg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 14:20 to 16:36: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMgqdoq4SHg&t=860s