Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The day I peed on a snake

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Hissing But Not Biting | Ajahn Brahm | 11-03-2011

1 min read

Content note: toilet / bodily humour

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

I've been meditating all night in this monastery over in Thailand and in the early morning just of course you went out to go to toilet. But in those jungles just like going out to the ordinary toilet you just go out to the forest, squat down as you've seen Asian's squat down and then you just urinate in the bush. So this is the first light of day so I wasn't seeing very clearly my mindfulness wasn't strong so when I squatted down and started urinating I really did think I was urinating on a stick. (Ajahn is laughing) And then that stick started to move You know what it's like you're a bit tired, look you don't get scared, you think oh! that's a snake. It's like you're really stupid. But of course, afterwards I was a bit afraid because I thought my goodness because when you squat down you're not standing, you're squatting remember, and that was a very venomous snake and as I tell people these days the most sensitive part of a male's body was only a few inches away from the venomous snake. You girls won't appreciate this but you men sometimes that make you squirm. Uh no, but of course it did not bite me. And to this day I always think I know now why it didn't bite me. Because this was in a Buddhist monastery, in a Buddhist country, Thailand. And I'm really sure to this day that that snake never bit me as I peed on it because it thought it was being blessed with holy water

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 4:01 (to 5:44)

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

Exhausted after an all-night sit, young Ajahn Brahm squatted in the Thai forest and peed on a stick, which moved. It was a dangerous snake, inches from where no man wants a bite. It never struck. Surely it was a Buddhist snake, he laughs, blessed with warm holy water. Creatures that aren't threatened rarely threaten.

In brief (our summary)

After meditating all night in a Thai forest monastery, the tired young monk goes into the bush at first light and squats to urinate on what he thinks is a stick — until the stick moves. He is peeing on a dangerous snake, its mouth about six inches from the most sensitive part of a man's body. The snake never bites; it carries on having a nice morning. Perhaps the snakes knew monks never harm them — or, being a Thai Buddhist snake, it felt blessed with the holiest water there is, straight from a monk's bladder.

Teaching point

Fearlessness and harmlessness are given and returned: creatures that are not threatened do not threaten.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Hissing But Not Biting | Ajahn Brahm | 11-03-2011 · 2011-03-16 · ▶ watch from 4:01 to 5:44 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

8 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: Manual (volunteer) captions; occasional misspellings kept as is.

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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