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Story · Ajahn Brahm

The secret security pen — “We like you, that's your best security device”

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Anger Eating Demons | Ajahn Brahm | 07-10-2011

3 min read

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

I remember the time once I I went into the prison at casarina used to be no not casarina sorry the one in Canning it used to be called canning Val a long time ago I think it's now called hakei or something they changed the name still the same place and because it was a prison and had some very tough and mean people in there many other visitors had been attacked it was a Men's prison but it didn't mean because you were also a m you won't get attacked and raped and it happened many times so at the gate when I checked in they warned me it's a dangerous place and some people have been in that prison for so long didn't matter what they did it's not really going to make much difference they were going to die in that prison so what's a you know they got no no reason not to offend again they can't add to the sentence so it's a very dangerous place and so as I checked in at the gate they gave me what looked to all intents and purposes like a pen like an ordinary bro pen but they told me this is not an ordinary pen it's a secret security device and they said if you look at the ceilings you will notice what looks like smoke detectors they're not smoke detectors they're are security devices if someone if anybody tries to attack you point the pen at one of those devices and press the top and then the alarm will go off and we'll know exactly in the prison where you are and we will come and save you and he said put it in your pocket and I looked at the person I wear robes I don't have pockets you know really really we cause a lot of problems for many people you know sometime sometimes the reason I got a a microphone in front of me is because sometimes people like clip these things on your um use it on your jacket or on your shirt you know but I this keeps on falling off it's a terrible thing to do that's why sometimes you go into these radio shows or TV shows and they'll try and clip things on and say forget it it's going to fall off we cause a lot of problem for a lot of people we monks but nevertheless I enjoy that and so there's no place to so just hold it they said Hold the pen but they said be careful this is really secret if the prisoners found out we wouldn't be able to use this anymore so don't tell anybody and as soon as I went into my class one of the people I knew there he said oh you've got one of those security devices too of course they know that's why I tell all the monks down at Serpentine and the nuns at Gigan don't think that the people here in D Loa don't know everything which is going on in those monasteries there is a very strong grape vine goes on and if there's any problems in any of these monasteries you know about it so the monks we know no secrets and it's wonderful not to have any secrets but anyway so when I went in there this prisoner and you he was actually a really good friend cuz I known him a long time and you know he's a violent man but you know you get to know these guys and he said to me he said brah do you really think you could press that button before I jumped you and held you down and I said no you get me first he said yeah I would but I wasn't scared CU what he said next I knew he was going to say he said but brah if any of these guys behind tried that i' would get them first we like you and that's your best security device

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 7:04 (to 11:23)

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

Given a secret alarm pen at a tough prison, Ajahn Brahm had no pocket to put it in. A prisoner spotted it at once: he could jump him before he pressed it, but would stop anyone else first. We like you; that's your best protection. Respect people who have done wrong, and they often give respect back.

In brief (our summary)

At a dangerous men's prison (Canning Vale, as he corrects himself) Ajahn Brahm is given a 'secret' alarm pen to point at the ceiling sensors if attacked — but monks' robes have no pockets. In class a prisoner friend immediately recognises it, admits he'd jump Ajahn Brahm before he could press it, and adds that if anyone else tried, he'd get them first: “We like you, and that's your best security device.”

Teaching point

Respect and kindness toward people who have done crimes is returned; they are people who did crimes, not criminals.

When this story may help

  • working with prisoners
  • feeling unsafe
  • dealing with difficult people
  • volunteering

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Anger Eating Demons | Ajahn Brahm | 07-10-2011 · 2011-10-13 · ▶ watch from 7:04 to 11:23 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

9 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'casarina' = Casuarina; 'canning Val' = Canning Vale; 'hakei' = Hakea (not changed).

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

  • “Can meditation teach you to fly over walls?”

    In brief: On his first prison visit, at the old Canning Vale jail, over a hundred of about 110 prisoners crowd in to learn meditation; inspired,…

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    this is when I first went into a prison to teach meditation and you cannot make up these stories real life is funnier than any story anyone can concoct because when I went into this prison to teach meditation it was actually the old canning Vale jail I think it's called what's it called now hakia yeah Alvin canning Val and at that time was about 25 to 30 years ago in that time the prison population there was just over 100 Maybe 110. and over a hundred prisoners came to my talk almost the whole prison population the only ones who didn't come were those in solitary confinement or seeing the doctor or something and I couldn't believe just how many criminals were interested in meditation interested in actually doing something with their life improving themselves that was just so inspiring to see and so I really gave the best possible talk I can on meditation I really wanted to actually meet them halfway if they were going to be interested in this and do something with their lives and make themselves better I was also going to help them and I'd only been talking about meditation maybe about 10 minutes when this big guy stood up he was one of the leaders in the prison you know they all have their gangs he's one of the gang leaders he was about six foot four and that was just across his shoulders lots of lots of scars on him and when someone like that I often say when someone like that stands up to interrupt you and say can I ask a question say yes sir yes sir please and he said he said this is on behalf of all the people here is it really true he asked is it really true that through meditation you can learn how to fly over walls sure that did break this up and then I realized why so many prisoners have come to my meditation class stupid they believe that a couple of meditation classes you could do that and they're all out of jail so when I told them look yeah levitation can sometimes happen it's incredibly rare you have to be a really skilled meditator for Life hours and hours to do something like that when I went back next week to continue the cross only three people turned up

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  • The three-metre dugite in the shade of his hut

    In brief: On retreat at Serpentine, Ajahn Brahm hears kangaroos fleeing as a huge, highly venomous dugite approaches while he washes his bowl. He…

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    that big dugite, he was, I think, 2.7 meters long because it was a hot day, and he just wanted to shade under the side of the hut I was living in, the kuti, and because I built that I knew the dimensions so I know 2.7 meters long, and as soon as he came, the kangaroos alerted me, they were running out of the way, afraid of this huge little, no, huge little, a huge snake, and he came, and he looked at me, and he was, I was in striking distance, he just looked at me, and I looked at him, and wished him well and just carried on washing my bowl, and then the next thing I knew, I turned around, and he was pointing in the other direction, he realised he was okay with me, I was okay with him, and he just wanted some shade, that's all, on a hot day.

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  • The paper lotus on the shrine

    In brief: In a Thai village a young woman, brain-damaged from birth, cannot speak but grunts, and her friends understand every grunt; she joins in…

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    There was one lady in the village, lovely lady. Uh but she had some sort of um uh injury when she was born and she was uh mentally impaired, brain damage. But even though she was brain damaged, she couldn't speak any Thai, certainly not any English, a village girl, but she would always grunt. And her grunts, she growing up with her sisters the same age, all her friends knew exactly what grunt meant which. That's a special language she had with her friends. And she was almost at ease with her friends. She would go out to dances and stuff with her friends, have a wonderful life. She wasn't sort of sectioned aside in some institution for people who couldn't speak or were brain damaged. So other parts about her were wonderful. She had a beautiful life and I was very impressed with how people included her in rather than excluding them. So she didn't really worry about the things she couldn't do in other areas. She was brilliant and I love remembering her because she was responsible for one of the greatest acts of kindness and generosity I've seen because I was like, you know, monks, we do work. We don't just sit around all day doing nothing. That's what I should be doing. But anyway, we were I was just sweeping the hall in this monastery in Thailand. That was my job. I was just behind a cupboard when I heard somebody try and sneak into our our main hall and I just peeked around. It was this girl. It wasn't a thief. You I knew her because I've been in that monitor for years. And she was sneaking into the hall. She couldn't speak. She was, you know, brain damaged, but she was in there by herself. And I wonder what the heck she was up to. She never saw me. She went up to the shrine. She put something on the shrine and then as soon as she put it on the shrine, she did her little Buddhist boughs and then she ran away as fast as she could so she wouldn't be seen. But she was seen. I saw everything. And I thanked her for what I saw. I went up to the shrine. She made a paper folded into like a lotus and offered it in front of the Buddha statue. No one could no one could ever call it a work of art, but it certainly was a work of kindness. It's the best she possibly could do. He didn't need to be a mind readader to know how she was thinking. She wanted to give it to the shrine to the Buddha. And she thought if she come when other people were there, they'd have thrown it away. It's not beautiful enough for the Buddha, but it's the best she could possibly do. When I saw that, to me it was beautiful. Not because of what it looked like, but where it came from and how hard it was for her to do that. And so afterwards I told all the monks, you know, I wasn't a senior monk there, but I said to them, look, that little paper flower which was handmade on the shrine, if anybody tries to throw that away, I'm not a violent monk, but I will sort of really sort of fight against you because I know where that came from and how beautiful that was to have a person who felt they were rejected. They managed to find a way in and give a gift. The best they could possibly do.

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  • In this jail — no BS

    In brief: On an early prison visit (Bunbury, then Fremantle while it was still open), a prisoner tells the monks they do not care who they are: in…

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    I remember the first time I went to prison I think was I no it was actually down in uh in bunby but I started going to freem manle prison when it was still open and I remember this guy came out to us and you know I was going to sit around a table and talk to him and he said look you know we don't care who you are but in this Jael no you know BS b u l s h i t I'm not I'm still not g enough to say that word but you want know what I mean that's what they said to me because this is a prison there's a sense of honesty in here straightforwardness you tell it how you feel you be honest and we'll listen to you you try and just make up or just be something you're not and just you might as well walk out of here because we won't listen and accept you and I really respected that thank you that's the sort of people I love talking with straightforward is not just going to listen and accept because I'm a monk

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