# The convict who left his body to watch football

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-prisoner-nde-yugoslavia-astral
- Themes: near-death experience, mind and body, prison
- Life situations: curiosity about consciousness, fear of death, imprisonment

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A meditation student at Karnet Prison Farm tells Ajahn Brahm that as a boy of five or six, having surgery in what was then Yugoslavia, he died on the table and floated out of his body. He saw the doctors looking in the wrong place and just thought, 'Don't look here, look there' — the doctor immediately did, found the problem, and he recovered. Ever since, he says, he can leave his body at will — so prison doesn't bother him: he goes to football matches and Perth concerts in his astral body, front-row, no tickets needed. Ajahn Brahm thinks his account is pretty accurate.

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

Oh, this one case was of this young man. There was a boy about five, six, seven years of age. He told me this story at length and he was having some operation. This was many years ago in Yugoslavia when Yugoslavia was this one country and he was having an operation and he died on the operating table and he described just how he was floating out of his body and he could see that the doctors who were operating on him were looking at the wrong place. They weren't seeing where the problem was. And so he said that's where he was like dying or was actually dead outside of his body. And then he said all he did a five or six year old boy that's how old he was. He just thought the doctors you know he couldn't speak outside of his body but just thought doctor don't look over here look over there. And immediately that's what the doctor did. And he shouted out hey here's a problem. And because they could see what the problem was that they um solved the problem and he was fine again. He he recovered. But he said to me and he told me this story. He was one of my students meditating in Caret Prison Farm many years ago. He was a a convict in the jail. And he said but he didn't really mind being a convict. He said because ever since that time he came back into his body but whenever he wanted to leave his body he could he could do the old astral traveling make up a mind-made body as we say in in Buddhism and he could leave his body. So he said whenever he wanted to watch a football match didn't matter what prison they put him in he just leave his body and go and watch. he wanted to if he wanted to go and see a a concert by someone in Perth, he didn't even need to to book tickets, he just go there in his astral body and just get, you know, front seat view. And the way he said it and all the other information he gave me, he said, "Yes, okay. I think that's pretty accurate what he was saying.

## Teaching point

The mind is something apart from the physical body.

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

A man at Karnet Prison Farm told Ajahn Brahm he went to football matches and concerts out of his body, front row, no ticket needed, so prison didn't bother him. Believe the details or not, the teaching is about where freedom lives. The body is only the car you drive; your mind is where the real action is.

## Source

- [The Nature of Your Mind | Ajahn Brahm | 8 May 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilmc6aO6ElM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 28:26 to 30:46: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilmc6aO6ElM&t=1706s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Out of Body Experiences | Ajahn Brahm | 1 July 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsyT2OaS2Tw) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 7:09 to 9:37: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsyT2OaS2Tw&t=429s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 5 Dec 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AoRF3h9V_s) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:09:06 to 1:10:23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AoRF3h9V_s&t=4146s
- [Seven Monks and Bandits | Ajahn Brahm | 25 October 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br-ASglsGl4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:03:03 to 1:04:14: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br-ASglsGl4&t=3783s
- [DN9 Potthapada Sutta - States of Consciousness (part 2 of 2) | Ajahn Brahm | 24 June 2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcQ0IBin9Ik) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 53:03 to 53:51: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcQ0IBin9Ik&t=3183s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 3 November 2018](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlpuLGdf3i0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:03:06 to 1:04:54: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlpuLGdf3i0&t=3786s
- [2023 April (3/19) | 9 day Retreat | Ajahn Brahm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPllNABzV_A) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 54:04 to 55:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPllNABzV_A&t=3244s