Being Mindful Stories

Story · Ajahn Brahm

The professor and the old sailor: “Have you learned to swim?”

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Don't Be Disappointed | Ajahn Brahm | 29-01-2010

6 min read

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

it's about the old seaman, the old sailor and the professor. Now in these Buddhist stories, the person with the simple job usually comes out superior, especially when professors are mentioned, which is one of the reasons professors always get a bad rap in Buddhism. That's why we don't get many professors coming here. But there was a professor and an old sailor. Now these were the days when people would go from country to country in boats before we had cheap aircraft to take you place to place. So this man, he was going from Sydney to San Francisco to give some lectures, this professor. And the first night on the boat from Sydney, he had his dinner in the galley or whatever, and after a beautiful dinner he went out on deck just to take the air the first night out on the sea as people do. And as he was walking out on deck he saw this elderly sailor, this old man just leaning over the railing looking at the sea underneath. And he decided to have a conversation with this old sailor because even though this was a simple job, this man must have been sailing the oceans for such a long time, surely he must have learned something useful. And the professor was always wanting to increase the store of his knowledge, thinking that that was the meaning of life So he went up to the sailor and said to him, he said, old man, how long have you been a sailor? He said, ever since I was a young boy about 13 or 14, there's many, many years I've been sailing these oceans, you know, it's amazing. He said, you know on that sea which we're sailing on, there's so much life in there. You know, as an old sailor, you must be an expert on marine science, about all the animals which depend upon the ocean underneath us, and all the currents and the reefs underneath. You know, let's have a conversation about marine science. And the old sailor said, about what? About marine science. What are you talking about,? said the old sailor, I don't know anything about marine science or the animals under the sea. What? said the professor. All those years at sea and you never bother to pick up a book and learn about the oceans underneath you? No, said the sailor. You stupid old man, said the professor, you've wasted your life, stupid old man. And he walked away in disgust of this old man, who'd wasted his life actually on the oceans, never learning about them. Next night at sea, he had a very, very beautiful meal, and he was in a good mood. So when the professor walked on deck the second time, there was the old sailor on watch and this time he was just looking at the stars. And that was actually one of the hobbies of the professor, astronomy. Said, ah, fair enough, the poor old man, he may not know about marine science, but he must know about astronomy, because in those days before GPS, that's actually how you could navigate by the stars. So he went up to the old man and said, look, I'm sorry what I said to you last night. You know, you may not know about marine science, but I bet you know about astronomy, and that's my hobby. Look at that beautiful Ursa Major out there. He said, Ursa what? You know, the stars above you, you must know a lot about astronomy, that's guided your ship. He said, I know nothing about that, the captain knows about it, not me. What, said the professor, all those years at sea, looking up at the heavens above you, and you've never ever bothered to learn about astronomy, you stupid old man, what a waste of a life You've wasted your life you stupid old man And the professor walked away in total disgust. Now the third night at sea, it always has three in Buddhism. Actually it has one more, but I'll come on to that later. The third night at sea, now the cook made an amazing dinner, it was just so delicious, straight away it put the professor in a good mood. And when he went up to deck, it was one of these balmy nights over the ocean, just a gentle, almost fragrant breeze was wafting over the ocean. And it was such a beautiful evening, the professor said, oh come on, I'll give this old sailor another chance, because the professor was a professor of meteorology. And he realized, sailors may not know about marine science, or just ordinary sailors may not know about the stars, but they must know about the weather. Because it's the weather, the power of the winds which drives these ships. And if there's a storm, that could sink the ship. So the weather is one of the most important things for the sailor to understand. So he went up to that sailor and asked him, he said, look I'm so sorry, I was in a bad mood the last two nights, and I misjudged you. Sure you may not know about marine science underneath you, or astronomy above you, but I'm sure you must know about meteorology. About the winds, the weather, which drives the ship, which could ruin the ship, or give it safety. Let's talk about meteorology. Meteor what? said the old sailor. About the winds and the storms. I know nothing about that, said the sailor I'm just a simple sailor man, that's all. What? What? You stupid old man, you dummy, you nincompoop, all those years, what a waste of a life, you just wasted your whole life, you stupid old man, said the professor, and walked away. And he decided he'd never ever talk to that fool again. Fourth night at sea, he never went to the galley for dinner, because it was one of those nights at sea which were rough. And he suffered from seasickness, putting anything in his stomach would just come out again afterwards. So he stayed in his cabin. And as the night grew later and later, the storm got worse and worse, and in the ship you can actually feel it, because the boat starts to rock and rock and rock, and you can feel the waves bashing against the hull of the ship on the other side of your cabin window. And it was a very rough night, and the storm got worse and worse, and it reached its peak about midnight when he heard this big crash ( shut up dogs, you don't need to get excited) had this big crash. And he was scared. And after the crash, there was a few moments of silence, and then he heard people rushing and running around outside his cabin door. And in panic, he opened the door, and who was running right outside? The old sailor. And the old sailor paused for a moment, and he looked at that professor and said, Professor, in all your years, have you ever learnt about swimming? (Laughter) Actually, no, said the professor, what a waste of a life, the ship's sinking

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 33:13 (to 40:54)

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

For three nights the professor sneered at the sailor's lack of learning; on the fourth the ship hit trouble and only one of them could swim. Knowledge is fine, but life brings storms: lost jobs, break-ups, bereavements. What keeps your head above water is knowing how to care, how to be kind, and what really matters.

In brief (our summary)

Sailing from Sydney to San Francisco, a professor quizzes an old sailor three nights running on marine science, astronomy and meteorology; the sailor knows none of them, and each time the professor calls him a stupid old man who has wasted his life. On the fourth, stormy night the ship crashes; the sailor, running past, asks: “Professor, have you ever learnt to swim?” “No.” “What a waste of a life — the ship's sinking.”

Teaching point

The most important thing to know in life is how to 'swim' — care, compassion, knowing what matters — so disappointment and loss don't sink you.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Don't Be Disappointed | Ajahn Brahm | 29-01-2010 · 2010-04-06 · ▶ watch from 33:13 to 40:54 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

1 other telling of this story

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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