# Be good — no, that's no fun

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-safety-bay-be-good-no-fun
- Themes: goodness, peer pressure, humour, Australia
- Life situations: peer pressure to be bad, questioning fun

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Between interviews at a Catholic retreat centre in Safety Bay he watched two middle-aged men leave Sunday service. One said 'be good'; the other answered 'no, that's no fun'. He wondered why being good has such a bad reputation in Australia — and argues that being good is actually fun.

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

I still remember a time when I was teaching a retreat over in um safety Bay and just in a space between the interviews that some I was looking through the window and it was a a Catholic Retreat Center and as I looking through the window I saw these two people two maybe middle-aged men they just gone to church for the Sunday service and as they were shaking hands and saying goodbye to each other they parted with this greeting one of them said to the other be good and the other one said no that's no fun

## Teaching point

Delusion makes goodness look boring; wisdom sees that being good is the good time.

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

Leaving church, one man told another 'be good', and his friend replied, 'No, that's no fun.' Ajahn Brahm wondered why goodness has such a dull reputation. Delusion tells us harm is enjoyable. Look closely, and being good is the real good time. He calls himself a good-time monk.

## Source

- [Why Do People Do Bad Things? | Ajahn Brahm | 17-06-2011](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaEI0Z2tesA) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 4:00 to 4:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaEI0Z2tesA&t=240s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Peace, Happiness and Virtue | Ajahn Brahm | 4 February 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Acyfbeyjbk) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 44:37 to 45:22: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Acyfbeyjbk&t=2677s