Ajahn Sajato flew to the wrong airport

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• From Perth Airport uncertainty to a Rolls-Royce in Armadale

  In brief: A visiting monk arrived at Perth Airport without saying which day, started walking, and within ~50 metres got a lift to Serpentine. The…

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  arrived at perth airport i knew he was coming sometime but he didn't tell me the day he was coming or the time he was coming he said he just wanted to just try just living with uncertainty and see what happens so he arrived at perth airport no one to pick him up no money or credit card or anything just started walking and i think he got to about 50 meters outside outside of the the the doors and someone stopped him in the car hey you're a mug where you going and so he said i'm going to certain time i'll give you a lift who needs taxis and you've got this lift all the way there so living with uncertainty he was actually also the mark had mentioned this story to someone today he was also the monk he was scheduled to give a talk at one of our groups which is in armadale in the armadale group and he was inviting down the monastery and that we had a very wealthy sri lankan man came to say hello and he came in a rolls royce so i think it's the only time we've seen the rolls-royce and burning down the monastery and so then it was on a tuesday afternoon and we said oh this month's got to go to the um the armadale group this evening would you like to give him a lift so he said yeah i can give him a lift so armada as many of you may know is a low socio-economic area and so it was really quite a first for a month to arrive at this group in a rolls royce and they never let him forget that is that taking a lift it's not mine anyway

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• The Japanese monk who just started walking

  In brief: A Japanese fellow-monk of Ajahn Chah flew to Tokyo to visit family in the north without telling them, walked from the airport with no…

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  there's one monk he was a japanese monk a friend of mine and uh now with ajanchar and he decided to go and visit his family in japan but instead of actually just arranging everything he never even told his family he was coming his family lived up in the north of japan he just arrived at the airport in tokyo just got out of the uh the aircraft and just went to the customs and had his passport stabbed and then started walking just walked into tokyo and then just where he rested that night was just in the park in the morning got up and started walking again and you know we just had no plans no money first couple of days didn't get anything to eat but did you know go on arms round in tokyo and as he was walking somebody saw him he said who are you because he was japanese he spoke obviously perfect japanese language and then he said he was just a monk he's walking from the airport to visit his family and of course that was newsworthy he got on the news and after he got on the news the thai ambassador to japan saw that and so at last a real monk someone who doesn't make plans doesn't have money to survive somewhere and sleep outside and just walk and just living with the uncertainty of life and that she took him under her wing and just really looked after him and she later on became the ambassador thai ambassador to australia so you know she came here a couple of times that was suchitra and that's where she got her faith in buddhism again

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• Vomiting through the book signing

  In brief: On an Indonesia tour Ajahn Brahm's stomach turns during a talk and the book-signing queue. He finishes signing, runs to his room and…

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  one night when I was in Indonesia I was up most of the night vomiting what happens when you travel people are very kind they give you all sorts of food you don't know what food is the proper food for you and it's and it happened when I was giving a talk you start to feel the stomach start to move and move and all these people were waiting for you to give an exciting talk like this evening and afterwards to sign the books and just you know have photographs afterwards and the I could vomit while I was having a photograph taken with somebody but it's wonderful that how as over the years of meditation practice how you've learned to deal with this sort of stuff and it's actually so easy with a bit of practice exactly what I was teaching you during the meditation period you're aware these feelings now the rumbling in your stomach and the feeling that something very very wrong in there what most people do they get excited they get sort of worried but for me I don't get excited or worried anymore just leave it alone and give it lights of kindness and kindness so it just relaxed enough to finish off the sighting of the books and then run to the room and vomit but even afterwards you know it's sometimes you know people get so much negativity to being sick for me I always look to the positive side of sickness because I was vomiting it was at least that day I lost a bit of weight [Laughter] it's interesting stuff to see what you know I got in my tummy all the time and after a while it all just disappeared and vanished but afterwards with a very sore tummy and tried to get a few hours of sleep again I did exactly what I was teaching you there to relax the body relaxing relax and relax it until any of that pain ache or even the aftermath of a sore tummy just vanishes completely away and because practicing this for such a long time whenever you do have any pain or sickness irritation it's so easy now for me to deal with it you feel it that's the mindfulness really aware of the irritation the pain the sickness whatever it is that's a mindfulness and I keep saying mindfulness is not enough you do need to have the kindness that little extra thing which helps so much you've got your focus right now do something to care for this little body of yours and so I give my little tummy some kind that's all you poor little tummy I'm sorry for putting that in there with you I didn't realize what I was putting in there I do apologize please forgive me you know I'm not your enemy I love your little tummy whatever it is you treat it with kindness and it's amazing just how it relaxes you can actually feel it and you feel it you relax it some more you feel it relax more you give it more kindness and it relaxes and relaxes until it totally softens or just like this morning walking out for breakfast past the dogs in Bali if you've been to Bali there's always dogs around the place so you give them kindness nice dog you're fine woof woof no stuff wolf nice dog and it comes totally down that's like my tummy my tummy was like this dog woofing at me all night and I just calmed it down and calmed it down until it stopped barking it stopped vomiting

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• Perth Airport: 'That's my favorite book'

  In brief: Landing at Perth Airport around 11 pm after Taiwan, the immigration officer asks if he has written any books. When he names Opening the…

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  it's even just coming back last night, 11:00, I think, through Perth Airport. You know, just after you Those of you who do travel like me, as soon as you sort of go through the immigration, they check your card to see whether you go through straight through the um the customs or you have to get things x-rayed and stuff. And the lady who sort of checked me said, "Have you written any books?" Said, "Yeah, I've written this book, Open the Door of Your Heart." "You are Open the Door of Your Heart. That's my favorite book. I bought three extra copies to give to my friends. It's so wonderful. You're such a great man." Go through. Now, it's very nice being able to go through instead of getting everything checked and standing in line.

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