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Story · Ajahn Brahm

The newspaper hiding the most beautiful view

As told by Ajahn Brahm in The Power of Silence | Ajahn Brahm | 12-12-2008

3 min read

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

As a student, again I was a Buddhist and I gravitated during the vacation periods to quiet places of the world. mostly to the Scotland to the North of Scotland to the moors where you could just wonder around without seeing anybody for a few days. On this one occasion I was on the Northwest coast of Scotland It was one of these beautiful summer days very often it is cold, wet and rainy but every so often in the summer time you get this perfect days and in the Northwest coast of Scotland in the summer time is paradise. you couldn't really conjure up a more beautiful scenery just so quiet, remote and unspoiled. just walking along the coast road with moors and mountains to one side beautiful cliffs, little islands dotted in the ocean as far as you could see bright green and glistening in the sun shine and all the sea birds were just reeling what I call euphoria at the time and seeing all this beautiful scenery and having all the time in the world to enjoy it because I had no place to really go plenty of time to walk just to my destination no mobile phones, no duties just walking, enjoying every moment of a beautiful part of our world. And of course I was totally silent. Until I saw a car parked up ahead of me on the road side. There was a car park there and I assumed, because I was stupid I assumed that someone who have been driving along that road and had also noticed the incredible beauty of this day in the summer time in this place and also just stopped to enjoy the scenery but when I got close I found the person wasn't looking at the scenery was reading a newspaper. This big newspaper was right in front covering up the beautiful seascape, mountains, grass, sunshine and all he could see was the news I thought what a wonderful metaphor that is of life Because what we read with our minds is all the words and the descriptions what do they have in newspapers? I know they have the cartoons that's what I always read first when I get a newspaper I really recommend the cartoons first of all. They also have; they have the wars, they have the fraud of this government or that government. they have terrorist attacks; they have all those other nasty news about life And that's what you see in the newspaper and I thought 'what a shame this is ' just on the other side of that newscript it only may be one or two millimeters you had the beauty of the world on such a gorgeous day! And at the time being quite a cheeky person; I haven't stopped being cheeky I thought of getting a pair of scissors out of my backpack I only need to cut a small hole in this newspaper so you can see what's on the other side I was very thin in those days I was an underfed poor student and this guy was a big heavy Scotsman I didn't fancy my chances if he got aggressive with me. so I just passed him by to read his newspaper, while I enjoyed the day

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 9:20 (to 13:23)

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

On a perfect summer day on Scotland's north-west coast, a parked driver sat behind a broadsheet that blocked out islands, cliffs and wheeling seabirds. The skinny student wisely left his scissors in his backpack. Our own minds hold up a paper of worries and gossip just as close. Lower it for a minute and look at what's actually in front of you.

In brief (our summary)

Walking a remote coast road in north-west Scotland on a perfect summer day — moors and mountains, cliffs, glistening green islands, reeling sea birds — the student Ajahn Brahm comes upon a parked car, assuming the driver has stopped to enjoy the view. Instead he is reading a big newspaper that blocks out the whole seascape. Tempted to cut a peephole with the scissors in his backpack, the skinny student thinks better of tackling a big Scotsman and walks on, enjoying the day.

Teaching point

Inner chatter is a newspaper in the mind, millimetres thick, hiding the beauty of the present.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in The Power of Silence | Ajahn Brahm | 12-12-2008 · 2008-12-20 · ▶ watch from 9:20 to 13:23 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

2 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: Manual (volunteer) captions; occasional misspellings kept as is.

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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