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Story · Ajahn Brahm

Lost in the mist: follow the stream

As told by Ajahn Brahm in The Importance of Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 07 Nov 2017

2 min read

Content note: mountain danger

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

when I was a student I used to spend a lot of vacations up in the Highlands of Scotland I would take a tent and go in solitude for a few days it was maybe a natural monk so on one occasion I was staying at a youth hostel in the far north of Scotland in the mountains and the warden of the youth hostel beautiful day today let's go to a walk up on top of the mountain so we went together that three or four hours we got to the top again a wonderful sunny day in Scotland there was another man who'd it's going to the top of that mountain as well and the warden said no you go by yourself he was a local man he should not have allowed me to go by myself in the wilderness you don't go alone because this is what happened as I got to the summit of the second mountain the clouds came in from the the ocean the Atlantic Ocean and they came in so fast there's a clear sunny day one minute ten minutes later the clouds have come down and I was enveloped in the mist I couldn't even see the hand in front of me I thought I had a sense of direction so I turned around and decided to walk down the mountain again and I came bitter within one step that distance it was a vertical cliff if I hadn't been mindful I wouldn't be here that really scared me this was dangerous I could not see where I was going I was lost with no sense of direction so I stood and thought considered solution to the problem basic science find a stream even a little book because water always flows downhill so I found a little book followed it another little rivulet came into it got bigger and big when I followed it down and down whichever way at me ended I'd follow it follow it with it asleep until it got so low down I was underneath the mist and I could see my directions and that's how I got back a long time later to the youth roster

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 1:40:58 (to 1:43:25)

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

Lost in thick cloud on a Scottish summit, one step from a cliff, the student followed a trickle of water downhill until it brought him below the mist. When teachers and advice conflict, follow what makes you calmer, kinder and less grasping. And ask your family whether you're easier to live with; they'll tell you.

In brief (our summary)

As a student in the far north of Scotland, the youth-hostel warden sends him up a second mountain alone. At the summit Atlantic clouds roll in within minutes; he can't see his hand. Turning to go down, he stops one step from a vertical cliff. He reasons: water always flows downhill. He finds a little brook and follows it as it grows, down below the mist until he can see his way back to the hostel.

Teaching point

Before stream-entry you're in the mist; follow the stream that makes you more peaceful, kind and less attached — and ask your family if you're easier to live with.

When this story may help

Themes

  • being lost
  • guidance
  • spiritual path
  • danger

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in The Importance of Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 07 Nov 2017 · 2017-12-13 · ▶ watch from 1:40:58 to 1:43:25 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

2 other tellings of this story

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'book' = brook; 'youth roster' = youth hostel (not changed).

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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