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Story · Ajahn Brahm

A Sunday in Singapore that 'Amnesty would call torture'

As told by Ajahn Brahm in How To Be Positive | by Ajahn Brahm | 17 Oct 2008

2 min read

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

Again just being in Singapore last Sunday -- there's couple of people here from Singapore, you know this is true -- started off my Sunday morning at 6:15 in the Canning Fort Park teaching meditation. It was only supposed to be a short meditation. But you know what it's like afterwards, people start asking you questions and taking photographs. I had to rush for the morning..so-called breakfast. It was not a breakfast, it was morning banquet. People saying "Please eat this, please eat that, because I made this specially for you Ajahn Brahm." [laughter] And now you may always see I'm a fat monk. It is not my fault. [laughter] I get pressured, forced, cajoled. And if you don't believe me, you just come and follow me for one day and see what happens. So I had to eat this big breakfast and then talk to people. And then as soon as that was finished, had to go off to this morning service at the Buddhist Fellowship, which was only supposed to be a talk for an hour but went on and on and on with questions and stuff. And then we were supposed to have some lunch. But on the lunch, people come up and ask you to sign a book and ask some questions because they have some really big problems in life. So you give them free counseling. You're trying to put a spoon of food in one mouth and counsel them about their marital problems in the other. It is really working. And after that was finished, then I had to sort of rush off to a seminar they'd organized for four hours of giving talks and asking questions. And of course it wasn't four hours, it lasted for five or six, finished about eight o'clock. And after that, I had to go to this golf club where they were having a sort of a launch of an education program which I had to give another talk; didn't get back to bed till about quarter to midnight. And if anyone looked at that schedule, you'd call that torture. Amnesty International will probably take the Buddhist Fellowship in Singapore to court for that.. [laughter] human rights abuse; war crimes. But of course I enjoyed every minute of it.

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 29:45 (to 32:10)

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

On paper the day was a marathon: dawn meditation, a breakfast banquet, counselling between mouthfuls, talks until nearly midnight. Ajahn Brahm enjoyed every minute. The schedule didn't change; the way of looking did. On a crowded day, skip the why-me and look for what's good in it, going slowly enough to notice.

In brief (our summary)

Ajahn Brahm recounts a Singapore Sunday from 6:15 a.m. meditation through a 'breakfast banquet', talks, counselling over lunch, a five-hour seminar and an evening launch, ending near midnight — and he enjoyed every minute.

Teaching point

The same demanding day can be seen as torture or enjoyed; the difference is whether you look at its positive side.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in How To Be Positive | by Ajahn Brahm | 17 Oct 2008 · 2008-11-15 · ▶ watch from 29:45 to 32:10 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

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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