Story · Ajahn Brahm
Snoopy: “Most days we won't”
Content note: retelling of a copyrighted comic strip (Peanuts)
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
And this Peanuts, this Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy, must have been on vacation somewhere, they were on a pier and they were sitting there enjoying the afternoon, this beautiful view, just mountains and lakes and waters, having a beautiful afternoon there, and Charlie Brown says to his dog Snoopy, "You know Snoopy, all of us one day will die." And Snoopy, this great philosopher, he really is wise dog, much wiser than human beings, Snoopy says, "True, one day all of us will die, but most days all of us won't die.
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 24:42 (to 25:31)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
Charlie Brown worries that one day we'll all die, and Snoopy, wiser than any human, points out that on most days we won't. Worrying about the future drains more energy than the day itself. Today is very likely not that day, so put the worry down and enjoy the view from the pier.
In brief (our summary)
Charlie Brown and Snoopy sit on a pier enjoying a beautiful view of mountains and lakes. Charlie Brown says, “You know, Snoopy, all of us one day will die.” Snoopy replies: “True, one day all of us will die — but most days all of us won't.”
Teaching point
Don't waste energy worrying about the future; most days, the feared thing isn't happening.
When this story may help
Themes
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Dealing with Tiredness | Ajahn Brahm | 19 Feb 2016 · 2016-02-20 · ▶ watch from 24:42 to 25:31 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
3 other tellings of this story
- Contentment | Ajahn Brahm | 11 Mar 2016 · 2016-03-11 · ▶ watch from 46:04 to 47:08 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia2016 telling: 'somebody sent this brilliant cartoon'; applied to fear of flu epidemics and relationships; in Q&A someone shows the actual strip ('True, but on all the other days we will not').
- Dealing with Fear | Ajahn Brahm | 25 Nov 2016 · 2016-11-25 · ▶ watch from 41:24 to 43:18 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaNov 2016 telling (closing a talk on fear after the US election): no pier or view described; 'kick the bucket list' aside.
- Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 4 Feb 2017 · 2017-02-04 · ▶ watch from 1:16:51 to 1:17:17 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaFeb 2017: Charlie Brown depressing; Snoopy — most days you won't die.
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