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Story · Ajahn Brahm

He sang The Sound of Silence for $10,000

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Relax the Mind | Ajahn Brahm | 13 June 2025

1 min read

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

This will be for your nuns monastery if you sing a song." Now, we don't sing songs as monks. It's against our rules. But there's also a reason for that cuz our singing is terrible. But then I thought very quickly and I said, "Okay, I will sing a song for you if you let me choose a song and I'll just uh sing it just ac cappella. There's no band behind me." And many of you, I think, know this song. you're my age, you're getting on a bit. And so I said, the song I'm going to sing is from this famous US group called the Beach Boys. Was it Beach Boy? No, it wasn't Beach Boys. Sorry. It was Simon and Garuncle. The Sound of Silence. That's not a song. It is. It's called The Sound of Silence. and I just shut up and sat there and eventually she gave in and gave the $10,000 to the nuns honestly. That's the only ever song I've sung in in public

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 2:33 (to 4:02)

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

A sponsor offered $10,000 for the nuns if Ajahn Brahm would sing. Monks don't sing, and his voice is terrible, so he chose 'The Sound of Silence' and sat quietly until she gave in. A sense of fun matters. Judge a teacher by the smile; joy is the evidence that practice works.

In brief (our summary)

A sponsor offered a $10,000 cheque for the nuns' monastery if Ajahn Brahm would sing. Monks don't sing — and he can't — so he chose Simon and Garfunkel's The Sound of Silence, sat in silence, and eventually got the donation.

Teaching point

Wit and stillness can serve generosity better than performing on demand.

When this story may help

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Relax the Mind | Ajahn Brahm | 13 June 2025 · 2025-06-13 · ▶ watch from 2:33 to 4:02 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'Simon and Garuncle' as captioned.

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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