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Story · Ajahn Brahm

The monk who gave a kidney to the evangelical

As told by Ajahn Brahm in How to Keep Giving Without Reward | Ajahn Brahm | 02-05-2014

1 min read

Content note: organ donation; religion

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

There was—great little story—there was one of the monks over there, always giving blood every six months or three months, and he got a letter from the blood bank saying that there was a person who needed a kidney, and he was an organ donor as well. And they said, 'Would you mind"—he had two kidneys, do without one— And they said, "Can you give this... got you a perfect match to this person who needs a kidney desperately. Would you mind donating one of your kidneys to this person?" The monk said, "Of course, no trouble." But they said, "There was a problem. The problem was that the person who needed your kidney, he was an Evangelical Christian going around Sri Lanka converting the Buddhists to Christianity. He's taking away all your followers." The monk said, "What do you mean? Of course, he can have my kidney. Doesn't matter what religion you are. If you're a...it's just like if a Jew found out that a Hamas wanted your kidney— of course, you can take my kidney. Just because we've got some religious differences, that doesn't mean anything. You're a human being; you need my kidney; I've got a spare one; take it." So he donated the kidney to this Evangelical Christian

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 57:44 (to 59:01)

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

A Sri Lankan monk was found to be a perfect kidney match for an evangelist busy converting Buddhists. Of course, he said; you need a kidney and I have a spare. It made the front pages. A person's need matters more than religious rivalry. Be kind to the neighbour who swears at you, and give their dogs a treat.

In brief (our summary)

A Sri Lankan monk who regularly gave blood was asked to donate a kidney to a perfect match — an evangelical Christian converting Buddhists. He said of course: religious difference does not stop a human being needing a spare kidney. It made the front page.

Teaching point

Compassion for a person is bigger than defending your religion's territory.

When this story may help

  • religious conflict
  • deciding whether to help an opponent

Themes

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in How to Keep Giving Without Reward | Ajahn Brahm | 02-05-2014 · 2014-05-04 · ▶ watch from 57:44 to 59:01 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

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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