# The monk drunk at the town gate

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-sutta-drunk-monk-at-town-gate
- Themes: precepts, alcohol, monastic discipline, origins of rules
- Life situations: understanding why rules exist, drinking

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

In the Buddha's time, generous but unwise lay people ask some scallywag monks what monks need; 'what's hard to come by — booze.' Next day a monk who has vowed to eat whatever is put in his bowl receives alcohol all along his alms round, and by the end collapses unconscious at the town gate — just as the Buddha returns from his own alms round. Seeing him, the Buddha lays down the rule: monks should not take alcohol.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

And this is a story about what it was like in the time of the Buddha, 2,500 years ago in India, when the Buddhist monks started to get popular, they always had a few real scallywags, really there really were naughty monks in that time. And some of the laypeople, you know what you're like. You're very sort of um uh faithful, and you you're very kind and generous, and you say to the monks, "Oh, you've been so good. Is there anything you need?" But they asked the wrong monks. They asked a couple of these scallywag monks. You know, is anything the monks need? And so, they these monks said, "Give the monks what's hard for them to come by." What do you mean, what's hard for them to come by? They've got enough rice and curry. No, give some booze. Cuz that's very hard to come by. That's very true. And they said, "Is that allowed?" We said, "Yeah, that's fine." So, they went This was really scallywag monks, you know, saying the wrong thing. So, these people were had too much faith and too little wisdom. So, the next day when they saw one of these monks come on alms round, it was one of these monks who made the determination, "Whatever you give them, they will eat." I did that for a while. You know, whatever you put in my bowl, that's what I put in my mouth. And so, he made that resolution. And so, these people started putting putting alcohol in his bowl. So, that's what he had to put in his mouth. And they thought it was extra merit cuz it's something which they know is very rare for a monk to get. And so, so the problem was by the time he'd finished his alms round, he was actually so, you know, over the limit. He was struggling to get back to the monastery to sleep it off. But what usually happens is a very very worst of uh your nightmares. He managed to make it to the town gate. And actually there, he collapsed. That's where he lost consciousness. He was just too drunk. It's the wrong place for him to pass out because everyone had to come in and go out through that gate. And it was 5 minutes after he collapsed, who would come by? But the Buddha, coming back from his alms round. And that's where he saw the monk who was drunk, paralytic, unconscious on the ground. I don't know why that always Whenever you make a small mistake, isn't it always happens that, you know, you get caught out, the boss finds you. You only done it once, and it's the first time. Why does this always happen? But the poor monk got caught by the Buddha. And that's when he sort of said, "Monks, you should not take alcohol cuz look what it does to you

## Teaching point

The precept against alcohol arose from seeing what drink does to the mind.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

A monk who had vowed to eat whatever went in his bowl was given booze all along the alms round and collapsed at the town gate, just as the Buddha walked by. The rule on alcohol came from seeing that. Ajahn Brahm presents the precept as a kindness that keeps life simpler, clearer and safer, not a scolding.

## Source

- [Sex and Booze | Ajahn Brahm | 01-07-2011](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKQfkUXfx4Y) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 24:14 to 26:45: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKQfkUXfx4Y&t=1454s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Finding fault or finding beauty | by Ajahn Brahm | 5 June 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K8ejLdmOK8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 13:19 to 13:56: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4K8ejLdmOK8&t=799s