# Ted's last dinner

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-ted-hospice-eat-whatever-you-want
- Themes: dying, care, joy, illness
- Life situations: terminal illness, restrictive diets, hospice care

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Ted, a Lancashire man dying of lung cancer, was one of the first patients in the new hospice next to Murdoch Hospital. Asked what he wanted for dinner, he listed what he couldn't eat — nothing sweet (diabetes), oily or fried (cholesterol), salty (hardened arteries). The nurse said: 'You're not going to die of any of those; you're going to die of cancer in a couple of days. Eat whatever you want.' His eyes went wide, and he ate all the sweet, syrupy, salty food his wife hadn't allowed him for years. He went into remission and walked out of the hospice — six extra months — before he went back 'to die properly'.

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

Finish off with the story of Ted. I I'll finish off now. I promise. Maybe [laughter] Ted. This guy, they just opened up St. John of God. No, no, no. One in Murdoch. Murdoch Hospice down in uh right next to Murdoch Hospital. really nice little hospital. They just opened up. So Ted was one of the first patients in there. Had lung cancer, was dying. So they put him in there to die. Just a one-way ticket. [clears throat] But with Ted, he was like from York. I got to be careful. From Lanasher. He's from on the borders between Lanasher and York. He was from Lancasher. And so the he told me afterwards I went to visit him a few times. The first night in the hospital, the nurse came up to him and said, "What do you want for dinner tonight, Ted?" And Ted said, "Well, you know, I got diabetes, so I can't have anything sweet. [gasps] I got sort of high cholesterol, so forget about anything oil or oily or or fried. I can't have anything like that. I can't have anything salty because I've got hardened arteries. I can't have. And the nurse looked at him and said, "What on earth are you talking about, Ted? You're not going to die of cholesterol or heart attack or or hardened arteries or diabetes. You're going to die of cancer in a couple of days." So Ted, the nurse said, "You can eat whatever you want. anything really. His eyes went wide apparently according to the nurse. Really? And so he had all this food, sweet, syrupy, salty, sugary, which is he told me his wife had never allowed him to eat for the last three or four years. And he ate it. Had lots of it. Why not? You're going to die soon. So, and we know what happened. Honest story. He went into remission and he walked out of that hospice. [laughter] True. I know. He's a good friend. God is his [laughter] daughter and and uh son-in-law was an ex monk and six months he had and then he went back into the hospice to die properly. [snorts] [laughter] He went back. He had six extra months because he cared for himself instead of trying to cure himself so much.

## Teaching point

Caring for yourself can matter more than trying so hard to cure yourself.

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

Dying in a hospice, Ted listed every food his conditions forbade, until a nurse told him to eat whatever he wanted. He feasted on sweets, rallied, and walked out for six more months. One man's story, not a treatment plan. But caring for yourself kindly can matter more than fighting so hard to fix everything.

## Source

- [Having Positive Attitudes towards Everybody | Ajahn Brahm | 12 March 2021](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsIU4DM27nQ) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 49:15 to 52:04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsIU4DM27nQ&t=2955s

Other tellings of this story:

- [1 Intro to meditation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-jMZugitTk) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 46:14 to 47:12: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-jMZugitTk&t=2774s
- [Buddhist Air Conditioning | Ajahn Brahm | 16 December 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh7RvII8zG0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 7:31 to 9:35: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dh7RvII8zG0&t=451s
- [Helping Others with Empathy | Ajahn Brahm | 2 June 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iffN3uTNCnQ) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:30 to 9:37: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iffN3uTNCnQ&t=510s
- [Terminal Lucidity | Ajahn Brahm | 1 December 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyKxtE_U-t4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 16:19 to 18:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyKxtE_U-t4&t=979s
- [Bringing Joy into Sickness | Ajahn Brahm | 7 June 2019](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pChVS4oWK4E) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 43:38 to 46:07: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pChVS4oWK4E&t=2618s
- [The Mindfulness Retreat Trend | Ajahn Brahm | 18 Mar 2016](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xPhcGp749Q) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 22:50 to 24:01: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xPhcGp749Q&t=1370s
- [True Happiness | Ajahn Brahm | 27 February 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCC6N7kf7eI) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 6:12 to 7:36: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCC6N7kf7eI&t=372s