A thank-you letter to the Health Minister

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• The thank-you letter to the plumbing shop

  In brief: Building Bodhinyana's first toilet block, Ajahn Brahm can't afford a plumber, so a salesman called Fred at Galvins in Osborne Park shows…

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  one of the stories in open the door of your heart when we just started out building Bodin Monastery the first year you know I you know all know the story of the brick wall but I didn't didn't just lay bricks I did the plumbing on our toilet block the very first building I did all the we couldn't afford a plumber they cost a fortune plumbers so I had to learn how to do the plumbing so how can you learn Plumbing I went to the shop it was Galvin don't mind giving an advertisement for Galvin cuz they were really a good shop and they uh have put the plans on the table and basically I said help and of course you know it's a reasonable size building and there's you know quite a uh a few pipes and fitting so it's actually worth the the um the salesperson's time you know looking at it and so you need one of these you need one of those and getting all the parts and just showing how to glue it together it's quite simple but you know just all you need is 5 minutes to show you pull the glue around this way just twist it around so the glue spreads hold it together for you know 10 to 15 seconds then you can leave it and know use a sort of a spirit level to make sure you get just the right drop one in 40 which is about you know a third of a bubble on a spirit level they gave me all these beautiful tips so took all the stuff back to Monastery and took a few days you know didn't have uh to do it fast and took my time and got it all done of course if it's Plumbing like sewage you have to get it checked by the health inspector so the health inspector came checked it all out and it worked I was really sort of say flush with success as somebody said for sewage pipes and I was so happy and at that same day the bill came and know I don't know couple thousand in those days you know quite a lot of money so I got the check from the treasurer and now I sent it off to the plumbing department cuz I knew I was the one who ordered it all so I could check the the the bill make sure it was correct send it off and instead of just sending off the check I wrote a little letter only took me 10 minutes saying like thank you the guy salesperson was called Fred thank you to Fred behind the counter you know at Osburn Park galvin's cuz he really helped me sort of with this plumbing job you know without his help we've had to get a plum with cost of Fortune and with just a charity just starting off we really needed this so thanks so much and today it was passed of you're so happy thank you so much and here's a check and because first year doing this sort of stuff I thought it would just go to the shop I never realized that Galvin is a huge company so the letter went to the the um the accounts department and so some little Clark in the accounts Department I got this uh later on the story they opened this and I thought oh my God a letter what have we done wrong this time cuz apparently the only time you write letters to companies is to complain about bad service 4y pipes so of know too much money or whatever it is hardly anybody writes a letter to say thank you and so the account the little Clark in the accounts Department took it straight to the the head of the accounts and they were just so surprised at getting a letter like this they took it to the managing director and the managing director read that letter and he picked up the telephone and called Osburn Park office can I speak to Fred and so Fred got this call from the managing director and the managing director apparently said well well done Fred that's the sort of that's the sort of attitude I want in this company you know of of customer relationship I don't know what you've done but you really did a really good job Fred and thank you sir and by the way Fred you know what salary are you on oh well it can always be improved sir or something like that and as it happened there was one other part you know for the think the water supply not the waste water which was actually too small got the wrong part and I went into that shop about an hour or two after Fred had got this call from the managing director and there were two big plumbers in front of me in in the queue those big big guys you know what plumbers are like you know with sort of shoulders as wide as septic tags and as soon as Fred saw me said Bram come over here and so these two plumbers I mean they were a bit upset they were waiting in queue but I got the first service and I just wonder what's going on and Fred's um the person who assisted him the other salesperson said you know your wife's here he called me his wife he said what do you mean he said because somebody just praised Fred and he got a call about an hour ago from the managing director and of course he was uh really chuffed about getting a praise and getting a rise in salary because of my letter and so I got the first service there's a big sign on there say customers not allowed around the back with all the fitting side said come around the back bro lo I can't said come around the back what do you want my had ised he said no that's too small said this part over here is what you want it's about two or three times the size said oh this is the one I want I said what's the difference and he smiled at me brah for you no difference CU I save the Buddhist Society about $10 or $15 on this and I never had to wait in queue got first class service and why just for a stupid little letter of thanks

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• Cassius Clay's autograph

  In brief: At 11, Ajahn Brahm heard that Cassius Clay — later Muhammad Ali — was training at the White City in London, near his home. He and a mate…

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  I remember even seeing the great Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali, I met him once - I got his autograph when I was 11, when he was in London. Really nice guy, but after a while, he was the great boxer, Cassius Clay, and people would come up to him and just [gestures boxing stance] when he was in his 60s or something. He couldn't do that anymore. But if you find satisfaction in your physical prowess, it's a lot of suffering when that starts to disappear

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• “That's a beautiful baby” on the Tube

  In brief: On a depressing London Underground ride where nobody looks at anyone, Ajahn Brahm tells a young mother her baby is beautiful — a fib, he…

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  one of the hardest places to crack, for me anyway, is the London Underground. But I've succeeded many times. You know if you have ever gone in the London Underground, you're not allowed to look at each other. You've got to look down and you've got your paper and someone's looking at you. What do they want? You can do that. I remember it just very easy. You are stuck in this underground. I don't know how long. And this is depressing. So, I just saw this girl. She was holding a baby and I just okay, I told a fib. I looked up and said, that's a beautiful baby. [laughter] I don't like babies, but I said it's a beautiful baby. And that just opened this girl up. Should I really said who are you? Where are you from? Oh you are from Australia. You are a monk. We had this beautiful conversation to the very end.

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• “You're either going to get better or you're going to die”

  In brief: Seriously ill with typhus in a Ubon hospital with no night nurse, young Ajahn Brahm is overjoyed when the famous Ajahn Chah visits — for…

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  That's when I was really, really down and sick as I said a few weeks ago. Really down and sick in this third-world hospital in Ubon in Thailand, 35, 37 years ago now really really bad. That was the hospital where first evening there you know you had typhus fever felt terrible, next to death and at 6:00 p.m. the nurse disappeared one hour later the night nurse still hadn't appeared and I asked the monk next to me in the next bed should we let someone know the night nurse hasn't arrived but there is something happens in the middle of the night you know you got no one to help you and that's when the monk said there is no night nurse in this hospital we only have a nurse during the daytime sometimes. If something happens in the middle of the night that's just bad kamma. That was not reassuring. Now it is true you only had nurses there for half the day at nighttime you're at your own resources and people really sick and there's no bell to ring no one would come, you scream and you know no one would come to help you. So good for a hospital but anyway after feeling so bad for day about two or three weeks that's when Ajahn Chah came to visit me and now this was this big scene even by that time he was famous and he came just to visit me. Oh I felt so so good and so happy and so relieved, the great master comes to visit me, yeah. But the euphoria only lasted for about five seconds that's all because this great teacher he came right up to me and he said to me Brahmavamso that's the full name not Ajahn Brahm, "Brahmavamso," he said “you're either going to get better or you're going to die” and then he left. His wisdom was wonderful but his bedside manner was terrible. And that's so true, it doesn't last you're either going to get better or you're going to die, that's it. Very good teaching. So if any of you are going to visit your mother this weekend in hospital Mom, I heard from this monk, you are going to get better or you're going to die, bye bye, see you tomorrow. Don't do that. That really hurt me

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