Story · Ajahn Brahm

'I thought you couldn't talk'

As told by Ajahn Brahm in Skillful Speech | Ajahn Brahm | 03-07-2009

1 min read

Content note: the phrase 'mentally impaired' is used as reported speech

when I first came to Australia I was a get number two monk the monkey in front of me aan jagra he would give all the talks and Dennis would remembers that when first came here he would give all these talks I just sit there and sit there and sit there and after about five or six months of being here in Perth he went off to Thailand to go and visit um aent Char's monasteries just for a 3 or four weeks a bit of RNR and also back to the home base to check in with the boss and while he was away I had to give a talk and somebody came up after I gave my first talk and they told me he said that was amazing I never thought you could talk I thought you were mentally impaired you said that cuz they never seen anyone actually sit silent for so long

▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 16:50 (to 17:53)

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

For months Ajahn Brahm sat silently beside Ajahn Jagaro, until someone heard his first talk and admitted they'd assumed he couldn't speak. Silence can be misread. Still, a little restraint lets the other person be heard, and lets you hear more. Mindful silence makes you far more sensitive to others.

In brief (our summary)

When he first came to Perth, Ajahn Brahm was the second monk; Ajahn Jagaro gave all the talks while he sat silently beside him for months. When Jagaro went to Thailand for a few weeks and Ajahn Brahm gave his first talk, someone came up afterwards amazed: they had never thought he could talk — they'd assumed he was mentally impaired, having never seen anyone sit silent for so long.

Teaching point

The power of silence (even if it is sometimes misinterpreted).

When this story may help

being underestimated
learning to listen

Themes

silence
humility
humour
monastic training

Source & credit

Told by Ajahn Brahm in Skillful Speech | Ajahn Brahm | 03-07-2009 · 2009-11-19 · ▶ watch from 16:50 to 17:53 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions: unpunctuated, words left exactly as captioned. 'a get number two monk' probably = I was the number two monk; 'aan jagra' = Ajahn Jagaro.

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