Story · Ajahn Brahm
A Coke for the lottery numbers
The story — as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)
once when I was just on this what they call on tudong living by yourself walking through the mountains alone carrying everything you owned on your back and I just was sitting down resting know for um a few minutes and as I was just sitting down there this woman saw me and when she saw me. She disappeared and came back about 10 minutes later. Now, she was a middle-aged woman. And she came and she put in front of me a bottle of Coca-Cola, a piece of paper, and a pencil. What was it? That's what they wanted. She thought I didn't understand the Isan language was place I was staying the northeastern language so she thought I would figure it out CocaCola piece of paper pencil and when I told her in now I could speak that language I said no I don't I'm not going to give you any lottery number she took the Coca-Cola away
▶ Watch Ajahn Brahm tell it from 13:42 (to 15:00)
A reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)
Resting on tudong, Ajahn Brahm was offered a Coca-Cola with a pencil and paper for lottery numbers. When he said, in her own language, that he wouldn't give any, she took the Coke back. He laughs. His happiest times came not from getting things but from contentment, when he didn't want anything at all.
In brief (our summary)
Resting alone on tudong in the mountains of north-east Thailand, Ajahn Brahm is spotted by a middle-aged woman who disappears and returns ten minutes later to set before him a bottle of Coca-Cola, a piece of paper and a pencil — assuming he won't understand the Isan language. He tells her, in Isan, that he won't give her any lottery numbers. She takes the Coca-Cola away.
Teaching point
People seek happiness in winning things; real happiness is contentment.
When this story may help
- gambling
- transactional giving
Themes
Source & credit
Told by Ajahn Brahm in Happiness and Wanting | Ajahn Brahm | 24 February 2023 · 2023-02-24 · ▶ watch from 13:42 to 15:00 · Buddhist Society of Western Australia
2 other tellings of this story
- Peace in Present Moment | Ajahn Brahm | 14 November 2025 · 2025-11-15 · ▶ watch from 12:49 to 17:06 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaNov 2025 telling: Kawwong cave — 'in 2 or 3 days / I don't know' overheard as lottery 50; Pepsi for numbers.
- The Middle Way of Wealth | Ajahn Brahm | 26 January 2024 · 2024-01-27 · ▶ watch from 32:02 to 32:36 · Buddhist Society of Western AustraliaJan 2024 telling: Pepsi (not Coke) + paper + pencil in forest sit; refusal — she takes Pepsi back as 'fee'. Same arc as tudong Coke/Pepsi lottery ask. Merged from unpublished S42 key brahm-pepsi-pencil-lottery-in-forest.
Caption notes: YouTube auto-captions (machine-punctuated); words left exactly as captioned.
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