# The whitewashed wall that vanished

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-zen-wall-vanishes-north-england
- Themes: meditation, perception, stillness
- Life situations: retreat, seeking

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

Young seeker ~21–22 at a north-England Zen monastery: sit in a line, open eyes on a whitewashed wall, Zen stick for sleepers. Watching without change, the wall vanishes from existence — early clue that the brain only registers what changes.

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

I went to this Zen monastery. And I never knew what we were supposed to do. So, all they told us to do was to sit in a line, and just to watch the wall with open eyes. And it was sort of serious because they had the Zen master. And they would walk behind you with a Zen stick. And they would hit you if you were sleepy. People told me, "Oh, yeah, you know, if they hit you, it doesn't hurt." But when the guy next to me got hit, I didn't believe that at all. But it worked. Cuz the guy next to me woke up. So did I. For the rest of the retreat, I wasn't sleeping at all. But that was out of fear, not really the right way of doing things. But going back to the the story, that watching the wall with your eyes open, just a simple whitewash wall, and then the wall vanished. It disappeared. And it just it left existence

## Teaching point

Stillness makes the unchanging drop out of awareness.

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

At a Zen retreat in northern England, young Ajahn Brahm sat staring at a plain whitewashed wall until it vanished completely. No drugs involved; he was weird but virtuous. He worked out why: the brain only registers change. Close your eyes and the eyelids disappear too. When the mind grows still, the unchanging drops away.

## Source

- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 4 July 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF98ZAR2a_g) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:33 to 9:39: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF98ZAR2a_g&t=513s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 29 June 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvjwy_Oyzyg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 15:50 to 16:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvjwy_Oyzyg&t=950s
- [01. Day 1 - Morning Talk. Ajahn Brahm Retreat at Bandarawela, Sri Lanka 2011](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtnuVoJXWhM) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 5:27 to 6:59: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtnuVoJXWhM&t=327s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 1 February 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXsjyO0p9JY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 8:50 to 9:24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXsjyO0p9JY&t=530s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 26 October 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k_yMiystqU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 7:26 to 8:27: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k_yMiystqU&t=446s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 3 December 2022](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bQuKnxxX4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:10:08 to 1:10:46: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bQuKnxxX4&t=4208s
- [Day 3 Morning talk on Stillness Nov 2013 Ajahn Brahm Retreat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsU2mJ0_9us) (BSWA Retreats 2011-15 & Media) — watch from 34:50 to 35:19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsU2mJ0_9us&t=2090s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 13 January 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc5xd1vcjx4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 7:50 to 8:51: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc5xd1vcjx4&t=470s
- [Word of the Buddha (Part 9) | Ajahn Brahm | 10 December 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSP98sMpgPM) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:09:02 to 1:09:23: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSP98sMpgPM&t=4142s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 28 March 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxgibjSoGBY) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 16:07 to 16:47: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxgibjSoGBY&t=967s
- [Word of the Buddha (part 4) | Ajahn Brahm | 8 March 2020](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GylYs6JOTjg) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 16:57 to 17:34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GylYs6JOTjg&t=1017s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 17 January 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoBI3jvnQcI) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 10:19 to 11:48: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoBI3jvnQcI&t=619s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 16 May 2026](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97e33-2TDls) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 13:35 to 14:08: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97e33-2TDls&t=815s
- [Word of the Buddha (Part 12) | Ajahn Brahm | 11 February 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0o_pG4lw0) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 17:45 to 18:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0o_pG4lw0&t=1065s
- [Word of the Buddha (Part 3) | Ajahn Brahm | 9 February 2025](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVGb4Nn84lo) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 1:09:14 to 1:10:04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVGb4Nn84lo&t=4154s
- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 23 November 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZbsbvDOsy8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 4:02 to 4:56: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZbsbvDOsy8&t=242s
- [Word of the Buddha (Part 2) | Ajahn Brahm | 8 December 2024](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZGNOEFC6_Q) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 22:52 to 24:21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZGNOEFC6_Q&t=1372s