Stories about Australia
13 Buddhist wisdom stories about Australia from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Be good — no, that's no funStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Between interviews at a Catholic retreat centre in Safety Bay he watched two middle-aged men leave Sunday service. One said 'be good'; the other answered 'no, that's no fun'. He…
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I still remember a time when I was teaching a retreat over in um safety Bay and just in a space between the interviews that some I was looking through the window and it was a a Catholic Retreat Center and as I looking through the window I saw these two people two maybe middle-aged men they just gone to church for the Sunday service and as they were shaking hands and saying goodbye to each other they parted with this greeting one of them said to the other be good and the other one said no that's no fun
- Darwin crows only die under trucksJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On the Darwin highway the only roadkill noticed is crows — and only under trucks and buses, never sedans. The rumour checks out as true.
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Northern Territory in Darwin, they're investigating a very weird phenomena because on the big highway, you know, going up to Darwin, they noticed the only road kill they saw on there was actually crows, the crows being killed, they were only killed by by trucks and buses, never by sedans. They look there and so and that was a rumor, the myth and I actually checked that it was absolutely true weird but the crows would only be wiped out by the truc
- Give me the phone — call your other sonStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: After Bundaberg visit, lunch in Brisbane: host has two sons, one estranged for years. Brahm asks for the number, takes the phone and reconnects them.
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Bundaberg in Queensland, and on the way back, uh in uh Brisbane before I went to the airport, is one of the gentlemen there invited me for dinner for dinner in his house. So, went there for the lunch. When I was talking to him, I just talking just being polite, how many kids have you got? Yeah, I've got two sons. So, are they here? One of them is, but the one the other one I haven't seen him for about 7 or 8 years. How come? Is he going overseas? No, he lives a few suburbs away. How come you haven't seen him for such a long time? He said, "Oh, we had some sort of argument." And I saw the younger son. Then he says, "Have you got your elder son's telephone number?" He said, "Yes." Give him a call now, please. The thing was, because in Sri Lanka, I'm very well respected. And so they they didn't dare saying no. So, he got out his phone and called his his elder brother. And once he got through, I said, "Give me the phone." And I picked up the phone and said, this is true, this is exactly what happened. I said, "This is Ajahn Brahm here." "Ajahn Brahm?" Said, "Yes, I'm at your dad's house. Come immediately." And I put the phone down. And this this poor young man didn't have a choice. He was scared that something terrible would happen to him if he didn't obey me. So, he he came to his dad's house. And they hadn't seen each other for 7 or 8 years
- I'm the treasurer — I can squeeze five more dropsJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At a Northbridge pub an ex-Olympic wrestler offered free drinks to anyone who could squeeze five more drops from a lemon he had already crushed. Bikies, boxers and footballers…
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there was a pub here in Perth there's a pub it's in in Northbridge a rough area well not really rough area but you know so the nightclub area and in that Pub they had a competition the bar man of that Pub the owner he used to be an Olympic wrestler and I retired so you've got a pub and he had a standing competition once he squeezed a lemon into you know a drink if anybody could actually squeeze five drops out of that lemon that have free drinks for the rest of the night because he was so tough when he squeezed a level you couldn't get anything else out and they had these tough bikie gang leaders they tried it this huge guys Taps all over them squeeze the lemon they couldn't get anything out after the the excess Olympic um wrestler uh squeezed it sometimes had his bodybuilders like Arnie Schwarzenegger sometimes these you know professional boxes weight lifters they all tried you know the footballers Eagles captains and and Fremantle Dockers no one could actually squeeze any drops out of until this one guy came in a suit one evening a really thin weak guy maybe about 40 50 years of age he said I want to try this and about it's forget it look at you got no muscles on you you won't be able to squeeze this out it says yes I can I can do this and so he got the lemon and he started squeezing him and squeezing it one drop came out true drops came out five drops came out they couldn't believe it how such a 50 or 60 year old guy I forget how old he is because squeeze all these drops out of her head and said who the heck are you and he said I'm the treasurer of Australia
- Insure the house — live in a prisonJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Sydney man told to cut insurance premiums with screens, cameras and bars until home feels like prison — punchline setup for finding another way.
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guy in Sydney I think I told this one before maybe some of you remember this guy in Sydney was just really really just upset at how much it cost for his insurance and the insurance company said if you want to get less premiums because of burglars and stuff you have to install security screens on your windows you get security guards like we've got over outside you have to have cameras everywhere bars on your windows it is like living in a prison but you have to because there's burglars around and he found a an alternative now he doesn't pay any insurance he's got free security and all he needed to do no bars on his windows no security screens no uh CCTV cameras all you did he went to Bunnings and brought a flagpole and on the flagpole is front garden he put a nicest flag
- Men don't cry in AustraliaStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Aussie retreatant cries in meditation; last cry was at 11–12 when his father said men don't cry in Australia.
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fellow who came on one of my retreats, an Aussie guy. He started crying in while he was meditating. He said, "What's going on here?" And you know what I told him? I said, "When was the last time you had a cry?" And he said, "When I was about, I think about 11 or 12 or something." And my father said, "Men don't cry in Australia
- No BS — Fremantle jail audienceStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Teaching in old Fremantle jail while it was still open; prisoners warn: no BS — if we disagree we will tell you. Tough and refreshing.
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old freem manle jail when it was still open and I thank those prisoners in that jail CU as soon as I walked in to give a talk and know they said no BS unfortunately I can't say the PO word now because people already complain when I use this word which I'm not supposed to say but I've said it again but this is Australia okay we're supposed to sort of teach in the local language but they said you know please no BS you know over in here if we don't agree with what you say we're going to tell you
- No side entrance — through the public barStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Lions Club talk at the back of a Pinjarra pub; he expects a side door for the monk — there is only one way in, straight through the public bar.
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pub in Pinjara many years ago. There was I know these little stories about monks just getting into trouble. Not real big trouble, but I was giving a talk at the Lions Club and it was in the back room of a pub. That's where they have these talks. And I thought there'd always be like a side entrance around the back. we can go around the back and said, "No, there's only one way in and out to that room through the bar." And so, so the driver dropped me off at the entrance cuz we're not allowed to drive at the entrance. They went off to do something, pick you up later. And I was outside the pub in my [laughter] Thank you for laugh encouraging in my robes, not knowing what to do next. and he said, "Oh, the horse in the back." And I could actually, it's a straight line. I could see it through the door down the back where that room was. Okay, let's go for it. Very courageous. So, I put my head down. I didn't look to the left, the right, and I just went for it. And I almost almost got there almost like 80% of the way. And then somebody hand on my shoulders, pulled me around. Braum, what you drinking? Do you want a beer?
- The brochure that opened the tillStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Old-fashioned hardware counter; given a laminex brochure to choose colours; sets it on the electronic till and opens the cash drawer — thousands of dollars spill out in front of…
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laminex or something and so I had to break they gave me the brocher choose your color while I went to serve other people there's so many people about the cter oldfashioned shop you not like these big Bunnings know super super shops know with bit of personal service they gave me the the brochure and I was trying to find a place to put it down and flip through the pages and so actually I just went around behind the counter and the only place I could put it on was you know the the till the cash register it was one of these electronic ones so as soon as I put it down I must have pressed the key for opening the cash
- The Grax gravy monk who levitatedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Old Aussie TV gravy ad: line of Theravāda-looking monks; abbot (dead ringer for Ajahn Jagaro) rejects food, produces Grax from under the robe, pours gravy, and levitates with…
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advertisement for this gravy called grax do still have grax gravy yeah we know what the advertisement was is on TV they had this line of Buddhist monks you know like like us not Tibetan Monks but you know this terada Forest monks a line of monks and the head monk apparently he was a dead ringer for my predecessor aan Jak the same glasses the same face and the people offered this this food and the abber looked at the food with great disgust and it wasn't tasty enough and from under his robe he got out a packet great Vox and he sent it to the novice and the novice made up the graay box and then the Habit poured it over his food that was so delicious he actually on the TV he levitated up in the air
- The Pinjarra girl who fed the tiger snakeStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Elder in a Pinjarra home recalls: a little girl takes a saucer of milk under the stumped house each morning for a tiger snake. Mother finds out; father says leave it — next day…
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old people's home in Pinara and because they didn't get any visitors and seeing a monk in there was great you know this old old uh people and one of them told me this wonderful story I don't know how many years ago this would have been maybe 60 or 70 years ago when he saw this he was a young man at the time and this was about 30 years ago. He told me this story and he was you know in the old people's home now so maybe even older but he said that in that area in Pinter one of his friends you know living in one of these simple old houses and saw a um uh he had a daughter maybe four or five years of age and the daughter would ask the mother for a source of milk every morning and the mother you know they thought milk was going to be very healthy for the kid and asking for something We give the daughter a saucer of milk. Now why not a glass? She said no a saucer please. So after a while mom being very busy decided you know what's why does she want a saucer? Why does she drink it you know in the kitchen? Why does she take it outside? And so she followed her little five or six year old daughter and saw the five or sixyear-old daughter place the saucer of milk just on the foot of the house. you know, the the houses on stumps, raised on stumps, just and call out to whatever was living underneath the house. And a big tiger snake came out. And of course, the daughter was only a maybe a foot away from the tiger snake. And the mother freaked out because the tiger snakes were deadly, as many of you know, and her daughter was so close. And the daughter was feeding this tiger snake every day with a saucer of milk. And so she froze and waited for the snake to drink the milk and then slither away and told her her husband the next that evening. And the husband said, "I'll look after this. No need to do anything. Just give our daughter the source of milk tomorrow." Which she did. And so the little girl, five or six years of age, it went outside the house, put the source of milk down, and called out to its friend, the tiger snake. And the tiger snake slithered out. And just before it drank the milk, its head was blasted off by her father's gun, killed right in front of the girl. From that day on, the girl refused to eat. There's nothing they could do to make it to eat. And this old man said, you know, he called it she started ftting. Never heard that word in that context before. Was ftting and ftting. Eventually, she had to be admitted into the local hospital. But even the local hospital couldn't help her and she died in the hospital. Just so much sadness. so much trauma of seeing this snake killed right in front of her. And this old digger said the father might as well shot her daughter's head off at the time
- The priest who recognised Buddhist monksStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Early Australia: asks a Catholic priest if 'monk/nun' is alright; priest says yes — not for robes or bald heads but for poverty, service and surrender inside the robes.
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Catholic priest I got to know here say is it right are you happy that we call ourselves monks or nuns because that is like a Christian word and he said well look I've looked how you behave you know you ask simple you just have few possessions you know you're serving and being kind you have surrendered a lot he said we would recognize you as monks or nuns
- The shire ranger's mother at the foot of the bedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: English shire ranger living alone in northern WA wakes mid-night; turns on the light; his sick mother stands clear at the foot of the bed smiling love for six or seven minutes —…
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Northern Iowa many years ago there was one of the members of our Buddhist society lived there by himself and he was a he was English and he was a ranger ear first it was sterling Shire yeah and what was it Vincent anyway one of the science Shire Ranger very down-to-earth man and he told me that one morning writing up one morning middle of the nights in his house living there by himself he woke up middle of the night knowing that something was strange he turned on his lights next to his bed and saw his mother standing at the end of his bed clear as if it was her his mother had got on a plane and came to visit him but he knew it couldn't be his physical mother his mother was sick in hospital and it was clear as ever could be she was standing at the end of his bed I don't know why the end of his bed but that's where she was standing looking at him with only the smart of love which her mother can give to her children beautiful smile