Stories about Buddhism
5 Buddhist wisdom stories about Buddhism from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Bernard Carr, the first Buddhist he metStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At 16 Ajahn Brahm wins his first school maths prize, is sent to Foyles for maths books, and instead buys Buddhism paperbacks from the attic annex. He recognises himself as a…
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Bernard was a very close friend because he was the first Buddhist I ever met. And the story is this. As a young man, we're going to school and about 16 years of age, I started to come good at the at the um secondary school where I was studying and I won my first school prize at 16 for maths. So they I asked, "What do I do?" Never had a school prize before. And my teacher said, "You go off to the bookshop and get books on mathematics so you could go even further in that field." So being obedient, I went to this bookstore in Charing Cross Road in London, Foils Bookshop. And I went in there the mathematics section and I looked at all these books on mathematics and I said to myself, I'm not going to waste my first school prize on that rubbish. I want something a bit more interesting. And I noticed on the opposite side of the road in the annex, annex is always interesting. In the very top floor, the attic, that is where they had books on the weird stuff, psychic powers. All the different religions were up there as well. And so I brought a whole mass of paperbacks and the teacher, you're not supposed to get paperbacks, but it's good value for money instead of getting a hardback. But we got to present something to you. Oh, present. That's good enough. So I think the book which was presented to me I think was absolutely true was the third eye by lob sang ramper the guy I think some celebrity or some important person I said what is this book this guy's getting but that was only one of them the rest of them was all these books on Buddhism that's actually where I became a Buddhist I read them I thought wow that's what I am that's how I think that's you know my personality And it was only when I went to university that they had all these clubs and societies and I just my eyes went wide when I saw there was a Buddhist club in university and I was just so excited. What you mean there's other Buddhists? I can actually, you know, join something. This was in 1969 I think. And so I went to the counter and there's this another student is on the other end of the counter. I said I want to join. He said no this is Buddhism. You don't need to join. Just come and test it out. I said I'm already a Buddhist. I want to join. No just after a few talks if you want to. And I slammed a£1 note which was a joining 518 on the table. Join me now. And he became you know a lifelong friend. That was Bernard Bernard Khr.
- Hahayana — the book title that stuckStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Idea for a joke book combining Hinayana/Mahayana/Vajrayana into Hahayana — title first, book maybe never; the laugh is the teaching.
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a combination of uh Hinayana, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, which became Hahayana, yes. Hahayana Buddhist teachings of Ajahn Brahm. [laughter] And then I've never got that far, but never mind
- Super Monk and the DreamWorks emailStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a new monk in Thailand Ajahn Brahm reads a comic of 'Super Monk' who flies and saves people — but instead of killing villains, gives them the five precepts so they become good…
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someone showed me a copy of one of the tiny newspapers and even though I couldn't understand Thai that well I still as I do these days I like reading the comics so I saw a comic there and the comic was of a character called super monk nice 36 37 years ago so super monk was like a Superman or one of these superheroes and Superman could levitate of course being a super monk could fly through the air but also had these great powers to stop trains crashing and stop aircrafts or plunging into the ground he could save all these people from the bad guys but unlike modern times when Superman or these other superheroes they usually either killed the bad guy send him into prison forever in Superman comic he were given the five Buddhist precepts and they'd become very good people afterwards even they rejoin the Sangha become monks there's a much nicer ending and not violence because sometimes even these these superheroes they used too much violence instead of using violence using wisdom and compassion to solve the problems of the world and what a wonderful idea that was and so anyway I mentioned that I see the newspapers you know in the magazines they got all these superheroes I used to read about in the comics as a kid Batman and Green Lantern and the flash and all these other people they always Batman there was made movies of these people now and so the one movie which I thought they should have after the Buddhist Film Fest what a real Buddhist movie would be super Munk now you know I throw these ideas out and sometimes you think I'm just no hour wasting time but when you go to these meetings every now and again you meet someone interesting and at the end of my talk somebody stood up and they put their hand off the question said my ex our husband works for Steven Spielberg it DreamWorks I'm gonna email him tonight this suggestion so if you see in a one or two years time in the movies super Munk done by DreamWorks with the consultant as Adam Braun you know where the cave I thought what a wonderful thing because all these superheroes they end up punishing the bad guys
- Trees give shade to the one cutting them downAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A forest sign in Sri Lanka: trees are so kind they even give shade to the person cutting them down — kindness that protects even those who harm you.
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Trees are just so kind they even give shade to the person cutting them down.' And that is just a beautiful thing: they're hurting, they're killing the tree, but they still give shade to the people who are destroying them. That's kindness; that's something which is beautiful; that is something which is totally illogical, 100% emotional and just so, so Buddhist: even though someone is cutting you down and killing you, you still give shade to them and protect them. That is the meaning of life
- You don't have to join — Cambridge Buddhist SocietyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Cambridge societies fair: finds Buddhist Society stall like gold; wants to join; the person behind the counter says this is Buddhism — you don't have to join.
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society's fair day where all the societies they had a stall at the University and you can join whatever Club you wanted to even fox hunting if you want to go fox hunting remember this is Cambridge University snobby place but as soon as I walked in I just I will never forget this experience they had Buddhist Society of Cambridge University I saw they had a store and to me that was like finding gold I never expected to have a Buddhist Society University so I went straight up to the counter said I want to join and the guy in front of the counter said look this is Buddhism you don't have to join