Stories about calm
3 Buddhist wisdom stories about calm from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Ajahn Jagaro keeps eatingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A distraught Thai woman bursts into the monks' meal crying that her friend has shot herself; Ajahn Jagaro calmly keeps eating for a minute or two until she quietens, then puts…
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One of the first times I saw this and it was very impressive was the former abbot and Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia Ajahn Jagaro. I was with him when he was a monk just learning his trade in Thailand. Because we do learn a trade - this is a training which we go through. And we were having our morning meal when a Thai lady ran into our dining hall. She ran in, and she's obviously very upset, because they don't usually do this - interfering in a monk's meal. And she was saying something in Thai, and I actually caught it after a while, she said "Suchin is dead! Suchin is dead! She shot herself! She's committed suicide!". And I got really quite excited too because I knew that lady, she had cancer, we've been going to see her, talking to her, counselling her. She was a close disciple of the monastery. And that morning she had shot herself, and this was her best friend who found her body. She came in to the monastery just straight away, completely distraught having found her best friend committed suicide. You can understand what she felt like. And I understood that, and I looked to Ajahn Jagaro who was the head monk at that time to see what he would do. He understood what she'd said and he put his head down and carried on eating. And this lady - "She shot herself! She killed herself!" - and the monk just carried on eating as if nothing had happened. And after about one or two minutes she stopped moving her arms up and down, she stopped shouting, and at that point Ajahn Jagaro put down his spoon, put aside his bowl, and said "what happened?" I thought it was a beautiful piece of psychological calming a person's emotions down. Because he was not responding with anxiety to her great distress, he was just calming her down just by his actions and by his softness, she too calmed down in the space of one or two minutes. It was the most brilliant counselling I'd seen for years.
- Mrs. Calm and Mr. Insight climb the hillStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Mrs. Samatha (calm) climbs a hill for its peace; her husband Mr. Vipassana (insight) climbs it for the view. At the top she finds the view too, and he finds the peace — on the…
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Once upon a time, Mrs. Samata that means calm and her husband Mr. Insight, Mr. Whipasa decided to go on a walk up a hill. Mrs. Samita, Mrs. calm went up to the top of the hill cuz it was so peaceful on top of that hill and Mr. Weipasa her husband Mr. Insight he went up there because he had a beautiful view on top of the hill now they both went up there for different reasons but when Mr. Sam got up the top of the hill Mr or Mrs. Yeah, you'll know what I mean. They had a sex change halfway up the hill. Probably they went Mrs. Sam go the right way. Mrs. Sam, Mrs. Peace got to the top of the hill. Oh, she enjoyed the peace. It was so calm on top of the hill away from the town and the city and the roads. But it was not only calm up there, she saw the view as well. And when Mason, Mr. Insight, when he got to the top of the hill, oh, he enjoyed the view cuz that's what he went up there for. But you also experience a beautiful peace because on the top of the hill the peace and the view always coexist.
- The heart-attack role playStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Teaching hospital nurses and doctors in Hong Kong, Ajahn Brahm pairs them. At the bell, A pretends to have a heart attack and B responds as usual — “Keep your eyes open, stay…
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i was in hong kong years ago you know that i got people to double up you know you're a b a b a b and all the a no an a and b go together and a is okay it was in a hospital nurses mostly a few doctors when i ring the bell then one of you number a will pretend to have a heart attack because they've seen it many times they work in the hospitals every day pretend you have a heart attack and then b be the first responder and so i rang the bell and then you know they did all the holding their hearts and falling to the ground stuff and then the first responder said keep your eyes open you know stay with me help is coming and then we asked afterwards to the a's what did it feel like they said it was just really intrusive you know it was caused more stress having the first responder trying so hard to keep you alive okay let's turn it around now when i ring the bell bees expect uh pretend to have a heart attack which they did and a's how are you going to respond and when they responded it's okay relax help is coming if you want it it's okay to die it's not a big deal we all die one day anyway it was so much more calmer and it was so much more pleasant when people don't just rush around panicking when you're about to die i'm sure actually that probably kills more patients than the disease itself having all these people rushing around putting tubes inside here and tube inside there and defibrillators and of course other stuff and and injections and stuff crikey can you just die peacefully it's your body why is other people getting so involved in it they're trying to keep you alive but are you or are you hastening the death for that poor person that's a question to ask anyone who's been in hospital seeing that but anyway those doctors and nurses they got the message so they said next time that somebody has a serious incident they're going to be much calmer and not just stress their patients out