Stories about childhood
14 Buddhist wisdom stories about childhood from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Ajahn Chah plays at being a monkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Asked why he ordained, Ajahn Chah tells how, as a poor village boy in north-east Thailand with no toys, games or TV, the children made up games — football, playing houses,…
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remember the time when someone asked him why did you ordained ajahn Chah and yeah snow why did I join shall become a month you know the answer he said that when he was a kid in the villages of Northeast Thailand no just an ordinary dish poor they didn't have any computer games or any games or TVs or radios they just make up games like kids do in poor places of the world so one of the guys when they fed up with playing football or they would play like houses they play monks so one of the kids would volunteer to be the monk and said a giant child always volunteer to play the monk and what he would do he would find a rock he would sit on the rock he get some ground cloth around him and you sit there on the rock but it was only about four or five at the time and he'd ask all his friends to go get him something to eat we said ever since that's hot he always want to become a buck when he grew up
- Cassius Clay's autographStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At 11, Ajahn Brahm heard that Cassius Clay — later Muhammad Ali — was training at the White City in London, near his home. He and a mate waited outside; when some huge men…
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I remember even seeing the great Cassius Clay, Muhammad Ali, I met him once - I got his autograph when I was 11, when he was in London. Really nice guy, but after a while, he was the great boxer, Cassius Clay, and people would come up to him and just [gestures boxing stance] when he was in his 60s or something. He couldn't do that anymore. But if you find satisfaction in your physical prowess, it's a lot of suffering when that starts to disappear
- Christopher Nightingale and the tin-can bombStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At age ten, Ajahn Brahm and his chemistry-wizard friend Christopher Nightingale make a bomb in a tin can and set it off in the local park. The park keeper catches them. He…
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I know one of the most stupid things I did as a kid, only 10 years of age, and one of my best friends, I still remember his name, Christopher Nightingale. He was a wizard chemistry and together we made a bomb. We made a bomb in a tin can. And my goodness, it worked. We let it off in the local park. It went bang. And we thought we were so good and so wonderful. I was so proud of just how loud that went. Until the park keeper caught the both of us. We were in big trouble after that. But you know, those were the days when it's just kids being kids. You know, if I made a bomb these days, kids made a bomb these days, they get sent to Guantanamo Bay as terrorists. Those innocent days of my youth. But it was dangerous. I could have killed myself or blown off a hand or something.
- Dad walks into the spud-gun battleStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Aged about 12, Ajahn Brahm brings friends home after school for a spud-gun war, chairs upside down, the flat wrecked. His father arrives unexpectedly; terrified of being told off…
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I remember coming home from school one afternoon I must about 12 or 13 with my friends know two or three friends and we had these I don't know if any of you kids remember these these spud guns the Spud you know you get some potatoes which were very cheap and you push the end of the little gun in it and because it was stick on the end you had like a compression thing and when the air built out you know it would send the potato bit you know sort of at your you know your friend so it's like it just like not really the air pistols it didn't sort of wasn't that sort of hard but it was actually good fun you know for boys playing around so of course you know it was an after off school I invited my friends down to you know my father's know my apartment where I lived we had all the chairs you know upside down we're having a war having B kids being kids flying the place was a mess and in the middle of the battle wrecking the house my father came in he visited unexpectedly and I was so scared my goodness I was wrecking the house and in front of my friends and I thought he would discipline me but he just climbed over the chair I have a good time made himself a cup of tea while we carried on with our battle that was one awesome dad cuz he knew we to clean up afterwards and we put everything together again but he understood I was a kid being a kid
- I'm leaving — with five Singapore dollarsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Singapore psychotherapist recognises his leaving-home story: at six she packed a suitcase, got five dollars, and her busy mother told her to get her own lunch.
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psychotherapist from Singapore who come to stay at my monastery for a while and she when I told her this story she was actually rolling about laughing being totally disrespectful but she could help herself because she saw that what the heck are you doing he said he won't believe this but I did the same when I was 6 years of age in Singapore I was really upset at my mummy and I said I'm leaving exactly the same thing happened the only difference was in Singapore the mother didn't have time to make a sandwich to go for five Singapore dollars
- Kissing it betterStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Growing up poor in Acton, west London, young Ajahn Brahm plays street football with migrant friends and keeps grazing his knees. He runs to his mother, who kneels and kisses the…
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falling over and scrapping the skin off my knee which really hurt, it stung, and my mother would just crouch down and kiss it better Just her kindness would take the pain away. Every time that happened
- Mum kissed his scraped knee betterStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a boy playing soccer in the London streets he falls, scrapes the skin off his knees, and runs to his mother crying. She kneels down and kisses it better — and it works every…
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used to play soccer in the streets in London if I fell over I scraped the skin from my knees I'd run to my mother crying and all she would do is kneel down and kiss it better it worked every time
- Mum left him on the High StreetStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a child in London his mother leaves him outside on the High Street while she shops — early lesson in trust, fear and return.
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my mother took me not to the shopping center in London those days were just the High Street
- The budgie's gone on holidayStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Aged about four or five, Ajahn Brahm asks where the budgie is; Dad says it's gone on holiday. The child sees through it: no — he's died. Don't lie to me.
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Where's the budgy, daddy?" And daddy said, "Oh, he's gone on holiday." I said, "No, he's not. He's died, hasn't he?" I I sused out my dad pretty quickly. Don't lie to me, Dad. He's died
- The dentist appointment that never happenedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At about seven, terrified of the dentist, the young Ajahn Brahm tries every trick — “Mummy, you don't love me, you're sending me to the torturer!” He sleeps badly with worry and…
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one of my earliest memories is when my mother told me I didn't need to go to school the following morning. I must have been about six or seven, or eight, maybe. I said: “Yeah! I don't need to go to school tomorrow morning!”, and because my mother said I had to go to the dentist I said: “I think, I'd rather go to school, mom”, but she said: “No, you have to go to the dentist”. And those were the days, where the dentists, oh, they had these drills, they had these sharp pointers, which they picked your teeth. It was like going to a torture chamber, and so I was very upset as I don't want to go to the dentist, and I started crying, I started throwing a tantrum. I didn't want to go, but my mother said: “You had to go”. So, I went to bed, and I was really upset. I didn't sleep well, I was trying to think of all ways to get out of going to the dentist tomorrow morning, and when I woke up, I decided on my plan. Never underestimate kids, because even kids they got some plans, which I thought would certainly work. I told my mother: “You can't love me. You don't love me, do you, mommy? Because you're sending me to the dentist”. It didn't work, of course. She dragged me to that dentist, screaming and kicking. And I always remember that, when I got to the dentist's surgery, there was a sign on the dentist surgery's door “Closed” because a dentist was sick. I remember that all that suffering, all that kicking and screaming, all that crying and not sleeping well, I was worried about something, which never happened, but it taught me a very good lesson
- The free afternoon after schoolStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At 13 or 14, with an afternoon off school and all his homework done at lunchtime, the boy walks out of the school gates with nothing to do, nowhere to go and no appointments —…
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You know one of the first times I felt free, going back to my experience in childhood I had this afternoon off school and at lunch time, I did all my homework. So as I walked out those school gates, and actually had nothing to do, and nowhere to go, I had no appointments, no business which I needed to complete. I remember that afternoon even now I was then about 13 or 14 at the time it was my first experience of freedom. I could do whatever I wanted, go wherever I wanted with no constraints at all no force, no compulsion, totally free. It's a beautiful feeling. Can you ever feel like that? You don't have to achieve anything you don't have to fulfill any duties, complete any projects you can just be. That told me what freedom was.
- The live eel in the birthday boxStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Growing up in Acton, West London, when jellied eels and mash were a craze, eight-year-old Peter (Ajahn Brahm) spent his pocket money on a live eel, put it in a shoe box, wrapped…
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But but anyway, so you know what naughty Satan A Brah did as a kid, 8-year-old? I just went got some pocket money and I bought an eel. A live one cuz live one I could buy a live one. They didn't ask me what I wanted it for. So, I already had the little shoe box and some wrapping paper, and I put this heel in a shoe box, and I wrapped it up really carefully, as best as an 8-year-old kid could do. Just make sure it's really nicely folded. A nice little tape. And even have the bow to tie it up with a nice bow and a little gift card in a happy birthday to mommy on your birthday with love from your son Peter. That's my name. XXX. And when I haded it to my mother as a surprise. Oh, she was just her heart was almost just exploding with with pride. That's my little kid. And he did it all by himself. And the amazing thing was I actually could pull it off, you know, that without sort of laughing and giving the game away, what was inside. And I remember my mother was almost cry with pride and joy. And if you get a nice present from a a young little kid, 8-year-old, and said, "A I wonder what's inside." when she opened it up and I was looking at her. Ah, what's inside? Oh, surprise, mommy. She was surprised cuz this little eel. As soon as she opened the box, the eel came up right and she screamed so loud. That was where I understood what like an exit strategy was. I'd already planned out where I was going to run and hide for 2 hours.
- The schoolboy who stopped skipping the bus fareStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Poor schoolboy skips bus fares for pocket money until about 13–14; conscience says someone must pay the driver's salary and the petrol — he stops cheating.
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when I was a a young uh school boy now my parents were very poor so I didn't have much money and I had to go on a bus every morning to school and a bus coming back again and I thought that if the buzz conductor never asked for your fair I didn't need to pay it and that was an extra source of income for me and but there came a time when I was about 13 or 14 I felt very bad about that you know something inside of me said that was wrong and it was like this intuitive feeling of what was right and wrong no one was telling me all my friends were doing the same but then I thought no that know somebody's got to pay this bus driver's uh salary someone's got to pay for the petrol
- White knuckles on the first bicycleStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Young Ajahn Brahm's father saves up for his first bicycle; he keeps falling off until he notices his white knuckles and plank-stiff body — fear made him unable to balance. Once…
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This story I remember when I was young. I was young and my father, I begged him, and he saved up, I think, for a birthday or a Christmas. I can't remember what. He bought me a bicycle. The first bicycle I ever had. And, of course, being a kid with his first bicycle, you get on that bicycle and try to ride it and keep falling off. And I kept falling off and I never realised why until I looked at myself. I was holding on to those handle bars with so much fear that my knuckles went white. I was so afraid of falling off and my body was as stiff as a plank. And because I was so stiff, I was holding on too tight. Whenever the bike would move to the left, I would never be able to compensate. My body was too stiff to bend and to accommodate, which is why I kept falling off. It was fear that kept pushing me over. And it was only later on when I just relaxed, I found that I could stay on that bicycle with more ease. In fact, when you're really relaxed, you didn't fall off at all.