Stories about death
77 Buddhist wisdom stories about death from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' at a funeralStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the funeral Ajahn Brahm conducts for a regular member, Mike Wright, the last piece of music — chosen by Mike, who told his wife — is 'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life'…
- An email from beyond the graveStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A dying man in Singapore who had come to love Ajahn Brahm's talks asks to speak with him; his sister gets through and Ajahn Brahm talks with him on a couple of evenings. He dies…
- Ask if she's still thereStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Counseling a woman whose mother is on life support, he advises sitting, holding the hand and asking whether she is still there. In a Chinese family in Malaysia/Singapore the…
- Ask the dogStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm advises people whose vet says to put a pet down to ask the animal what it wants. Judy, in the audience, did this: her dog had cancer and the vet wanted to put it…
- Chanting for a dying mother in SingaporeStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In Singapore a woman asks Ajahn Brahm to chant for her mother, just home from hospital and expected to die soon. After the chanting the old lady gets out of bed and starts…
- Death us do part — see you in heavenJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Devoted couple reunite in heaven; he refuses her — the ceremony said death us do part, and they are dead now.
- Dying peacefully like Dad (the bus-driver joke)Joke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A comedian wants to die peacefully in his sleep like his father — unlike the screaming passengers on the bus his father was driving.
- Falling off a Scottish cliff, his life flashed byStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At 19, walking alone in Scotland with a heavy pack, he stepped off an eroded sheep track and fell down a cliff; his life flashed before him. He landed after what felt endless —…
- Fifteen minutes of goodbyes from a brain-tumour comaStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As reported (Ajahn Brahm recalls) in a Time magazine issue on the mind, a US patient with an aggressive brain tumour lies in a coma for days; against the prognosis he opens his…
- Floating above the paddy fieldsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An Australian soldier in Vietnam, going to help an injured mate, steps on a landmine that blows off his legs. After the intense pain, he wrote, he found himself floating above…
- Free beer — and the beer-garden roof fell inStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Nyanaponika as a young man in Germany: beer-garden brewery catches fire; friends run in for free beer; the house collapses and many are killed — a formative shock that kept him…
- Funeral subcommittee while still healthyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Buddhist society starts a subcommittee for his funeral arrangements while he feels fine — he reframes age as 900 months and wants a celebration, not fear.
- Ghost stories on the walk to the graveStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At a Chinese burial in Kolkata Cemetery he kills ten minutes walking with an elderly funeral director and asks for ghost stories — she has heaps, treating cemetery ghosts as…
- Grandmother with dementia still knew the monkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Near the end, grandmother has long dementia; in a UK ward she recognises Brahm at once while barely recognising his brother.
- Hawaiian shirts at funeralsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Early Perth funerals are all black; he wants funeral directors in Hawaiian shirts — kids arrive full of life then learn sadness from black clothes and faces.
- He died of the blunt knife and the running tapStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Told as a famous psychology experiment: a condemned man in England is told his hanging is changed to having his throat cut; blindfolded, a blunt knife is drawn across his throat…
- He renamed his sons Buddha, Dhamma and SanghaJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A once-a-year 'Vesak Buddhist' businessman hears that thinking of Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha at death guarantees heaven, so he legally renames his three sons that — until on his…
- “I can't understand Thai ghosts”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At an open-air cremation in Thailand (of Ajahn Chah's brother, he thinks) all the monks leave as soon as the chanting ends. The young Ajahn Brahm says he'll go and sit by the…
- “I never stopped loving you, George”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Cockney friend of the monastery leaves his wife of about 40 years for a much younger woman; his wife is devastated. Some years later, split from the second partner, he visits…
- 'I've been underneath him all my life'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: After interring a man's ashes in the wall around Bodhinyana Monastery, Ajahn Brahm jokingly asked his elderly Malaysian Chinese widow whether he should reserve the place…
- It's not the cough that carries you offJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Mother's line: it's not the cough that carries you off — it's the coffin they carry you off in.
- Knocking in the coffin — the monks jumped firstStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Thai lady who comes on Tuesdays says an old woman in her village was in the coffin ready for cremation when knocking began. The monks jumped away first; most others fled; they…
- Mixed vegetables at the autopsyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When the monks are allowed to watch an autopsy, the Scottish pathologist opens the stomach to find peas and carrots and quips that it's just like the floor of a Glasgow bus on a…
- No visitors — except Ajahn BrahmStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Tibetan nun dying in Shenton Park hospice asked him to come, but the nurse barred visitors until small print under 'absolutely no visitors' read 'except Ajahn Brahm'. She…
- “Oh, you poor thing”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When Ajahn Brahm's father died, his mother was at peace — until a cousin came in with open arms saying “oh you poor thing,” and the floodgates opened.
- Permission to go — peaceful funeralStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: He tells a daughter she is holding her dying mother back; she gives full permission to depart. The mother dies within 24 hours. At the Thai funeral's first rites, husband and two…
- Peter already knew — Mom had just visitedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Peter in Australia answers the phone: sister says Mom's dead. He already knows and is not upset — Mom's mind-made form had just visited, smiling, giving love one last time across…
- “Please don't die during our retreat”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the start of the rains retreat Ajahn Brahm jokingly asks everyone not to die until October or November, since funerals break his meditation. On Monday an email arrives: one of…
- 'Please tell Julie how much I love her'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A doctor who attends the Buddhist Society told Ajahn Brahm of a dying patient (he thinks at Royal Perth) who had given a list of close family to call. The patient hadn't been…
- Quit while you're ahead — count the clean platesJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Before washing up, count clean plates versus dirty ones; if clean outnumber dirty, quit while you're ahead. Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow — you might die…
- Send her back — she might resurrectJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A man finally takes his difficult Christian wife to Israel; she dies there. Chaplain offers $500 local funeral vs $5000 to ship her home — he chooses shipping: someone…
- She asked the dog if it wanted to dieStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A committee member's dog has cancer; the vet wants to euthanize. She asks for a few minutes, looks the dog in the eyes and asks if it wants to die — sensing no — and refuses. The…
- She came back to see what her husband was up toStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A retreat participant tells how, dying in hospital while her husband raced to reach her, she was out of her body having a blissful time — and came back only because she wondered…
- She signed a blank cheque so the refugee could see her dying motherStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In the Buddhist centre hall a Laotian refugee gets a telegram — mother dying in Oregon — no money to fly. The woman arranging flowers stops, opens her chequebook and signs a…
- 'She's in denial'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Thai woman, a great early supporter of the monastery, calls him to hospital: what she thought was hay fever is inoperable lung cancer, perhaps two weeks to live. He finds her…
- Snoopy: “Most days we won't”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Charlie Brown and Snoopy sit on a pier enjoying a beautiful view of mountains and lakes. Charlie Brown says, “You know, Snoopy, all of us one day will die.” Snoopy replies:…
- “Steve, you can die”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Visiting a dying man, Steve, Ajahn Brahm senses something is holding him back and asks his partner Jenny (present in the audience) whether she has given him permission to die.…
- Suicide note to test reincarnationJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Asked for evidence of reincarnation beyond meditation, Ajahn Brahm jokes that the best evidence is to die — then adds he has heard of a suicide note saying the reason was to find…
- The benefits of dying at 30,000 feetJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm lists the 'benefits' of dying in an aircraft explosion: instant painless death, instant cremation (no backlog), ashes scattered automatically, insurance compensation…
- The broken pot of gheeAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The Buddha's simile, asked whether chanting for the dead helps them: break a clay pot of ghee over a lake — the clay sinks and the oil floats. If a monk stood on the bank…
- 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.
- The chanting worked too wellStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Invited to chant for a dying Chinese man in Royal Perth Hospital's ICU, Ajahn Brahm chants his strongest — and the man goes into remission. The family scold him: the funeral was…
- The coffin stuck halfway downStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At a Chinese disciple's burial the ornate knobs on the coffin catch on the way down the grave; it sticks halfway. Ajahn Brahm has to chant about five times while they struggle to…
- The coffin that chased him homeJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Man flees a cemetery thinking he is safe; the coffin bumps after him; he jumps his front gate — then the coffin tries to smash the iron gate down.
- The corpse in the elevatorStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Funeral directors collecting a body from a top-floor old apartment find the gurney will not fit the stairs or elevator, so they hold the corpse upright between them. Murphy's…
- The dead dog and the cat scanJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Owner brings a dog to the vet insisting it is alive; the vet uses a live cat as a diagnostic (nose, tail, belly) — dog never moves. Bill: $20 consultation + $2,000 for the cat…
- The door prizeAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Imagine tonight's door prize is a first-class trip to Dharamsala for a private lunch with the Dalai Lama, then three days in a six-star Singapore hotel with a thousand dollars a…
- The dreams that were right — until they weren'tStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A fellow monk told Ajahn Brahm he had twice dreamed truly: a recurring dream of his sister drowning that let him save her at 16 or 17, and a New Zealand drug-bust dream he…
- The glass is already crackedAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Chah's simile, holding up a glass: it has a microscopic crack — the crack of impermanence. Because it will break if dropped or kicked, we care for it; if it were…
- The head on the morgue windowsillStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Because a Buddhist monk is not stopped in Thailand, Ajahn Brahm was able to walk into the autopsy room at Siriraj Hospital in Bangkok. Arriving early, alone, he saw on a high…
- The hearse in the carpool laneJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Stopped by police for driving a hearse alone in a two-or-more lane in New York or San Francisco, a driver argues in court that the man in the back makes two — and loses.
- The intern's pager and the one-or-two-second listenStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A distraught intern told Ajahn Brahm he had resuscitated a cardiac-arrest patient a few seconds too late, leaving permanent brain damage and a vegetative body. Next time, Brahm…
- The lawyer who tried to take it with himJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A dying rich lawyer, sure he can find a loophole, has his wife stash suitcases of cash in the attic above his bed so he can grab them on his way up to heaven. After the funeral…
- The man who attended his own funeralStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A terminally ill man in the United States decides to hold his funeral service a week or two before he dies, so he can be there to hear the eulogies and the difference he made to…
- The man who cried for the moonStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A father weeps every evening at his son's cremation ground; his family hires an actor who weeps louder, 'for the moon'. When the father calls him crazy, the actor answers that at…
- The man with four wivesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A dying man asks each of his four wives to come with him into death. The beautiful fourth wife, his passport to high society, will only speak a eulogy. The third, who gave him…
- The meditator taken to hospital as deadStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A member of the Perth community meditates so deeply at home that his wife finds no signs of life; paramedics and hospital doctors find a flat ECG and EEG and shocks do nothing —…
- The monk they crematedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: From the suttas: villagers find a monk meditating in the forest so still he doesn't seem to breathe. Thinking him dead, and not wanting animals to eat him, they build a funeral…
- The monk who laughed at his cancer diagnosisStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Dr K. Sri Dhammananda, the 'chief priest of Malaysia' and author of 'How to Live Without Fear and Worry', was, his doctor said, the only patient he ever met who burst out…
- The monkey who knocked on the monk's doorStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An old monk living alone in a bamboo-and-thatch hut deep in the jungle hears a knock one night. At the door is a monkey from the forest holding her dead baby, as if asking him to…
- The only child killed on Albany HighwayStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: One of the hardest funerals Ajahn Brahm ever gave: a young woman from mainland China, an only child, graduates in Perth and brings over her parents, who have sacrificed…
- The penguin funeral (“Freeze a jolly good fellow”)Joke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Penguins grieve a dead friend, bury him in the ice and sing at the ceremony: “Freeze a jolly good fellow.”
- The polka-dot bow tieStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Kalgoorlie builder dying of cancer comes to the monastery for counselling about death, dressed as always in thongs, shorts and a singlet. After his closed-coffin funeral, his…
- The prankster ghost and the three leavesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Two young English friends share a house in Perth; one dies young of cancer, promising to come back and haunt his mate. Pranks follow: the shower turning cold, the lounge…
- 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 —…
- The storm and the green leavesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A forest monk in northern Thailand survives a night of falling trees in his flimsy hut; next morning he sees that the storm tore down mostly old brown leaves but also some fresh…
- The tsunami ghost who gave a phone numberStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Three days after the 2004 tsunami, a Thai woman in Krabi dreams of a battered English girl from Phi Phi who names the Bangkok temple where soldiers have just laid her body, asks…
- The villages without griefStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Living nine years at a Thai cremation-ground monastery, Ajahn Brahm saw villagers bring their dead without grieving, which contradicted everything he had learned about loss.
- The whole household had the same dreamStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The daughter of the monastery treasurer, in her twenties, dies of cancer. Some time later he arrives at dawn: at breakfast one daughter mentioned dreaming that her dead sister…
- The wife who came back for the willStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Thai woman who never trusted her Chinese husband asks Ajahn Brahm to do her funeral and pay for it, in return leaving her assets to the Buddhist Society; he passes it to the…
- The woman who refused to go backStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A woman who dies on the operating table meets a spirit telling her it isn't her time; she refuses — she's having too good a time — until the spirit throws her back into her…
- The young doctor who wanted to quitStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A first-year intern loses his first patient, a young mother, and must tell her husband that his wife is dead and his kids have no mother. Shattered, he comes to Ajahn Brahm…
- Three smiling bodies in the morgueJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A coroner explains three smiling corpses to a policeman: one died of a heart attack with his mistress, one drank himself to death after a lottery win — and the third was struck…
- Tolstoy's screaming patient falls quietStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm recalls a Tolstoy story read as a student: a wealthy man in constant pain screams day and night for weeks, no therapy helps, and then the house suddenly goes quiet —…
- “We love you, Dad”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Two daughters sit holding their comatose father's hands in a Perth hospital. After his last breath he opens his eyes, sits up and looks at them; in unplanned unison they say “We…
- Why did I get shot?Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A man drafted into the Thai army, wounded in a border skirmish, comes to Ajahn Chah asking what bad karma caused it — did he kill someone in a past life, mistreat his parents?…
- Wrong Mrs Kaur — take her backStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In Ven. Nibbūto's Sikh village, where men are Singh and women Kaur, an old lady is certified dead and put in a coffin for that evening's cremation. She comes to and describes a…