Stories about direct experience
3 Buddhist wisdom stories about direct experience from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Lao Tzu and the beautiful sunsetStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A disciple walking with Lao Tzu breaks the rule of silence to exclaim at a sunset and is never taken walking again; the master explains that the moment he spoke, he was watching…
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That's why there's this old simile, it's an old meditation story of Lao Tzu. Every evening he would go on a walk and he'd choose one of his disciples, only one could go on a walk with the great master. There was a golden rule, if you went on a walk with the great Taoist master you have to be quiet, you weren't allowed to speak, not even one word. One day this young man was going on a walk with the master and they got to a ridge in mountains at sunset and it was one of these amazing gorgeous sunsets and the young man couldn't help himself but say, "Wow, what a beautiful sunset." He broke the rule. Lao Tzu turned around, went back to the monastery, would never allow that young man to go on a walk ever again. The young man's friend pleaded for him, said "Look, it was only one sentence, give him a break, cut him some slack what's the big deal anyway, of keeping silent?" And that's when the master said this very profound explanation. He said, "When that young man said 'what a beautiful sunset,' he wasn't watching the sunset anymore, he was only watching the words, he wasn't watching the sunset, he was only watching the words."
- The professor who ate the menuJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A philosophy professor waits two months for a table at an exclusive restaurant, is handed a beautiful parchment menu — and eats the menu, pays and leaves.
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There was once a professor of philosophy here in Perth, Yeah ... the experience is important, which we are now going to see with the simile of the professor and... Ahh, experience is past when it's interpreted from the knowledge of your past, in other words you take the experience and you compare it with something else, which means it becomes limited by the past. To learn the words actually stand in the way of truth, that's why that in meditation we learn how to be absolutely quiet, to feel and to know, that becomes the truth in the same way that the student of Lao Tzu could actually see... didn't see the sunset, only saw the words, and that great Taoist master made a very good comment that it is the person if they wanna see the sunset they gotta put aside all the words, descriptions, the words, actually block the experience that's it. Okay, back to the professor. There was a professor who of philosophy, in the university... whenever you mention a professor of philosophy in Buddhism they always get a bad rap, so if there are any professors over here, I do apologize, it's just our tradition. But this professor of philosophy, He found out there was a new five-star restaurant opening in Perth, and he wanted to go there to test out the food, so he made an appointment, he rang up, there was a two-month waiting list, that's how popular the restaurant was. And so two-month waiting list, he decided to book his place there anyway, and when he booked his place there, two months later, he walked up at the restaurant. And of course they wanted to see his ID, to make sure he'd really booked a place. And so they checked his ID and yes he was booked in. So he went in, the maitre d' took him to his table, he sat down at the table and a waiter came, you know these really well-dressed waiters, and gave him the menu. And this menu was in thick parchment, and the menu was written in gold letters and calligraphy, even the menu was a work of art, as you would expect in an expensive restaurant, this is no fish and chip shop, this is a top-class five-star restaurant. So he looked at the menu and then he ate the menu and then he paid and left. Because the professor had no idea of the difference between the menu and the food.
- The smell of his baby pramStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Asking in deep meditation 'what's my earliest memory?', Ajahn Brahm (soon after leaving Thailand for Perth, he thinks) suddenly smells — really smells — his baby pram. He is back…
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the only thing one which I can tell you because I'm not allowed to S say too much about psychic powers and stuff the only ones which I can tell you is when I first did this and got the smell in my nose and this is not imagination anymore you're smelling it as if it's right here in front of you it's a real real smell my eyes closed and I recognized it straight away it was the smell of my baby's PR and immediately I was back in my pram a re experience even though I was sitting meditation I think this first happened over in when I left highand coming to Perth you're back in your baby's pram and with that experience you could no your eyes were closed you could see everything clearly as if you were had your eyes open and there I could see my baby's PR and all the old toys which I used to have in it and I could play around in there was a vision from the past as I say in the book when you have this experiences one of their Hallmarks is this absolute certainty that was you in the same way this absolute certainty it's you right here looking at me or hearing this talk the same degree of certainty weird but true