Stories about emptiness
6 Buddhist wisdom stories about emptiness from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Brahn, why? — I don't knowStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Chah calls 'Brahn' and asks why; young monk says I don't know; Chah laughs and offers to tell the answer (wang / empty teaching frame).
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wang, empty, nothing there. And that story, I think it's in one of my books somewhere, that when he used to try to get enlightened me, he said, "Brahn, Ajahn Brahn." He didn't call me Ajahn Brahn cuz he was the Ajahn. Brahn, I'm wrong, sir. Why? The wonderful story. Why? I said, "I don't know." And he laughed. Stupid young monk. But then he said, "I'll tell you the answer
- First a flag on the summit, then a coffee shopAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On mountain summits people leave flags, cairns and carved names (he jokes about carving 'Peter Betts was here'); next comes a coffee shop and cable car. Better to leave emptiness…
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you get to the top of the mountain and someone's put a flag up there or they put a bunch of rocks up there and they carve on there. My lane name before was Peter Betts. Peter Betts was here. What do you want to say that for? So instead to really respect like a mountain, isn't it best to leave it alone? Cuz what usually happens, you start with putting a flag there. The next thing you put up there is a coffee shop [laughter] which which sells souvenirs. [laughter] That's really terrible. If you get to the top of the mountain, you found out there's a big coffee shop up there and a cable car on the other side of the road which takes you straight up. It takes Why is that not I really objected to that? Because sometimes why do we need all that stuff? Can't we just respect emptiness and nothing and its beautiful nature where nothing is disturbing it is as it was centuries ago, millennia ago. We don't add to it. We don't take it away cuz it's perfect as it already is. We don't try and cure it. We care for it
- Form is emptiness — the empty platterJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A hungry wandering Zen monk is sent to a famous restaurant owned by a generous Buddhist woman. She will feed him, but first he must teach some Dhamma so she knows he's a real…
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there was a Zen monk who was wandering from place to place and he hadn't got any arms food for a couple of days he was really hungry and then somebody said well you know we haven't got any further so but you see there's a restaurant over there really famous restaurant and the owner of the restaurant is a very generous Buddhist she'll be able to give you something so he went to the restaurant and he asked to see the owner and the owner said our venerable monk so blessed will you come to my restaurant and as what can I do for you in his a world or a bit hungry said I'll but you have to teach some dumb man before you know I know you're a real monk so he stood up and said form is emptiness emptiness is form Sardis I decided she said sit down and he thought wow I've really my lucky day I'm gonna get a good meal today see how she liked that teaching and so she soon came this big platter huge platter so wonder what's underneath the cover which was keeping it warm and she presented that platter to the monk you don't skip half a days and the month lifting it up there's nothing there form is emptiness emptiness is for monk
- One empty room for emptinessAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Analogy: why put a picture on every wall and a pot-plant in every corner? Keep one room in the house deliberately empty — a fashion statement for emptiness and freedom — and…
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it's my empty room well put something in it no it's for emptiness for freedom and now we can store stuff in it no it's empty that will be pretty radical to have one room which has nothing in it just for the sake of emptiness
- They gave him a wrapped box of nothingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When people ask what gift he wants for his birthday, a few who got the message wrap an empty box; he opens it and finds nothing — 'that's just what I wanted'.
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They get a nice little box. They wrap it up and give it to me. And when I open the box, you know what's inside of it? Nothing. Ah, that's just what I wanted. How do you Did you [laughter] know? And it's beautiful. Just a nothing. The emptiness of life
- “Why?” — Ajahn Chah's answer: nothingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: After an inspiring talk by Ajahn Chah, the young monk skips attending him at the sauna and sits two blissful hours in meditation behind the hall. Coming out, he walks to serve…
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He did have psychic powers sometimes. He could read people's minds. I remember he read my mind once on a retreat. You want to hear this story? Yeah. Come on. Because this is a deep part of this talk. Many of you heard it on retreats. But when people give really good talks, I mean very deep talks, they're inspiring. And on this occasion, Ajan came to the monastery where I was staying and he gave a talk and that day really hit the spot. everything being explained so beautifully and just oh your your mind is so inspired and peaceful and joyful and then know we had actually built a sauna for him you know sauners were not invented in uh Sweden or wherever they had sauners in Buddhist monasteries in India from the very beginning they talk about it in the ancient books you know sauners for the monks and nuns And [gasps] uh so we built him a sauna and he came over. So he gave a talk. I was so inspired. Achanta went off to the sauna and I was basically so inspired. There's so many other monks looking after acha. I decided just to go around the back of the hall and sit quietly meditating. I just I didn't want to waste that beautiful energy. cross my legs two hours. Oh, just blissing my head out. Beautiful meditation. So deep, so peaceful. And of course, when you go in deep meditation, you just don't know how long, but [snorts] you know, 2 hours it was. When I came out of that meditation afterwards, the first thought was you got lots of joy and peace and happiness is to do something good for your teacher. So I decided, well, I'm probably too late. Let's go and walk see if I can be of any service to him. So off I went walking towards the sauna and I was too late because he'd already finished the sauna. He was walking back with his driver and another Thai man. And we would cross the path and as we were about to cross you he looked at me and he l you know sometimes like only great teachers can really look at you just looking right into you. And for once, for once I didn't mind him looking into my mind. Other days, no. [laughter] I'd be embarrassed. But that day, my mind was, you know, just after a very deep, beautiful meditation, so pure and so peaceful, so bright. And it's very hard for me to uh to make you believe this, but many [snorts] of you know that I'm honest. I don't gain anything out of these stories, but you can actually feel him. This is my perception which I remember very clearly inside your mind just having a look just checking around like going in somebody's room or house and just having a walk around and I just yeah please come in for once I don't mind you having looking around today is is quite [snorts] clean and peaceful and beautiful inside and then when he emerged out this is just how I felt okay his body didn't disappear and just go up my nostrils or I think this was just you know his mind coming into my mind and reading everything and afterwards he looked at me very you can't say kindly you can't say fiercely was some other expression on his face just grabbing your attention eye to eye and of course my name is Ajan Brah but the full name is Brahma so he looked at me and said Brahma quite fiercely but kindly And then he said, "Why?" And he looked at me with so much kindness but strength. Why? And I was still only a young monk. And my answer was, "I don't know." And he laughed his head off. These stupid Western monks. [laughter] He was trying his best to try and enlighten me. He saw I was very peaceful and give it a shot anyway. But whenever you do something stupid like that, idiotic, you know, as far as wisdom is concerned, a child just burst out laughing. Our idiotic responses and behavior cause him so much pleasure, so much laughter. I think that's why he had so many western monks in his monastery to entertain him. No, there's a lot of kindness there too. But then he became serious again and he looked at me once more. He said, "Broma, I'll tell you the answer." And wow, I was really excited. This great monk was giving me a personal teaching just after come out of a deep meditation and he asked me the question why I got it wrong. But he wanted to tell me what the answer was. the answer to the question why from Achan he looked at me I'll tell you the answer I was so excited and he said my me I any Thai people here oh yes you know what that means he said there's nothing there's nothing. And then he looked at me and said, "Bamsa, do you understand with a lot of kindness?" I said, "Yes." And he looked at me again and said, "No, you don't." [laughter] And he went away. Oh, that really hurt. [laughter] But what a beautiful lesson that was. Just when he gave me that wonderful answer, what's the answer to the question? Why? Why? Answer is is nothing. Do you understand? No, you don't. [laughter] But one day you will. Seeds have been planted.