Stories about equanimity
11 Buddhist wisdom stories about equanimity from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Also, also — Hakuin and the babyAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Girl blames mountain monk for pregnancy; he only says 'Also.' Villagers dump the baby on him; he raises it. They later apologise and reclaim the child; he says 'Also, also' and…
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One of the stories which I always recall from Zen Buddhism of this monk, I think it was Hakuin, one of my favorite stories, that he was a simple monk who lived on top of the mountain just meditating and being kind and caring to his local village. But one day in the village, there was a girl got pregnant by her boyfriend. And they weren't married. And as soon as the father saw his daughter was pregnant, he said, "Who did it? Who was responsible for you becoming pregnant?" And the girl, of course, she was in love with her boyfriend and realized if she told her father it was his boyfriend, he would probably get beaten up or maybe even killed. So she thought, "I can't I can't dob in my boyfriend. Who can I Who can I dob in?" So she thought, "The monk up the hill. He did it." So the father was just irate. "That monk, we've been looking after him. We thought he was such a great monk. He's made my daughter pregnant. That's not on." So he got all the village together and they went right up to the mountain, you know, right there and then, and they said to this monk, "You bad monk, you terrible monk, you've made my daughter pregnant. You can't do that. You thought you was a good monk." And even though he was totally innocent, all he would say is, "Also." "Also." And so he didn't actually react with any anger back or any justification. And so after a while, I mean, if people aren't reacting, you can only shout at them so long. So they all went back down to the village. But now when she gave birth, they went up again. And they said, "Law of karma, you're responsible for this baby." It was a girl. "You look after it." And they tried to dump this baby girl on a monk. And if they tried to do that on me, I wouldn't know the first thing about looking after kids. You know, you some of you have seen even today somebody came to with their little baby and they gave it to me because it's in the Thai tradition if you give like your little baby to the monk, it's like I'm like I'm the godfather. So, and I took hold of the baby hoping they'd take it away quickly enough before I don't know how to hold a baby and what it poos and get my old robe with this poof. So, I gave it back as but but this little hack word he was actually given this girl a baby girl to look after. And instead of protesting, he said, "Don't give it to me. I'm not responsible. I don't know how to look after baby girl." You know what he said? "Ah, so. Ah, so." And it's amazing that I've been taught as a monk and I know it's true. It doesn't matter what happens, you can always make it work. You know, I learned how to lay bricks, I learned how to run a monastery, I give talks to disability services and I say about that talk I gave about shipping. If you don't know that story, that at a transport conference run by when Alannah MacTiernan was the Minister for Planning, she invited me as a member of the public to this plat this uh transport conference and during the lunch break, which was after 12:00, I couldn't eat. So, all the people were having lunch and this journalist came up to me and he said, "I'm a shipping reporter." I said, "Oh, yeah." He said, "Can I do an interview with you?" I don't know anything about shipping. I've been in this ship, but that was just I think just across from uh Southampton to the Isle of Wight, not very far. But you know, I'm up for anything. So, I sort of answered the question and gave my advice on shipping. Why not? Nothing to lose. And do you know this was amazing about this story? This is true. I saw him about 6 months later, and he said, "Ajahn Brahm, you wouldn't believe the success of that article which I wrote. I called it Zen in the Art of Shipping by Ajahn Brahm, and it was syndicated in all the major shipping magazines of the world, and he got all these emails back from all these professors and experts say, 'We don't know who this Ajahn Brahm is, but he certainly knows what he's talking about.'" And that was true. And so, you know, talking about shipping, please don't do this, but if you did give me a baby, you'd figure out somehow how to look after them. But anyway, so he accepted this, but don't get any ideas. He accepted it, and he looked after this baby girl for I don't know how long, but what happened next was that scallywag of a boyfriend, you know, you girls know what some of these boys are like. You know, after a while, once you know, you know, was uh did this, he ran off to the city and found another girl, and this poor girl, you know, she was pining for her child, as you would do, and she realized she'd done a terrible, terrible thing of accusing this monk for something he never did. So, she confessed. She confessed to her father it wasn't the monk. It was this boy she'd fallen in love with. And because, you know, young girl loved him so much, wanted to protect him, that's why she blamed the monk. And this scallywag boy had run away, so she never wanted to protect him anymore. She was so sorry. So, once again, all the villagers, they went up. They went up to the mountain again say, "No, we're so sorry. We did a terrible thing. We shouldn't have done this." You know what the monk said? "Also, also." And he gave the baby back
- 'Dogs don't have money'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Near the US base by Ubon, around the end of the Vietnam War, an African-American soldier rides a rickshaw into town. Drunk friends of the driver shout from a bar, 'Where are you…
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this one American soldier. He was an Afro-American and he got on a cycle rickshaw to be taken from the base over into the town. And so as he went in the cycle rickshaw, just happily just enjoying the scenery, the rickshaw driver just happened to pass some of his friends. Now rickshaw drivers, it’s usually very very hard work, don’t get paid that much, and so maybe it’s because of you know their difficult life that many of them just manage to survive the day by drinking cheap whiskey. He passed many of his friends who had been drinking by the side of the road, and because they were half drunk, they were quite offensive and they saw this black African-American soldier in the back of the taxi, and one of them shouted out very offensively “where are you taking that dirty dog to?” That’s really sort of bad, but this was about 35, 40 years ago, 44 years ago, when I first got there, but this African-American soldier, he wasn’t moved at all. He was just looking at the scenery, just smiling, just enjoying himself. So the driver assumed that he could not understand the local language because this was done in Isan language, a dialect of Thai, Laotian mostly. And so the driver decided to have some fun at the soldier’s expense. And said “See how dirty this African-American soldier is, I’m going to take him into town and throw him in the river for a good wash, hahahaha.” So, the soldier being called a dog, being called dirty, he was just looking at the scenery, smiling, and when he got to the middle of town that is when the soldier got out of the rickshaw and walked away without paying. At which point the rickshaw driver shouted out in the best little English he’d learnt over those years, he said, “Soldier! Fare! Pay money!” At which point the soldier turned around and said in perfect Thai Isan language, “dogs don’t have money.” [laughter] So that was used by Ajahn Chah by saying that if someone does call you a dog, it does mean you don’t have to pay
- The 1991 bushfire and the hut that 'should not be here'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On 31 January 1991, at 47–48°C, a crown fire sweeps through Bodhinyana; eucalypts explode one after another and the monks evacuate, sure the monastery he worked years to build…
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it's an anniversary tomorrow, January 31st, 1991, when the temperature of Bodhinyana Monastery reached about 47, 48 degrees. And that was before the fire came. It was a huge bushfire that day. Crown fire came right through our monastery. And there you were. This monastery which I spent how many years about, so many years building up and when you have one of these bushfires, I don't know, this was hotter than the Toodjay fire which was earlier on. This was a huge fire. And when you're actually in these fires, it's amazing to see just the power of nature. Because these eucalypt trees, when it gets that hot, the eucalypt oil evaporates and it forms this mist around the tree, mixed in with oxygen. It's like a bomb waiting to go off. And this is what happens. Just know when an ember comes into that explosive mixture. The whole tree explodes. It was like explosions. This whole big tree would burst. It wouldn't be fire coming from the top or the bottom. It'd be like this ball of flame around the whole tree, all in one second, this huge noise like a bomb. Tree after tree after tree. We had to evacuate. There was no choice. Evacuate for our lives. And when we evacuated, I looked back upon that monastery, which I'd worked so hard to build up, and you thought, nothing can survive. None of those buildings. They were right in the middle of these trees. They'd all be burned to ashes. And when I left, I remember just going to the bottom of the hill, and from the southwest highway looking up and seeing the whole hillside explode in flames, one after the other. The other monk who was with me, he tried to get up, and he was arguing with the policeman, blocking Kingsbury Drive, and saying, that's my monastery up there. I want to get up. He said, you can't. I want to get up. I want, you can't. And then a few explosions happened, and the policeman said, do you want to go up? He said, no. That was true. So you left it there. And I remember that night, sleeping on the shearer's shed in a farm close by, just thinking, all that hard work. And those of you there at the time just know how much hard work which I put into that monastery, personally building it. All gone. And actually I slept soundly, because I thought, Wonderful I'd given up so much time. What a wonderful thing I'd achieved. And it didn't matter that there was going to be a monastery there the following day. What was most important to me was that I'd put all that energy and effort into it, and so much love and care. That was my success. Not the fact there was a monastery there at the end of the day. The fact that I put so much care and effort and energy into what I did. And I was so happy with that. I slept well. And of course those of you who know the story, the following morning you got up there, and it was all remaining. There was a caravan which was burned, but all those huts, those buildings which you see there, were totally survived. And even though it was a far more intense bushfire than you saw it at Toodyay. Even I remember just one of the, the head of the bushfire, they didn't call it FISA in those days, the head of the bushfire brigade. He had to come for the investigation, and I took him around. I remember him seeing one of the huts, and I'll never forget the words he said. He looked underneath it and around it, examined it totally, and then he turned to me and said, Brahm, this should not be here.
- The cremation pyre exploded — and Ajahn Liem went to bedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Liem, long Ajahn Chah's acting abbot, builds the crematorium for his teacher's royal funeral — a structure that still stands as a stupa. With the King of Thailand present…
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and when aena died he was in charge of all the funeral services and the king of Thailand attended this this was a big show so this monk built actually the funeral the crematorium for him which actually doubled as a as a stoer a monument which is still there now and he put all this time and money into building this place where his Great Master would be cremated and I was there at the time you know I went there ad cha was there my predecessor and AD made all these monks and the King was there and when they lit sort of the P inside this box the Box exploded Flames came out from everywhere it was a disaster and there were with hoses trying to hose the thing down and people were running around it was just a complete mess and what the mount responsible this agan Le what did he do instead of worrying about anything he took one look and then went to bed had to sleep I thought wow now that's a real monk I wish I could do that when everything goes wrong oh never mind just go and have a nice rest can you do that no you worry and worry and run around what can I do how can I fix this and he said ah just never mind he did his best doesn't matter his master won't get crated that day can always do it tomorrow
- 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…
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One of the monks who has been here before, but he died maybe about a year ago. He was the - we used to call him the chief priest of Malaysia, Dr K. Sri Dhammananda. He has got a few books in our library, like How to Live Without Fear and Worry is one of his famous ones. It's easier to write a book, isn't it? But can you do it? When he was diagnosed with cancer, terminal cancer, his doctor said he's the only person he ever met who, when he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, burst out laughing. Now, that's a monk!
- The monk who thanked his accusers for jailStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A senior Thai monk, next in line to become Sangharaja, is framed by a jealous rival with spliced tape recordings that make him seem a communist, and jailed. He blames no one —…
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This was a Thai monk a long time ago "Thepsidimoon" his name was. He was number two in the hierarchy. Because in Thailand they organize; I don't really agree with that. Organizing into leaders of monasteries, leaders of districts, leaders of provinces then the Head Monk of Thailand; they call him the Sangharaja, the king of the Sangha just like in Sri Lanka they have Maha Nayakas as well. But this was the head of the whole monastic community of Thailand. Why anybody would want to be that leader is crazy.. but you know what it's like pride and jealousy. People always want to be the top. So anyway, he was a really good monk; he was number two in line he didn't really care. He is one of these really good ones. But the number three was very, very jealous and wanted to be the number one. But number two was in the way. So you know what he did... This was many many many years ago when many countries were afraid of communism. And at that time in Thailand it was against the law to be a communist. Just like the United States-- The reds under the beds scares. So, this monk, just like me gives many many talks. Many of them were recorded; and you take a statement here and add it to a statement there and put a statement in between mix it all up; and you can prove anything. With all the stuff which I have taught; if you sparse a statement here, and sparse a statement there you'd think that I am a some sort of ... even this evening, that I am a follower of Kim Jong-un. You can do anything if you have got those bad ideas in your head. So this person, number three inline accused number two of being a communist. And it stuck ... And this monk was put in jail. Number two was got rid of by putting in jail for three years. But what happened next; be very careful of Buddhist monks curses. Actually didn't curse but it's Kamma. The head monk, the number one did die. Number three got promoted to be the Head Monk of Thailand. And one day... because he was a senior monk, he would go everywhere with Police escort. Police car in front, Police car behind he was in a very nice car. And a car on the opposite side of the road loss control went over the median strip and crashed into the Head Monk's car and killed him instantly. No one else was even injured, Just one monk was killed. And everybody thought ' this must be kamma'. Why was one monk killed and no one else? They thought that Head Monk must have done something very bad. And they looked and saw his past and that's what they saw. They looked at the evidence and they realised; that monk has been setup and put in jail for something he never did. So they released him, they gave him full pardon, turned over his conviction. Was he upset? Was he angry? Did he ask for compensation? No way, he said, This was the best three years of my life. It was like being on retreat. I never had to answer anybody's questions, about their marriage, about their jobs, about their children, about their health, about all the stuff which I have to talk about all the time. Didn't have to talk about anything like that, didn't have to give any talks could read any books he likes, meditating, rest and it's the best years of his life, he said. Now that is a monk! And he said also, really, really thankfully he said because if I hadn't been in jail I would have probably got that top job now somebody else had got that after me. So I am free.
- The Playboy at the traffic lightsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On a 40-degree day in the old Kombi with the windows down, young men in the next car on Leach Highway jeer at the robed monk, then at a red light hold up a Playboy to wind him…
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Like that time on Leech highway. If you know Leech highway it was a three-lane highway on both sides, a medium strip was hardly anything there. But anyway, in one of these hot days in summer. 40 degrees plus. And we had this old combi van, the old VW van. I was in the passenger seat, one of the anagarikas was the driver. We were driving along there with the windows down because no aircon. Windows down trying to get a bit of breeze to keep cool. And these this car full of you know, young men maybe about 19, 20. They saw me in this car, this weird guy, bald head, brown robes. They decide to have some fun. So they drove alongside of us and they said “ah! Get your hair cut!” you know, “get a proper job your bludger!” all that sort of stuff you know, which people do. But then when we got to the lights, red lights, they came right next to us. They had a couple of minutes. So there's one of the guys there you know, he was in the driver's seat you know, he took his hands off the wheel, he got out a magazine. He was going to me and I was in the passenger seat. So I had a look and you know what it was? Playboy! He said “Playboy magazine.” they were just trying to wind a monk up. At least he knew I was celibate. And now what did I do? Did I get embarrassed? Of course not. I'd started laughing but did I look? No, of course that I'm a good monk. So how did I notice it was Playboy magazine? Because my driver looked and told me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
- The psychiatric team's flat batteryStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Several years ago a woman arrived one evening at Bodhinyana still wearing a hospital wristband from Bentley Hospital's psychiatric unit. Ajahn Brahm said she needed to go back;…
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It happened once that there was a lady who came uh in the evening to Bodhinana Monastery. This was several years ago. And unfortunately she and I could see from her wrist she still had that tag they put on the wrist. Uh she was in Bentley Hospital with no psychiatric problems. And so I recognized her and I said, "Well, you know, you really do need to go back to hospital." She said, "No, you told me to come here on the psychic plane." So I realized there's a problem here. And so she didn't want to leave. So one thing which I did know there was some people who worked for the they called it the PET team at the time psychological emer psychiatric emergency team. So we called them. Trouble is you know we lived down in Serpentine. It's a long way away. So by the time they came, it took a while to settle her down. But then uh when they arrived at the gate, they asked me how she be been behaving. And at one time she threw a cup of tea at me. I didn't mind the cup breaking, but what a waste of tea. But nevertheless, I told him that I said, "Oh, if we have anybody who's uh got psychiatric problems and was also violent, we have to call the police." So the only police station, you know, which was there at the time was over in Armadale. So we called them. I said, "You will come." And this is our local police station in Armadale. And they didn't know the way to Bodhinana Monastery. They went by Serpentine Dam, which is twice as long as it should be. And so we're waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting. But then when the police actually did come, the psychiatrists, they know the stuff about the mind, but sometimes they lose what we call their common sense because they left their headlights on all the time. And so their car was actually had no no electricity in the the batteries anymore. And so when with the police they asked this lady to go back into hospital, they could not take her. They didn't have any power in their car. And the rules for the police, the police couldn't take them. That was against their rules. So they were stuck. But fortunately, we talked the police into taking her into the hospital.
- The Tibetan monk who never got to speakStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A former caretaker became a Buddhist because of a talk in a Melbourne public library that never happened. As a Tibetan monk was about to speak, a fundamentalist Christian stood…
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one of our ex-caretakers here a long time ago said he became a Buddhist because an experience he had listening to a talk in Melbourne many many years ago there was a Tibetan Buddhist monk was to give a talk in the public library and so he went along just for interest not really a Buddhist yet and well this Tibetan monk just before he got up to give the talk one of these fundamental Christian people stood up and started to harangue the monk say he was evil a messenger from the devil and Jesus Jesus was the only way and Buddhist being quite gentle said okay you said your stuff Nana please sit down and be quiet we want to listen to the Monk but that just made the Christian fundamentalist even more speaking louder and more aggressively and it took 45-50 minutes to get this guy to leave the auditorium and that's all the time they had for the talk so everyone had to go home and they might never said anything but this young man said that was the most inspiring thing he'd ever seen simply because when this monk was being criticized and put down and scolded and said was evil and part of the devil's crew or whatever the monk was just sitting there peacefully and calm even though he's being scolded he realized that's not what he was
- They emptied the donation box on New Year's DayStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During the BSWA New Year's Day ceremony someone emptied the donation box. When people got upset Ajahn Brahm told them not to: it's only money — that is not what the centre is for.
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on this New Year's Day, our Buddhist Society got robbed. Somebody came in here while we're doing our New Year's day ceremony and emptied the donation box. Aww, wasn't that nice? I hope they really enjoyed all the money they got, and had a very good time with it. I told people at the time; when they're getting upset and angry. Don't get upset and angry. It's money. That's not what we're here for
- You disturb the noiseAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Chah's line via Brahm: it is not the children's noise that disturbs you — you disturb the noise. People are noisy; make peace with it when you cannot change it.
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it's not the noise of the children disturbs you you disturb the noise of the children that's what children do children make noise husbands you know keep on saying I'll do it tomorrow darling wives there's a nature of this world people make noise and this person from Malaysia I probably got somebody else over here and it's actually not tonight they've probably from your house they probably asked the same question how do I live with a noisy annoying and noisy people because you're probably annoying and noisy as well as the other people are we always think it's somebody else is a problem don't we they're noisy with everything I'm noisy we always said this happens you know when on my Retreats which I do over in China Grove is a room this Cottage with six people and someone says can you please tell people not to snore in the Cottages and then the other people also say can you tell people not to snow we never think we snow it's other people snoring but we snore as well so live with annoying and noise in people welcome to the world people are annoying and they are noisy and you're one of them and I'm one of them as well I'm sure I'm very annoying telling the same old jokes every week and very annoying noisy so how you do tolerance self in yourself and don't disturb the noise if there's something you can do do it if there's nothing you can do just make peace with it it was amazing just how you can make peace even in noisy environments