Stories about faith
11 Buddhist wisdom stories about faith from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Chanting brought the Dhammasara price downStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Looking at a noisy 38-acre option for the nuns, they notice a 583-acre property of solitude nearby. Against the fear they cannot afford it, they look anyway. An hour before the…
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You know, about Dhammasara, the container on Sunday, that place. Again, Bianca, she's not here this evening, with her partner Ron, going down Kitchigano, there was that 38-acre property. And just went down there, and he was No, come on. You know, you can't treat nuns like that. It's a small little place, really noisy. But on the way there, there was another property, 583 acres of solitude. And I said, "Let's have a look." I said, "No, no way. We can't afford that. 30 acres is way above our" "No, let's have a look. It doesn't cost anything to look." And of course, you know, eventually we bought it. That's Dhammasara. We don't know how that happened. I went in there with another monk an hour before. We really did some chanting. We really laid it on thick. Powerful super chanting to try to get the price down. And it worked. We got it. Now, don't you try that if you're trying to buy a house or a property. Don't invite the monks first of all, please.
- Guanyin came over the waves — then the British frigateStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Vietnamese boat people who reached Perth told him that at their most desperate — robbed by pirates, no money — they saw Guanyin coming over the waves, and right behind her a…
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Vietnamese boat people in those days when they sort of fled Vietnam and they just trusted their life you know to these rickety old boats sailing a huge distance to get to Australia such a long long long journey and most of them didn't make it. Some did. And I remember a lot of them they they told me that they were just know they were robbed by pirates. They had no money. They didn't know what they were going to do. They're going to make anywhere. And many of them I remember them. These are people I've talked to personally eventually ended up in Perth. They said that they had uh just almost losing it and they saw this image of the this they call it goddess of mercy Quanin coming over the the waves to them and they swore to me they actually saw it and then right behind this goddess of mercy Quanin they saw a a British frigot you know when Hong Kong was under the Brits sailing towards them to save them. Quan came first mobly leading the Brits to rescue rescue these poor refugees and of course then they got taken to Hong Kong and eventually settled over here in Australia
- He said he had been Emperor AshokaStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A famous Thai monk (unnamed here; Brahm withholds the name) told close monks he had been Emperor Ashoka in a previous life, named his south-Bangkok temple Ashoka Rama after…
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he told his close monks that in his previous incarnation he was the emperor Ahsoka of India now he was a very famous monk who doesn't lie he named his Temple in south of Bangkok Ahsoka Rama exactly the same name as ahsoka's temporary built in pataliputa in Patna and even more amazing in full public gays he was giving a big Dharma talk in the town of ubon at Jan Charles Place and out of nowhere from the ceiling this Medallion dropped down is now in his Museum people saw it hundreds of people a medallion of Emperor Ahsoka and don't have any medallions like that in Thailand which which is amazing so have amazing stuff
- 'I sent you two boats and a helicopter'Joke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In a flood in southern Malaysia, a monk devoted to Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy, climbs onto his roof. A rescue boat comes: 'No, Kwan Yin will save me.' As the water rises he…
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There was this flood. Apparently, this was in southern Malaysia a long time ago. And there was this this Buddhist monk who was a devotey of the goddess of mercy, Quanin. And as the floods came, he had to climb up onto his roof. And as he climbed up onto his roof, the floodwaters rose and rose and the venerable, the seafood, that's what they call the monks in in uh in Malaysia in in China, seafue, the seafue was on top of the roof. When the rescue boat came past and the rescue boat crew said, "Jump in, jump in. We've come to save you." He said, "No, I don't need to be saved. I'm a devotey of the goddess of mercy. She will save me. She's never let me down. I have faith. They said, "Look, jump in now. The flood waters arise." He said, "No, leave me alone. Go and save somebody else who doesn't believe in quanin. I am going to be safe." So, okay. Have you met people like that before? Anyway, the flood waters rose and so the fellow was on top of the roof. You know those curly bits on the end of the roof? He was clinging on to one of those. And the boat came past again and said, "Sefu, seafue, we really admire your faith. It's wonderful, but now please jump in the boat." He said, "No, I have faith in the goddess of mercy. She will save me." So they couldn't force him to jump in. So they went away to save somebody else. The floodwaters rose and now he was holding on to his TV aerial. That was the last thing to hold on to. He was holding on to that as a flood waters were sweep sweeping past him. It was too strong for the boat. So they said helicopter and the helicopter dropped the the ladder down and they shouted out she grabbed onto the rope and he shouted out no need I have faith inwin she will save me how was the special effects with they need some feedback every now and She will save me. Hold on to the rope. No. They couldn't force him. So the the helicopter went to save someone else. You know what happened? He drowned. He died. And when he went to heaven, don't worry whether it's a heaven or not. It fits into the story. When he went to heaven, when he went to heaven, oh, he was in a filthy mood. He was really upset and angry. And the first person wanted to say, "I want to see that Kwan Yin." And he went out, he found her up there. And when he went up, he said, "You really let me down. You embarrassed me. I'm You make me ashamed that all those years I've been believing in you. When I really needed you, you let me down. I'm brown." And like most heavenly beings, she looked down upon this devotey and says, "Sefu in a very soft, kind voice, Seu, I didn't let you down. Didn't I send you two boats and one helicopter?
- King Rama IV opened the royal gateStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Peace Corps American arrives too early at Wat Bowon in Bangkok to ordain; a Thai man with keys shows him the locked royal ordination hall and explains every mural, then sends…
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This young man, he got over to Thailand to do Peace Corps work. So two years over in Thailand, doing Peace Corps work. And then, before he went back to the United States and just... get a job, get married, and all of that sort of stuff, he decided to try to be a monk. A Buddhist monk just for a short time. But he didn't know what to do. How do you become a monk? In Thailand. And so, he was staying at a hotel on the outskirts of Bangkok, and he asked the concierge. The concierge knows other places to send Americans, but not, sort of, monasteries. But he did hear that there was one monastery in the centre of Bangkok, Wat Bowon, which sometimes had Western monks. So he said: Go there, go to this place Wat Bowon, in the centre of Bangkok, and go there early in the morning, take some food and wait for the monks to come out and put some food into one of the monks' bowls and just ask them.' He knew a little bit of Thai, not that much. Ask them he wants to become a monk. So that's what he did. The advice wasn't very clear or precise. So he went there really early in the morning. About 4 o'clock, 4:30 or something. And the monastery was all locked up. It was closed, no one was around. So he was walking up and down outside this monastery Wat Bowon, not knowing what to do. And this Thai man came up to him and asked him: 'Who are you? How can I help?' Because Thais are, certainly in those days, were very polite and very helpful. So he said he was American, he wanted to become a monk, and the Thai man said: 'You're really early, you've come a couple of hours too early.' But the Thai man said: 'Never mind. I've got the keys, I can let you inside.' So he took this Westerner inside the monastery. He opened the doors, it was a metal door in front of the Uposatha hall, the boat. You're Thai, it's called the Royal Gate. I'll tell you why afterwards, if you don't already know. And then went into the main hall, turned on the electric lights, he had the key, opened the main hall, the holy of holies there, and he described all the paintings, all the murals on this 200-year-old hall. And who painted them, why they were painted, and the story which those murals told. And if you know that Thai art in those days, every one of those murals told a story, it's like a cartoon, but cartoons in the West they would start from the left and they go to the right, then the next level... These go around all sorts of different... trajectories. If you know the story, you can actually tell what they are, but even sometimes I know those stories, but I can't actually figure out how they all connect together. But the two hours went past so quickly. He was so fascinated by all this history of the temple that this Thai man knew. Then the Thai man said: 'It's about time now, to... the monks will be coming out any minute, so go out the gate again, turn right, and then wait for this old monk – he's the one you should speak to.' That's what this Westerner did. This American. I know this American. It's a true story. Happened in my lifetime, in Thailand. And soon that monk came out and he put some food in the bowl, asked him he wanted to become a monk, and this American was told to wait and was taken to start the training, being a monk. And after a few days, the American said: 'Look, the monk you've given me to teach me all the chanting, and the rules and stuff, I can't understand him, his English is no good. And the other monk said 'This is the best English speaker we've got in the whole monastery'. And that is where this American said: 'What about that temple attendant who I met on the first day?' 'What temple attendant?' 'The guy who opened the door for me.' 'You can't go through that door. That gate is the Royal Gate. The only people allowed through that gate at Wat Bowon are members of the royal family.' You know how much they hold their tradition. And you can't turn the electricity on there. And, and... not even the Abbot knows all the stories behind those paintings. They took him straight to the Abbot. That was Somdet Nyanasamvara. He became the Head Monk of Thailand. But at that time, he was the Abbot of the temple. The Abbot was listening to all of this and stopped him. And said: 'Wait' and called in the secretary, 'This needs to be recorded.' And this is pretty much a true story. I did tell this story in the Thai Embassy in Singapore, once. And the Ambassador there, interrupted me. Eventually afterwards he said 'Yes, I've seen that story written down, it's true, it actually happened.' But anyway, the Abbot wrote it all down. Or the secretary, rather. But the end of the story. Of course, they asked the question: 'What did that man look like? That temple attendant we don't know, exists. The one who opened doors which only royal family can open.' No one's got the key, no temple attendant's got the key to the main hall. Only a couple of monks have that key. Not even the old Abbot knew all the stories behind the paintings. He said: 'What did he look like?' You know what happens when you have to try and describe a person, especially if you're from a different country; 'I don't know, he just... was Thai.' 'He was wearing traditional Thai clothes,' he said. That was one interesting thing. Not modern clothes. Traditional Thai clothes. 'But what did he look like?' And this American couldn't think exactly what this guy looked like. So he was scratching his head, literally, because that's what Westerners do, Thais don't do that. Scratching his head. And he stopped. He was looking at a portrait in the Abbot's office. 'It's him!' 'That's the one.' 'That's the one I met'. That was a portrait of one of the sponsors of that temple when it was first built. His Majesty King Rama V who died about 150 years prior to that incident. That went down in the books. A heavenly being coming down to help a young man become a monk
- Nine Pepsi-Colas — lucky number nineStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Thirsty on NE Thai tudong, Brahm resolves: if there are devas, get me a Pepsi. Walks past the store without asking; villager after villager runs up with open Pepsi and straw —…
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If there really are devas, if there are, can they get me a Pepsi-Cola?" And I really needed it. And so, with that resolution in my mind, I walked into the village. And as I walked into the village, I saw in the corner I kept my eyes down, but I saw in the corner of my eye that there was the hardware store, the general store. And there were some people in it, but I never stopped. I was a good monk. I never spoke anything. I walked right past. And as soon as you walk past like this, you think, "Well, I'll survive. There's no devas in this world anyway, so who cares?" But then, I heard, after I was about 5 m, 10 minutes past the shop, I heard someone say, "Nimon krap." [snorts] And I turned around. I never said a word. There was a person running after me with an open bottle of Pepsi-Cola with a straw in it. Cold, refreshing. And I thought, "This is weird." And I sat down on the bench. And I thought, "Well, it may be just coincidence. People are kind." But then, another person came running after me. "Nimon krap." With another bottle of Pepsi-Cola. And another person came running up with a third bottle of Pepsi-Cola. And for those of you who've ever been to Thailand, you know the magic number in Thailand, the one which they always think is the best number. And any one of you who any counts any donations, sometimes they you may have like um a thousand eight $1,800 for some big donation. They'd always try and bump it up to $1,999. I've seen that many, many times. And somebody else says, "Oh, just bump it up to 2,000." No. $1,999 is my lucky number. So, nine is a lucky number in Thailand. It means actually the number in the Thai language means prosperity. Gao. Anyway, so I had nine I Of course, another person came up, and a fifth person, a sixth, a seventh, an eighth, a ninth person came up. And I sat down on this bench. I look I was getting excited cuz I can remember this. I can almost visualize it now. I've had so many years ago, almost almost 42 years ago now. And I remember just lining up the nine bottles of Pepsi-Cola, looking at them. No way I could drink nine bottles, no matter how thirsty you were, but it reminded me that somebody was trying to make a point that things like heavenly beings do exist
- Raise them honest and questioningStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An English Buddhist couple ask a monk how to bring up their first child without brainwashing — Buddhist, no religion, or every religion? The advice Ajahn Brahm repeats: raise the…
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That is why this is one of those stories of I This was one of my friends a long time ago over in England. A Buddhist English family, Caucasians, had their first child and they asked him, "How should we bring up our child? Should we teach him to be a Buddhist? Or should we teach him no religion? Or should we teach him every religion? We're confused. I don't want to brainwash my kid cuz I was brainwashed. And I want to How do you bring up a child to have a good ethical foundation? And a monk gave this very brilliant advice, which I've repeated to other people. Bring up your child to be one, honest, and two, questioning. And if you encourage that in your child, honesty, it means that they will never deceive themselves believing something which is ridiculous. Truth will be so important to them that even religious statements, they would check out if it doesn't make sense, doesn't matter who said it, they'd reject it. Honesty will be one of the greatest uh filters of truth for misinformation. And secondly, questioning will always be challenging, challenging, challenging until they found out once they've questioned and challenged what's left. More they're questioning and challenging, which they can honestly believe in, that will be the truth. And that would be the best way to to encourage a child's religious or spiritual development as it is yours as well. Please always question and be honest. If you don't agree with it, say so. Don't believe it just cuz I say so. Don't believe it if everyone else in the world except you says so. No, don't believe it. Be honest with yourself there. If it really is true, you feel it is true, even if it goes against your beliefs, if it feels true and is true, change your beliefs. Never bend the facts to fit your faith, bend your faith to fit the facts. That's honesty. So that way, that is how good teachers teach. They don't teach you what to believe. They teach you to be honest and also to question.
- The Buddha relics multipliedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Doubting theoretical-physicist Brahm softens when he sees 'weird stuff': relics he left with Singapore disciples were two in a sealed container; months later Angie Monksfield…
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these relics can multiply when I first relics which I I had and I left them with the disciples in Singapore. They had two little relics in this enclosed container. And recently during the reigns retreat, I actually visited for two days Singapore what's called a sata the allowance from the Buddha to at the end of my month retreat to go there for two days. They were opening a new Buddhist center there on Lavender Street. 10 million bucks. They were raised for it. And when they were opening it, they wanted me to be the VIP there. So I went there. One of the first things which I did was make sure those relics I'd given them about 10 years ago, they had kept them. And the reason I wanted to make sure they were still keeping them and respecting them because when I gave them there was two relics in there. And then after about 3 months, the leader of the Buddhist fellowship at that time, Angie Monksfield, she wrote me this facts back and you won't believe this is now three. They multiply
- The father in the singletStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When the Buddhist Society had just opened a bank account for a future nuns' monastery, with only a dollar here and five dollars there, a man in jeans and a singlet — 'the sort of…
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I can never forget one afternoon at the monastery where I live in Serpentine a man came and he was wearing jeans and a singlet the sort of person you'd know see in a pub and he came to tell me that his wife had just given birth to their first child a daughter and he wanted to do something out of celebration for the birth of his first child and he' heard that we were wanting to build a monastery for Buddhist women and he said I don't know if my daughter will ever become a Buddhist let alone wanted to become a nun but who knows so I want to make a donation for your nun's Monastery and he handed over a check for $250,000 just like that and I've never seen him again I don't know where he came from but if he if he's ever around and he hears this talk please come and say hello and just to see how far that donation has gone and maybe you can make another one but no no no it just to and say hello but it was so inspiring that that sort of stuff can happen they just totally out of the blue not expecting anything and he certainly didn't look like a rich man at all
- The Japanese monk who just started walkingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Japanese fellow-monk of Ajahn Chah flew to Tokyo to visit family in the north without telling them, walked from the airport with no money or plans, made the news, and was taken…
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there's one monk he was a japanese monk a friend of mine and uh now with ajanchar and he decided to go and visit his family in japan but instead of actually just arranging everything he never even told his family he was coming his family lived up in the north of japan he just arrived at the airport in tokyo just got out of the uh the aircraft and just went to the customs and had his passport stabbed and then started walking just walked into tokyo and then just where he rested that night was just in the park in the morning got up and started walking again and you know we just had no plans no money first couple of days didn't get anything to eat but did you know go on arms round in tokyo and as he was walking somebody saw him he said who are you because he was japanese he spoke obviously perfect japanese language and then he said he was just a monk he's walking from the airport to visit his family and of course that was newsworthy he got on the news and after he got on the news the thai ambassador to japan saw that and so at last a real monk someone who doesn't make plans doesn't have money to survive somewhere and sleep outside and just walk and just living with the uncertainty of life and that she took him under her wing and just really looked after him and she later on became the ambassador thai ambassador to australia so you know she came here a couple of times that was suchitra and that's where she got her faith in buddhism again
- The storm that waited for the ceremonyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: For the Buddhist Society of Western Australia's 30th anniversary Vesak ceremony in Perth's Supreme Court Gardens, the biggest storm ever is forecast to hit at exactly ceremony…
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you know that story in one of the books about when we had our 30th anniversary of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia over Supreme Court Gardens and it was supposed to be a storm that night I mean really big storm like a major storm not one of these ordinary storms we have all the time here biggest storm ever to come to Perth right it's supposed to hit exactly the time we're going to have our ceremony and we had remember I'll go quickly this because many of you heard it before Premier Jeff Gallup he was a premier we invited him he was going to come three times his office called me aam there's a big storm coming you can't continue are you cancelling and three times I said no we are not cancelling one of our members he deceased now he said I was a sailor all my life in the merchant Sean I know these things the barometer is falling that parotic pressure is going down it's going to be a big storm I know these things you have to cancel no one of my M my own monks he took me aside and said a Bram look we really love you we respect you but you're making an idiot of yourself please cancel no and those you were there it was like Miracle just about half an hour before we started the ceremony the rain start stopped we did our ceremony full moon day way sack 19 I don't know when it was 2000 or whatever and it stopped it miracle and then after we finished rain came down Supreme Court Gardens flooded 2 Ines of water those of you are there hasn't done that for years Freeway flooded after the big storm but we stopped it and the following day there was a firm here uh I don't mind mentioning this ree hire they do a lot of party hire stuff and the CEO sent an email and said who is this a Bram we don't know who he is but can you please ask him who's going to win the horse racing today I still got that email somewhere