Stories about fear
71 Buddhist wisdom stories about fear from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- 3,999,900 haven't died of SARSStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm lands in Singapore at the height of SARS — headline “100 people dead”, heat cameras at the airport ('think cool'). His disciples, who've hired a convention centre for…
- 'Ajahn Chah is giving this talk'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The first time Ajahn Brahm gave a really big talk on his own — at the Suntec City convention centre in Singapore, to 3,000–4,000 people — he was afraid, not only of giving a bad…
- Ajahn Chah: you're leaving in two hoursStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Training under Ajahn Chah, a peaceful monastery stay could end with him saying you are going to another monastery — not next week, in two hours — with no chance to prepare.
- Ajahn Chah's eyes stop on the four-year monkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At Magha Puja at Wat Pah Pong, before thousands of lay people and some 150 monks, Ajahn Chah's gaze runs down the line of monks, passes the four-year monk Brahmavamso — then…
- Ajahn Ganha pats the king cobraStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Ganha ('ajan gun how'), the forest monk, meets a king cobra — the local 'one-step snake'. He raises his hand and pats it on the head, thanking it in Lao for coming to…
- Ajahn Singtong came before the chickenStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Young Ajahn Singtong overslept at Ajahn Maha Bua's strict monastery, where missing the morning meeting meant no alms round and no food. He caught a forest chicken, tied a rope…
- “Another hour!” — Ajahn Sumedho's four-hour talkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Sumedho gives an hour's talk in Thai to the overnight lay guests; each time he stops, Ajahn Chah calls “Another hour!” — through mumbling, people leaving and snoring —…
- “Can you tell my parents for me?”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A girl who has come to the Perth temple since she was a toddler comes to Ajahn Brahm at 16 or 17: she's pregnant by her boyfriend and hasn't told her parents — “they'll kill me.”…
- Cattamalo's real worry about the tsunamiStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm is in Penang (he first says Phuket) when the 2004 tsunami hits. Afterwards he learns that his second monk Ajahn Cattamalo had been ringing frantically — not so much…
- 'Do you know a famous monk called Ajahn Brahm?'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Trying to avoid pride, Ajahn Brahm sits incognito at the back of a Buddhist conference in Vietnam. A Vietnamese monk sits beside him to practise his English: who are you, where…
- 'Doctor, have you got anything for worms?'Joke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A hypochondriac has every fashionable disease — each COVID variant, then monkeypox — and keeps visiting his doctor, who finally loses patience and shouts: you're healthy, don't…
- Face to face with a tiger — in the zooJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Asked about jungle stories, Ajahn Brahm says he once stood four feet from a huge tiger and was not scared at all — because the tiger was in the zoo, behind bars.
- “Fear killed twenty thousand”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Plague demons meet in a forest clearing to compare tolls: one killed 1,000 in Paris, another 2,000 in London; the third says he killed only about 50 in Frankfurt — “but fear…
- Free coffee for meditating by the corpseJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In Thailand, where people fear ghosts and fresh corpses, the young Western monk announces he will meditate beside a body and is plied with coffee by impressed monks — so he keeps…
- George Burns on worryingJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At 96, comedian George Burns still stays out at nightclubs, drinks whisky, smokes and eats fatty food. Asked if he isn't worried about his lifestyle: “No, my wife was worried…
- Grasshopper and the pool of acidStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In an episode of 'Kung Fu', the blind master shows the novice Grasshopper a pool of 'acid' with bones at the bottom and a plank across it, then has him practise on a plank on…
- Guards with machine guns — to keep the world outStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Visiting a very wealthy man in Kuala Lumpur, Ajahn Brahm passes machine-gun guards at the gate. 'Are you in a prison?' — 'That's to keep the world out, not to keep me in.'…
- 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…
- “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 would'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Asked in Q&A what he's been most afraid of: at a friend's wedding reception while at Cambridge, the 19- or 20-year-old lads joke about who'll marry next. Pointing at his friend…
- Insure the house — live in a prisonJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Sydney man told to cut insurance premiums with screens, cameras and bars until home feels like prison — punchline setup for finding another way.
- Joke: the famous-quotations testJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An American high-school teacher offers to let anyone who identifies a famous quotation go home early. 'Who said "I have a dream"?' Ahmed answers Martin Luther King and goes home.…
- Kissed on the nose by an emuStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An anagarika sitting calmly with eyes open at Jhana Grove is approached by a wild emu that has never seen a human so still. It puts its beak on his nose — almost a kiss — then…
- 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…
- Labour energy, not labour painStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A monastery full of monks in north-east Thailand kept a book on how to give birth. It came from a commune of hippies who left Haight-Ashbury after the summer of love: they never…
- LAX bomb scare — LAPD with machine gunsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Los Angeles airport bomb scare wakes him better than coffee; Canadian-terminal walk; LAPD car screeches up with sirens; cops emerge with semi-automatics — not for him.
- 'Look out, behind you!'Analogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Simile from his pre-monk cinema days: in a horror film someone in the audience always shouts 'Look out, behind you!' at a monster on the screen — or a husband shouts 'Kick the…
- Miso soup against the bombStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When Ajahn Brahm first came to Perth in the early 1980s, many feared nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union; there were films about it. His predecessor Ajahn Jagaro made…
- 'Never mind, we'll get another one'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When Ajahn Brahm was at university, another student in his lab blew up an expensive piece of equipment — a big bang and smoke. Ajahn Brahm expected him to be in serious trouble,…
- No real ghost has ever hurt a humanStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Cambridge/London Psychic Research friend Dr Tony Cornell — 'head ghost hunter of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' — always took a professional magician to supposed hauntings.…
- 'Nothing wrong with being crazy'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At Cambridge in the 1970s a friend who had taken LSD came up to Ajahn Brahm saying, 'I think I'm going crazy.' Ajahn Brahm told him, 'Well, nothing wrong with being crazy — just…
- One toe in the poolAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Simile: a four- or five-year-old who has only just learned to walk is taken to a pool for the first time. Mummy lets it dip one toe and take it out, then a foot, then a leg,…
- Ray-Bans on the meditation demonStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Early in his practice a blood-dripping, skull-necklaced demon appears in Ajahn Brahm's deep meditation; knowing the mind creates it, he gives it sunglasses, blacked-out fangs, a…
- Root canal without anaestheticStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a young monk at the first Perth centre in North Perth, Ajahn Brahm goes to a free dental clinic and is assigned a trainee dentist — the son of a former society vice-president,…
- Sixteen fails, one blessingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A very intelligent Malaysian woman had failed the English language test for her Australian permanent visa 16 times. 'Take it again.' 'But I failed 16 times.' 'Ah, but you were…
- Teaching 650 schoolchildren to meditateStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a young maths teacher, Ajahn Brahm uses a week of school assemblies to teach 650 high-school children to watch the breath; they all do it and spontaneously applaud after five…
- The 'fearless' monk on the burning busStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During a spate of deadly bus fires in north-east Thailand, someone on Ajahn Brahm's bus shouts “fire!”; the driver leaps out the window and everyone flees, including his fellow…
- The bear attack and the sapling in her headStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A nun, before ordaining, is meditating outside a Himalayan cave when a bear clamps its jaws on her head; she chants, and the bear lets go. She felt no pain — the worst part was…
- 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 bomb next door in the BlitzStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During the London Blitz a bomb falls right next to the terraced house where Ajahn Brahm's mother and grandmother are. The neighbours, only five or six metres away, are killed…
- The cheap haunted London townhouseStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Friend buys a London townhouse cheap because the agent admits it is haunted; first night midnight rap-rap; searches, finds nothing, gets louder.
- 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 cult-buster who ran from the Buddha statueStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In the early North Perth centre, Western Australia's chief 'cult buster' comes to check the Buddhists out; charmed by the very Australian caretaker he decides it can't be a cult…
- The dentist appointment that never happenedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At about seven, terrified of the dentist, the young Ajahn Brahm tries every trick — “Mummy, you don't love me, you're sending me to the torturer!” He sleeps badly with worry and…
- The dog, the lion and the monkeyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A dog wanders too far into an African forest and a lion decides to eat him. The dog finds some bones, sits with his back to the lion and, as it's about to pounce, licks his lips:…
- 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 forest monk chased by the tigerStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Dhammindu (caption: Mark Edge and Drew) tells of a wandering Thai forest monk who insists on camping on a tiger trail despite the headman's warning. Meditating peacefully…
- The ghost at the toilet doorStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: After a funeral, a terrified 11-year-old novice stays in the hall all night; at 2 a.m. he dashes to the outdoor toilet, hears scratching at the door and hides for hours — it was…
- The governor who ended witchcraft accusationsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A woman accused of witchcraft faces burning; a smart colonial governor (Pennsylvania framing as recalled) handles the fear so well that witchcraft panic ends in that state while…
- The gypsy's curseStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Visiting his mother in London, Ajahn Brahm answers the door at mealtime to a woman selling 'lucky' heather. He politely declines; she threatens to put a curse on him if he…
- The haematologist who made room for kindnessStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The year after Ajahn Brahm received a Curtin University medal, he attended the award for Professor 'Joofi' (as captioned), head of haematology at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.…
- The kung fu poseStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Walking from his mother's flat in Acton to give a talk at the Sri Lankan temple, Ajahn Brahm takes the short way past a block of flats known as a no-go area. A gang of fourteen…
- The locust plague that never cameStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Years ago The West Australian reports a locust plague advancing on Perth: twenty kilometres closer each day, arriving in two days, arriving tomorrow. Then nothing happens — the…
- The monk who grabbed the king cobraStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Other monks Ajahn Brahm grew up with saw a king cobra wander into the hall; a monk who had been a snake-catcher as a layman simply grabbed it. Ajahn Brahm did not see it himself.
- 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 night they stayed in bed during the BlitzStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During the London Blitz a couple who had been up night after night with the bombs, and had lost so many people they knew, heard the air-raid siren and decided: 'No, that's it.…
- The only ones running for shelterStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A New Zealander, a late member of the society — reportedly the first New Zealander to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in Europe — reached London in uniform. The first time he…
- The penalty for perjury is less than for the truthJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A man on trial for murder in New York, facing the electric chair, is caught lying under oath. The judge warns him about perjury. He replies that the penalty for perjury is far…
- The postulant who tried too hard to be perfectStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A former monastery postulant tells Ajahn Brahm in Melbourne that he was so afraid of breaking a rule, controlling his body, speech and mind, that the tension became unbearable…
- The preceptor's snake in the lapStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm's preceptor, later acting Sangharaja of Thailand, came out of deep meditation in a Koh Samui coconut grove to find a snake coiled in his lap. He felt no fear, watched…
- The Rhodes scholar given permission to dieStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A fit Tennessee wrestler and Rhodes scholar, a fellow monk in Thailand, fell desperately ill and was sent to a monastery in England, where he stayed in his room for two or three…
- The Rottweilers weren't chainedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Visiting a house, he's told not to worry about the two Rottweilers — they're chained up — so he walks right past them. Only afterwards does the owner nearly have a heart attack:…
- The snake and the monk eyeball each otherStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During chanting at a new jungle monastery in Thailand, a snake climbs up a monk's back; its head pops up over his shoulder. Monk and snake eyeball each other, both surprised. The…
- The tangled brain cleared before the second operationStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Malaysian man in Penang had a rare disease he described as things in the brain physically tangled; after one painful operation it seemed cured, then recurred on CT. Terrified…
- The tiger that was a mouseStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Meditating alone at night deep in the Thai jungle, Ajahn Brahm hears rustling. As a Cambridge-trained scientist he assesses it: a small animal. As it comes closer: a medium-sized…
- The unidentified flying monkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A famous monk in the north of Thailand became famous because a Thai Air Force fighter pilot, flying high above the clouds, saw a monk levitating on a cloud. The pilot memorised…
- The wet-road skid — crash or swerveStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Wet road; car ahead stops for a pedestrian; Brahm skids and must choose rear-end crash or swerve through the crossing — swerves, barely misses the pedestrian, remembers how close…
- The worst procedure in the wardStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In a Rockingham Hospital ward with three other men, they compare medical procedures to decide which is worst. Someone names a barium enema; a man in the corner goes white —…
- “What if a tree did not fall when we were underneath it?”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Walking home from Rabbit's house through a storm, little Piglet freezes as trees crash around them: “What would happen if a tree fell down when we were underneath it?” After a…
- What if it doesn't come back?Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the opening of a new campus of the Cancer Support/Wellness Association in Cottesloe, Ajahn Brahm is the second VIP guest after the Premier. Why him? They explain: on his very…
- White knuckles on the first bicycleStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Young Ajahn Brahm's father saves up for his first bicycle; he keeps falling off until he notices his white knuckles and plank-stiff body — fear made him unable to balance. Once…