Who told these stories about humour?

These 552 complete stories are from talks by Ajahn Brahm. Being Mindful Stories presents each one with the teacher's own telling, a reflection written in the spirit of the talk, and a link to the original talk at the exact timestamp.

How should I cite a story from this page?

Credit Ajahn Brahm as the storyteller and link the original talk (the timestamped YouTube link on each story page). You can also link the story page on Being Mindful Stories as the place you found it.

Stories about humour

Looking for a Buddhist story about humour? Here are 552 complete stories from talks by Ajahn Brahm. Each page has his own telling, a short reflection, and a link to the original talk.

Form is emptiness — the empty platter — A hungry wandering Zen monk is sent to a famous restaurant owned by a generous Buddhist woman. She…
Free coffee for meditating by the corpse — In Thailand, where people fear ghosts and fresh corpses, the young Western monk announces he will…
Fremantle just won — Dopey must be alive — Snow White finds a mine collapse; silence to 'are you okay?' Then she tries 'Fremantle just won…
French copper wires under Paris — Telecom conference: French claim ancient copper under Paris; English one-up with older bronze…
From Perth Airport uncertainty to a Rolls-Royce in Armadale — A visiting monk arrived at Perth Airport without saying which day, started walking, and within ~50…
Funeral chants at a wedding — Too tired, Ajahn Brahm starts the chanting for funerals instead of a wedding blessing — and once…
Funeral subcommittee while still healthy — Buddhist society starts a subcommittee for his funeral arrangements while he feels fine — he…
Gambling? With whom? — A Buddhist monk, a Christian priest and a rabbi meet for interfaith friendship; tea turns to…
Garfield appeared in the nimitta — In deep cave meditation a pure yellow nimitta arises — then he notices its form is Garfield the…
Gave away the furniture to a young couple — Before ordination he gives a young recently-married couple his expensive furniture for free — they…
George Burns on worrying — At 96, comedian George Burns still stays out at nightclubs, drinks whisky, smokes and eats fatty…
Get your wife to cancel if you're dead — A man needing an operation is told the earliest slot is in three months; he protests he might be…
Ghost stories on the walk to the grave — At a Chinese burial in Kolkata Cemetery he kills ten minutes walking with an elderly funeral…
Giving up tea for three months — People told Ajahn Brahm he was addicted to tea. So he decided to give it up for the three-month…
Goat for dinner — A mother-in-law coming to dinner asks her grandson what's on the menu. 'Goat,' he says — he…
God didn't recognise him — A man who can't find a partner is told by a psychologist to get a sharp suit, a proper haircut,…
Green velvet jeans at the Isle of Wight — Going to the 1970 Isle of Wight rock festival, young Ajahn Brahm wears green velvet jeans to be…
Hägar: 'Why me?' — 'Why not!' — In a Hägar the Horrible cartoon, Hägar is shipwrecked on an island in a storm. He looks up at the…
Hahayana — the book title that stuck — Idea for a joke book combining Hinayana/Mahayana/Vajrayana into Hahayana — title first, book maybe…
Halloween on the London Underground — His brother puts him on the Tube toward the London Buddhist Society. The carriage fills with…
Happytitis — very contagious — Analogy/joke: not hepatitis — happytitis; stay long enough and you catch it.
'Have you got any brains?' — The wife of Keith, an early Buddhist Society member, found a recipe calling for lamb's brains and…
Hawaiian shirts at funerals — Early Perth funerals are all black; he wants funeral directors in Hawaiian shirts — kids arrive…
He didn't have a leg to stand on — A motorcyclist's wrong leg is amputated; they take the other too. He sues and loses — he didn't…
He forgot to pre-program coming out — Eastern-states monk leads a 9-day retreat; after first sit he never opens his eyes — yogis go to…
He likes solitude — monastery code for a troublemaker — As a senior monk he got transfer letters from other monasteries with coded praise: 'likes…
He offered me a job at the Melbourne Comedy Club — After a Melbourne talk a TV comedian came up and said he could get Brahm a job at the Melbourne…
He pats the monastery car — Other monks can't start the car; he pats it, says kind words, pulls the starter — it works. Treat…
He renamed his sons Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha — A once-a-year 'Vesak Buddhist' businessman hears that thinking of Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha at…
He sang The Sound of Silence for $10,000 — A sponsor offered a $10,000 cheque for the nuns' monastery if Ajahn Brahm would sing. Monks don't…
He thought the Lazy Boy was heaven — A person dies and is reborn in a soft Lazy Boy armchair and thinks this must be heaven. After…
'He was a leader in his field' — People told Ajahn Brahm about a co-worker who never criticised or said anything bad about anyone.…
“He's not my husband, he's my dad” — At a Malaysian retreat a young woman does all the talking in an interview while the quiet man…
Heads I marry him — At Oslo University a young woman asks how to make a really important decision. To make it…
Health food kept me out of heaven — First funeral joke: couple die close together; angel shows eternal reward — mansion, TV where your…
Hell will freeze over — Freo won — Two Fremantle labourers enjoy hotter and hotter hell (Pilbara, SE Asia); devil freezes it — they…
Hey Hare Krishna — and he was one — Shopping with his mother on Ealing Broadway, someone shouts 'Hey Hare Krishna!' Embarrassed for…
Holy water by the bucket — then she sold it — Thai member Poonsup Wong, always sick, asks Ajahn Brahm for holy water by the 11-litre bucket each…
Holy water from Lourdes — “Another miracle!” — Returning from pilgrimage to Lourdes, a Catholic traveller's bags contain two Johnnie Walker…
Hopeful a burglar might leave us something — In a tiny London council flat, young Brahm asks why they don't lock the door. Father: not afraid…
“How about the Holy Ghost, then?” — Being shown around the creaky old Benedictine abbey at New Norcia, Ajahn Brahm teases Abbot Placid…
How many seconds in a year? — After walking through 60/60/24/365, the answer is 12: the 2nd of January, February, March…
How the ice-cream cone was invented — At the 1908 (he hedges the year) St Louis World's Fair, an ice-cream stall sat next to a waffle…
How to be happy — no one is happy — A self-help cartoon: open the book How to Be Happy and it says 'no one is happy — next question'.…
“I always wanted to become a monk — but not now!” — At a 2,000-strong talk in Singapore, a man challenges what a monk could know about real-world…
I can't believe how much my father has grown — Mark Twain (as Brahm tells it) runs away at ~18, returns years later and writes with satire that…
I can't opener — What do you call a can opener that doesn't work? I can't opener.
“I can't understand Thai ghosts” — At an open-air cremation in Thailand (of Ajahn Chah's brother, he thinks) all the monks leave as…
'I claim my prize!' — Ajahn Sujato (he thinks) tells him: walking through Sydney in his robes, he is stopped by a man…
I demand my right to bow to Jesus — Invited with Chaplain Canon Frank Sheehan to Christ Church Grammar School's morning assembly, the…
“I feel like a newborn baby” — One old man complains that ageing is terrible — aches everywhere, can't do what he used to. His…
'I know all about it' — A boy tells his teacher 'I know all about it' — she gives him $5 not to tell the headmistress. A…
I know your little secret — A boy learns a pocket-money trick: tell sister 'I know your little secret' and collect $20; try…
I lied about my age — I told her I was 90 — Seventy-year-old marries a young woman; friend asks if he lied about his age — yes: he said he was…
“I never argued with anyone” — A fit 90-year-old says the secret of his long life is that he never argued with anyone. “That…
“I never expected to see you in here” — Feeling awful and waiting at the local doctor's surgery, Ajahn Brahm is greeted by a friend from…
I noted jewelry going out, going out, going out — Joke about a meditator whose house is burgled: he was very mindful — noted burglar going in,…
'I sent you two boats and a helicopter' — In a flood in southern Malaysia, a monk devoted to Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy, climbs onto his…
I think I'm enlightened — I don't feel myself — Monk wakes claiming enlightenment because he 'didn't feel himself' — Fennel Chan / anattā punchline.
'I thought you couldn't talk' — When he first came to Perth, Ajahn Brahm was the second monk; Ajahn Jagaro gave all the talks…
I want happiness — scrub I, scrub want — Cartoon: angry man brings a monk a sign 'I want happiness'. Monk scrubs out the I (let go of…
I want to be a dog next life — Man wants rebirth as a dog: no boss, lie around, good food, free health care — only job is walking…
'I would' — Asked in Q&A what he's been most afraid of: at a friend's wedding reception while at Cambridge,…
I'll explain patience tomorrow — At a China retreat someone asks him to explain the importance of patience. He says he will let…
I'll only go to work on Fridays — A man works hard Monday to Thursday with no paycheque, thinks of quitting, is forced in by his…
I'm 888 months old — Bored of turning 74, he counts age in months — 888 — an auspicious number in Singapore, and jokes…
“I'm doing nothing — and I'm not finished yet” — Someone asks the monk to come and chant to bust a ghost in their house. “Sorry, I'm busy.” “Doing…
I'm leaving — with five Singapore dollars — Singapore psychotherapist recognises his leaving-home story: at six she packed a suitcase, got…
'I'm marrying your best friend tomorrow' — Dennis, the Buddhist Society's marriage celebrant, came home and told his wife, 'I'm marrying your…
'I'm only going to tell you this once' — At a suicide-bomber training camp, on the last lesson the instructor gathers the recruits: 'I'm…
I'm talking to the duck — Wife calls out whether tonight's dinner should be chicken, lamb or beef. Husband answers 'Chicken,…
I'm the treasurer — I can squeeze five more drops — At a Northbridge pub an ex-Olympic wrestler offered free drinks to anyone who could squeeze five…
'I've been underneath him all my life' — After interring a man's ashes in the wall around Bodhinyana Monastery, Ajahn Brahm jokingly asked…
I've been waiting for you for hours — get out — Five years a monk, walking without lifts, Ajahn Brahm asks Ajahn Suwat for a cave toward Sakon…
I've lived in this castle 300 years — Tourist asks castle guide if he's seen a ghost; never, in all his time there — how long? 300…
“If my daughter didn't have those faults…” — A newly married man tells his father-in-law that everything his bride does is charming — even how…
If she looks at you again, go for it — At about fourteen he asked his father how to find a girlfriend. Dad said: if a girl looks at you…
If they flush the holy book — call a plumber — After Guantanamo Quran-flushing news, someone asks what he would do if a Buddhist holy book were…
Imprisoned in a six-star hotel — On a conference tour in Japan, his hosts put Ajahn Brahm in what he later hears was a six-star…
In Laos, war stops for lunch — A monk friend, in Luang Prabang during the war between the communists and royalists, is eating…
“In the building trade we call it a feature” — After Ajahn Brahm tells the two-bad-bricks story at the Cancer Support Association, a builder…
In the loving arms of another man's wife — Ajahn Brahm 'confesses' that he spent some of the most wonderful times of his life in the loving…
In Vietnam Adam would have eaten the snake — Archbishop Roger Herft's joke: if Eden had been in China or Vietnam there would have been no Fall…
Income: nil — Renewing his low-income health care card, Ajahn Brahm writes 'Nil' in every income box. The first…
Insure the house — live in a prison — Sydney man told to cut insurance premiums with screens, cameras and bars until home feels like…
Interviewed on shipping because he had nothing to do — At a transport conference with minister Alannah MacTiernan he skips the late lunch; a reporter…
IQ and thongs — A Vietnamese-Australian comedian's joke: as a schoolboy he asked his dad what IQ meant. 100 is…
It was only a cough — Ajahn Brahm coughs; within days the rumour spreads that he is dying of some terrible disease and…
It wasn't the flag or the wind — your mouths were moving — Two monks argue whether the flag or the wind is moving; a Zen master says their minds are moving.…
“It's about time you took the pansil” — As a young man who has been visiting a temple for some time, he's taken aside by a monk: it's…
'It's nice to cry' — A woman who comes to the Buddhist Society told Ajahn Brahm about her mother, who went every week…
It's not the cough that carries you off — Mother's line: it's not the cough that carries you off — it's the coffin they carry you off in.
“It's only fat” — “Same thing” — Travelling through the US with only his one small bag, a customs officer asks where the rest of…
Jack Kornfield waited outside Elizabeth Arden — Jack Kornfield back in the US still in robes visits his sister; she is in Elizabeth Arden; he sits…
Jamaica drive-in needed a concrete screen — Visitor to a Jamaican drive-in wonders why the screen is thick concrete; locals shoot along with…
Jimmy Hendrix cured the student cold — As a student with a terrible cold he puts on music he loves (Jimmy Hendrix); excitement and joy…
Joke: everything hurts — A man tells the doctor his whole body hurts: he touches his head, it hurts; his nose, his mouth,…
Joke: four monks with a vow of silence — Four monks take a vow of silence. One sneezes. The first says, 'Bless you.' The second says,…
Joke: round the meditation menu — A beginner on retreat can't do breath meditation, so he teaches them anapanasati; that's too hard,…
Joke: the famous-quotations test — An American high-school teacher offers to let anyone who identifies a famous quotation go home…

Common questions

Is there a Buddhist story about humour?: Looking for a Buddhist story about humour? Here are 552 complete stories from talks by Ajahn Brahm. Each page has his own telling, a short reflection, and a link to the original talk.
Who told these stories about humour?: These 552 complete stories are from talks by Ajahn Brahm. Being Mindful Stories presents each one with the teacher's own telling, a reflection written in the spirit of the talk, and a link to the original talk at the exact timestamp.
How should I cite a story from this page?: Credit Ajahn Brahm as the storyteller and link the original talk (the timestamped YouTube link on each story page). You can also link the story page on Being Mindful Stories as the place you found it.

Looking for a Buddhist story about humour? Here are 552 complete stories from talks by Ajahn Brahm. Each page has his own telling, a short reflection, and a link to the original talk.

Form is emptiness — the empty platter — A hungry wandering Zen monk is sent to a famous restaurant owned by a generous Buddhist woman. She…

Free coffee for meditating by the corpse — In Thailand, where people fear ghosts and fresh corpses, the young Western monk announces he will…

Fremantle just won — Dopey must be alive — Snow White finds a mine collapse; silence to 'are you okay?' Then she tries 'Fremantle just won…

French copper wires under Paris — Telecom conference: French claim ancient copper under Paris; English one-up with older bronze…

From Perth Airport uncertainty to a Rolls-Royce in Armadale — A visiting monk arrived at Perth Airport without saying which day, started walking, and within ~50…

Funeral chants at a wedding — Too tired, Ajahn Brahm starts the chanting for funerals instead of a wedding blessing — and once…

Funeral subcommittee while still healthy — Buddhist society starts a subcommittee for his funeral arrangements while he feels fine — he…

Gambling? With whom? — A Buddhist monk, a Christian priest and a rabbi meet for interfaith friendship; tea turns to…

Garfield appeared in the nimitta — In deep cave meditation a pure yellow nimitta arises — then he notices its form is Garfield the…

Gave away the furniture to a young couple — Before ordination he gives a young recently-married couple his expensive furniture for free — they…

George Burns on worrying — At 96, comedian George Burns still stays out at nightclubs, drinks whisky, smokes and eats fatty…

Get your wife to cancel if you're dead — A man needing an operation is told the earliest slot is in three months; he protests he might be…

Ghost stories on the walk to the grave — At a Chinese burial in Kolkata Cemetery he kills ten minutes walking with an elderly funeral…

Giving up tea for three months — People told Ajahn Brahm he was addicted to tea. So he decided to give it up for the three-month…

Goat for dinner — A mother-in-law coming to dinner asks her grandson what's on the menu. 'Goat,' he says — he…

God didn't recognise him — A man who can't find a partner is told by a psychologist to get a sharp suit, a proper haircut,…

Green velvet jeans at the Isle of Wight — Going to the 1970 Isle of Wight rock festival, young Ajahn Brahm wears green velvet jeans to be…

Hägar: 'Why me?' — 'Why not!' — In a Hägar the Horrible cartoon, Hägar is shipwrecked on an island in a storm. He looks up at the…

Hahayana — the book title that stuck — Idea for a joke book combining Hinayana/Mahayana/Vajrayana into Hahayana — title first, book maybe…

Halloween on the London Underground — His brother puts him on the Tube toward the London Buddhist Society. The carriage fills with…

Happytitis — very contagious — Analogy/joke: not hepatitis — happytitis; stay long enough and you catch it.

'Have you got any brains?' — The wife of Keith, an early Buddhist Society member, found a recipe calling for lamb's brains and…

Hawaiian shirts at funerals — Early Perth funerals are all black; he wants funeral directors in Hawaiian shirts — kids arrive…

He didn't have a leg to stand on — A motorcyclist's wrong leg is amputated; they take the other too. He sues and loses — he didn't…

He forgot to pre-program coming out — Eastern-states monk leads a 9-day retreat; after first sit he never opens his eyes — yogis go to…

He likes solitude — monastery code for a troublemaker — As a senior monk he got transfer letters from other monasteries with coded praise: 'likes…

He offered me a job at the Melbourne Comedy Club — After a Melbourne talk a TV comedian came up and said he could get Brahm a job at the Melbourne…

He pats the monastery car — Other monks can't start the car; he pats it, says kind words, pulls the starter — it works. Treat…

He renamed his sons Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha — A once-a-year 'Vesak Buddhist' businessman hears that thinking of Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha at…

He sang The Sound of Silence for $10,000 — A sponsor offered a $10,000 cheque for the nuns' monastery if Ajahn Brahm would sing. Monks don't…

He thought the Lazy Boy was heaven — A person dies and is reborn in a soft Lazy Boy armchair and thinks this must be heaven. After…

'He was a leader in his field' — People told Ajahn Brahm about a co-worker who never criticised or said anything bad about anyone.…

“He's not my husband, he's my dad” — At a Malaysian retreat a young woman does all the talking in an interview while the quiet man…

Heads I marry him — At Oslo University a young woman asks how to make a really important decision. To make it…

Health food kept me out of heaven — First funeral joke: couple die close together; angel shows eternal reward — mansion, TV where your…

Hell will freeze over — Freo won — Two Fremantle labourers enjoy hotter and hotter hell (Pilbara, SE Asia); devil freezes it — they…

Hey Hare Krishna — and he was one — Shopping with his mother on Ealing Broadway, someone shouts 'Hey Hare Krishna!' Embarrassed for…

Holy water by the bucket — then she sold it — Thai member Poonsup Wong, always sick, asks Ajahn Brahm for holy water by the 11-litre bucket each…

Holy water from Lourdes — “Another miracle!” — Returning from pilgrimage to Lourdes, a Catholic traveller's bags contain two Johnnie Walker…

Hopeful a burglar might leave us something — In a tiny London council flat, young Brahm asks why they don't lock the door. Father: not afraid…

“How about the Holy Ghost, then?” — Being shown around the creaky old Benedictine abbey at New Norcia, Ajahn Brahm teases Abbot Placid…

How many seconds in a year? — After walking through 60/60/24/365, the answer is 12: the 2nd of January, February, March…

How the ice-cream cone was invented — At the 1908 (he hedges the year) St Louis World's Fair, an ice-cream stall sat next to a waffle…

How to be happy — no one is happy — A self-help cartoon: open the book How to Be Happy and it says 'no one is happy — next question'.…

“I always wanted to become a monk — but not now!” — At a 2,000-strong talk in Singapore, a man challenges what a monk could know about real-world…

I can't believe how much my father has grown — Mark Twain (as Brahm tells it) runs away at ~18, returns years later and writes with satire that…

I can't opener — What do you call a can opener that doesn't work? I can't opener.

“I can't understand Thai ghosts” — At an open-air cremation in Thailand (of Ajahn Chah's brother, he thinks) all the monks leave as…

'I claim my prize!' — Ajahn Sujato (he thinks) tells him: walking through Sydney in his robes, he is stopped by a man…

I demand my right to bow to Jesus — Invited with Chaplain Canon Frank Sheehan to Christ Church Grammar School's morning assembly, the…

“I feel like a newborn baby” — One old man complains that ageing is terrible — aches everywhere, can't do what he used to. His…

'I know all about it' — A boy tells his teacher 'I know all about it' — she gives him $5 not to tell the headmistress. A…

I know your little secret — A boy learns a pocket-money trick: tell sister 'I know your little secret' and collect $20; try…

I lied about my age — I told her I was 90 — Seventy-year-old marries a young woman; friend asks if he lied about his age — yes: he said he was…

“I never argued with anyone” — A fit 90-year-old says the secret of his long life is that he never argued with anyone. “That…

“I never expected to see you in here” — Feeling awful and waiting at the local doctor's surgery, Ajahn Brahm is greeted by a friend from…

I noted jewelry going out, going out, going out — Joke about a meditator whose house is burgled: he was very mindful — noted burglar going in,…

'I sent you two boats and a helicopter' — In a flood in southern Malaysia, a monk devoted to Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy, climbs onto his…

I think I'm enlightened — I don't feel myself — Monk wakes claiming enlightenment because he 'didn't feel himself' — Fennel Chan / anattā punchline.

'I thought you couldn't talk' — When he first came to Perth, Ajahn Brahm was the second monk; Ajahn Jagaro gave all the talks…

I want happiness — scrub I, scrub want — Cartoon: angry man brings a monk a sign 'I want happiness'. Monk scrubs out the I (let go of…

I want to be a dog next life — Man wants rebirth as a dog: no boss, lie around, good food, free health care — only job is walking…

'I would' — Asked in Q&A what he's been most afraid of: at a friend's wedding reception while at Cambridge,…

I'll explain patience tomorrow — At a China retreat someone asks him to explain the importance of patience. He says he will let…

I'll only go to work on Fridays — A man works hard Monday to Thursday with no paycheque, thinks of quitting, is forced in by his…

I'm 888 months old — Bored of turning 74, he counts age in months — 888 — an auspicious number in Singapore, and jokes…

“I'm doing nothing — and I'm not finished yet” — Someone asks the monk to come and chant to bust a ghost in their house. “Sorry, I'm busy.” “Doing…

I'm leaving — with five Singapore dollars — Singapore psychotherapist recognises his leaving-home story: at six she packed a suitcase, got…

'I'm marrying your best friend tomorrow' — Dennis, the Buddhist Society's marriage celebrant, came home and told his wife, 'I'm marrying your…

'I'm only going to tell you this once' — At a suicide-bomber training camp, on the last lesson the instructor gathers the recruits: 'I'm…

I'm talking to the duck — Wife calls out whether tonight's dinner should be chicken, lamb or beef. Husband answers 'Chicken,…

I'm the treasurer — I can squeeze five more drops — At a Northbridge pub an ex-Olympic wrestler offered free drinks to anyone who could squeeze five…

'I've been underneath him all my life' — After interring a man's ashes in the wall around Bodhinyana Monastery, Ajahn Brahm jokingly asked…

I've been waiting for you for hours — get out — Five years a monk, walking without lifts, Ajahn Brahm asks Ajahn Suwat for a cave toward Sakon…

I've lived in this castle 300 years — Tourist asks castle guide if he's seen a ghost; never, in all his time there — how long? 300…

“If my daughter didn't have those faults…” — A newly married man tells his father-in-law that everything his bride does is charming — even how…

If she looks at you again, go for it — At about fourteen he asked his father how to find a girlfriend. Dad said: if a girl looks at you…

If they flush the holy book — call a plumber — After Guantanamo Quran-flushing news, someone asks what he would do if a Buddhist holy book were…

Imprisoned in a six-star hotel — On a conference tour in Japan, his hosts put Ajahn Brahm in what he later hears was a six-star…

In Laos, war stops for lunch — A monk friend, in Luang Prabang during the war between the communists and royalists, is eating…

“In the building trade we call it a feature” — After Ajahn Brahm tells the two-bad-bricks story at the Cancer Support Association, a builder…

In the loving arms of another man's wife — Ajahn Brahm 'confesses' that he spent some of the most wonderful times of his life in the loving…

In Vietnam Adam would have eaten the snake — Archbishop Roger Herft's joke: if Eden had been in China or Vietnam there would have been no Fall…

Income: nil — Renewing his low-income health care card, Ajahn Brahm writes 'Nil' in every income box. The first…

Insure the house — live in a prison — Sydney man told to cut insurance premiums with screens, cameras and bars until home feels like…

Interviewed on shipping because he had nothing to do — At a transport conference with minister Alannah MacTiernan he skips the late lunch; a reporter…

IQ and thongs — A Vietnamese-Australian comedian's joke: as a schoolboy he asked his dad what IQ meant. 100 is…

It was only a cough — Ajahn Brahm coughs; within days the rumour spreads that he is dying of some terrible disease and…

It wasn't the flag or the wind — your mouths were moving — Two monks argue whether the flag or the wind is moving; a Zen master says their minds are moving.…

“It's about time you took the pansil” — As a young man who has been visiting a temple for some time, he's taken aside by a monk: it's…

'It's nice to cry' — A woman who comes to the Buddhist Society told Ajahn Brahm about her mother, who went every week…

It's not the cough that carries you off — Mother's line: it's not the cough that carries you off — it's the coffin they carry you off in.

“It's only fat” — “Same thing” — Travelling through the US with only his one small bag, a customs officer asks where the rest of…

Jack Kornfield waited outside Elizabeth Arden — Jack Kornfield back in the US still in robes visits his sister; she is in Elizabeth Arden; he sits…

Jamaica drive-in needed a concrete screen — Visitor to a Jamaican drive-in wonders why the screen is thick concrete; locals shoot along with…

Jimmy Hendrix cured the student cold — As a student with a terrible cold he puts on music he loves (Jimmy Hendrix); excitement and joy…

Joke: everything hurts — A man tells the doctor his whole body hurts: he touches his head, it hurts; his nose, his mouth,…

Joke: four monks with a vow of silence — Four monks take a vow of silence. One sneezes. The first says, 'Bless you.' The second says,…

Joke: round the meditation menu — A beginner on retreat can't do breath meditation, so he teaches them anapanasati; that's too hard,…

Joke: the famous-quotations test — An American high-school teacher offers to let anyone who identifies a famous quotation go home…

Common questions

Is there a Buddhist story about humour?: Looking for a Buddhist story about humour? Here are 552 complete stories from talks by Ajahn Brahm. Each page has his own telling, a short reflection, and a link to the original talk.
Who told these stories about humour?: These 552 complete stories are from talks by Ajahn Brahm. Being Mindful Stories presents each one with the teacher's own telling, a reflection written in the spirit of the talk, and a link to the original talk at the exact timestamp.
How should I cite a story from this page?: Credit Ajahn Brahm as the storyteller and link the original talk (the timestamped YouTube link on each story page). You can also link the story page on Being Mindful Stories as the place you found it.