Stories about hypocrisy
3 Buddhist wisdom stories about hypocrisy from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Ask Gandhi — my son doesn't listen to meStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Mother brings defiant son to young Gandhi for a scolding about sweets; Gandhi asks her to return in weeks (or similar delay) so his word matches his own conduct — truth of…
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Gandhi. If ever you read his history, you know, this whole life was dedicated to what he called no satcha or or truth. And it wasn't just external truth but the truth of his own conduct and behavior. So incredibly virtuous man. And on this occasion remember this story from a long time ago he was studying law in UK in London and he was staying in a boarding house which people did in those days. And the the woman who owned the boarding house who cooked for these poor students had a son who was eating too much sugar. And this uh land lady took this Mr. Gandhi aside. He wasn't known. He was just a young man studying. He did. She didn't know this guy was going to become really world famous. But even then, he had authority. So much so that she said, "My son doesn't listen to me." But for some reason, he looks up to you. So, can you please tell my son not to eat so much sugar? I think he may listen to you. And Mr. Gandhi said, "Yes, ma'am, I will." Week passed, two weeks passed, and the land lady took Mr. Gandhi aside. So, Mr. Gandandy, do you remember that conversation we had two weeks ago? I asked you to tell my son not to eat so much sugar. He's still eating so much sugar. You said you would tell him. Why haven't you? And Mr. Gandhi said, "I did tell your son not to have so much sugar, but only this morning." "Why did you wait 2 weeks?" said the landlady. "Because," said Mr. Gandhi, it took me two weeks to give up taking sugar
- Form is emptiness — the empty platterJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A hungry wandering Zen monk is sent to a famous restaurant owned by a generous Buddhist woman. She will feed him, but first he must teach some Dhamma so she knows he's a real…
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there was a Zen monk who was wandering from place to place and he hadn't got any arms food for a couple of days he was really hungry and then somebody said well you know we haven't got any further so but you see there's a restaurant over there really famous restaurant and the owner of the restaurant is a very generous Buddhist she'll be able to give you something so he went to the restaurant and he asked to see the owner and the owner said our venerable monk so blessed will you come to my restaurant and as what can I do for you in his a world or a bit hungry said I'll but you have to teach some dumb man before you know I know you're a real monk so he stood up and said form is emptiness emptiness is form Sardis I decided she said sit down and he thought wow I've really my lucky day I'm gonna get a good meal today see how she liked that teaching and so she soon came this big platter huge platter so wonder what's underneath the cover which was keeping it warm and she presented that platter to the monk you don't skip half a days and the month lifting it up there's nothing there form is emptiness emptiness is for monk
- Hands behind their backsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In his one year as a schoolteacher in Devon, walking down a narrow lane at lunchtime, he meets two sixth-formers whose hands go behind their backs — the dead giveaway of a hidden…
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for one year I was a school teacher. I remember just having a big conflict inside of myself. Should I sort of discipline those children in this school for doing things which I would have done only two or three years earlier? I remember these kids coming down, it was a nice day and I went for a walk down this lane in this uh summer time and lay off and then I saw it was lunchtime in the county of Devon. It was a beautiful day. I went down a lane and I saw a couple of the sixth formers when I was grade 12 or probably this uh the equivalent of the first year at university in Australia coming down the road. And as soon as they saw me, a teacher, their hands went behind their back. I know what that was was cuz that's what I used to do. That's when you're smoking and you're trying to hide a cigarette. A dead giveaway. And it was a narrow lane, they couldn't miss me and they couldn't turn around, so they were very, very embarrassed. And I I told them, "Look, that's not the way to hide a cigarette." But there's no way I would discipline those kids, even though it was against the school rules, because I felt being a hypocrite. I was rebelling against those rules. So why should I sort of impose those rules on others?