Stories about kamma
9 Buddhist wisdom stories about kamma from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- 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…
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I still remember when the tsunami hit, I remember that very clearly because I was actually in Phuket that day, sorry not Phuket, I was in Penang, sorry, that day when the tsunami hit and of course the tsunami killed a few people in Penang Island as well. The reason I remember that is because my second monk at that time Ajahn Cattamalo who was very, very concerned, he was ringing up to try and find out how Ajahn Brahm was, because I was in the tsunami zone. I found out afterwards he wasn't so concerned about me but was very concerned if I died he'd have to be abbot (laughs). That was a big worry. I remember just when I returned and the newspapers were asking all the religious leaders - why did that happen?
- Edgar Cayce and the medicine on the third shelfStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Edgar Cayce, a devout Christian medium in 1930s America, would diagnose and prescribe in trance. Once he named a medicine no local drug store had heard of; back in trance he said…
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There was a medium, in United States between the 1st and 2nd World War called Edgar Cayce C A Y C E Many people claim all sorts of stuff but he was investigated a lot. He was a real deal. Cayce. Amazing stuff if you read some of his books. But he was a Baptists I think, a very devout Christian. This was 1930s. A very devout Christian and once he'd go in trance, and then he'd be able to diagnose all sorts of incredible treatments which were true. OK I will tell this one story which really blew my mind. People would come to him and say my grandma, she is very very sick He would go on trance first of all what can we help her with. Sometimes he says... you can't she is going to die. Other times, take this medicine. And this was not normal treatment it was weird medicines or weird combinations and doses which were not usual at all. So one day somebody took their son or somebody to see him when he was in a trance he said "Oh yeah that can be cured with this medicine" - gave the name. And then came out of trance, and when they went to the drug store drug stores in those days, United States. They said "we have never heard of that medicine". So they put him back in trance again. He said "oh you will find it in (this was in Virginia somewhere) "You will find it in a drug store in St. Louis, in Missouri I think is it in Missouri any way St. Louis on the Mississippi. So they didn't have email then and had telegram, telegraph. So they sent a telegraph, half an hour later the telegraph came back. We don't know that medicine anywhere in that drug store. Put him in trance again and he said: you'll find it in that drug store in the second room in the back third shelf from the left in the back--whatever it was. So they sent that telegraph. The telegraph came back half an hour later Found it! Incredible stuff this guy was up to. But one day they asked him in a trance "What is the most important law in the universe?" This was about 1932 or something. A devout Christian. And he said Kamma, the law of kamma. When he came out afterwards, that devastated him! I am a Christian I don't believe in Kamma but that's what he said in trance.
- He renamed his sons Buddha, Dhamma and SanghaJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A once-a-year 'Vesak Buddhist' businessman hears that thinking of Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha at death guarantees heaven, so he legally renames his three sons that — until on his…
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Let's call it a Thai man for change. A Thai man. He He was what we call uh in Buddhism a Wasak Buddhist. So, like an Easter Christian. You only go to the church once a year. So, he'd only go to the temple once a year on Wasak and it's only cuz his wife made him to made him go there. And he just his life was hopeless if he you know hell to live if he didn't do what his wife said. One day a year. It's a holy day of the year. Go to the temple, Wasak, please. So, he went there. He was a businessman. And as a businessman, he like making money, just doing deals, working in the businesses here and there. Quite a wealthy man. But even though he's wealthy, he still didn't like giving any donations. But Wasak, I suppose I'd better. And he was wondering just listen to all these boring sermons and meditating with his legs aching. Can't there be an easier way? And he happened to listen to one of these sermons by one of the monks. And at this sermon, the monk mentioned that this is classic Buddhist teachings. The most important time is your last moments before you die. And if you have a brilliant, beautiful, good thoughts as your last thought before you pass away, then your next life will be great, maybe even get reborn in a heaven realm. And the monk was saying that the best thing you can think about before you pass away is what they call in Buddhism the Triple Gem, Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. And if you can think of those three things, the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha, as your last thought before you pass away, then you're guaranteed 100% to go to heaven. No questions asked. So, this businessman, mean I don't have to keep precepts. I don't have to keep all these rules. You know, all I need to do is Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. Don't need to give donations. No, as long as you think of Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha just as your last thought, then you go to heaven. He thought, "Wow. At last, I know how to work the system." So, he said, "All I need to do is to make it sure I don't have to go to temple anymore. I can stay in the shop doing business. I can watch the TV. I can go and get drunk. I don't have to do any of those things. All I need to do is make sure I think of Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. How can I achieve that?" And he came up with this great idea. Because it just so happened he had three children, three sons. So, as soon as he got home, he got a lawyer and he officially changed their names to Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. Because he knew that even today in Australia, when you die, your children are by your bedside in the hospital or at home. And sure enough, it worked according to plan. When he was on his last few hours of life, his three devoted children were next to him. And he was looking at them thinking, "Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, I'm going to go to heaven. Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha going to heaven." His plan was working perfectly until it just so happened he was saying to Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha, his three children, "I'm going to heaven. No trouble at all." Until he suddenly thought, the thought arose in him, "My goodness, if my three children are here by my bedside, who's looking after my shop
- I'll only go to work on FridaysAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A man works hard Monday to Thursday with no paycheque, thinks of quitting, is forced in by his wife, then gets paid on Friday and decides to work only on Fridays thereafter — not…
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I remember this fellow who went to work on a Monday morning, he worked so hard all day and at the end of the day - didn't get paid. He went to work on Tuesday, worked all day, worked really hard, he said he got nothing for his effort. On Wednesday he thought what's the point of going to work but his wife forced him to go, so went to work on Wednesday, worked hard - still got nothing. Thursday, well nothing much to do, so he went to work on Thursday as well, and on Friday he thought what’s the point going to work but end of the week, nothing better to do, so he went to work, and on a Friday his boss gave him a cheque, and he thought well from now on I'm only going to go to work on Fridays. [laughter] And of course you don't realize that the Friday cheque is accumulating all that you've done before, all of your good kamma which you've done before, that's actually how kamma works.
- I'm going to marry you — she knew his nameStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On a Jhana Grove retreat a couple cannot keep apart despite the eight precepts. They explain: about a year earlier in Germany a woman he had never met walked up, named him, and…
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these two were there and this is supposed to be a meditation retreat. Many of you have done the meditation retreats. not really supposed to hang out, you know, with people of the opposite gender, you know, keep apart, keeping eight precepts, it's called. And this couple were just they couldn't keep their hands off one another. It was going on. And then they came and told me the reason why. And they said just it was about a year earlier. They were I think it was in Germany somewhere that this girl who he now married came up to him he'd never seen her before in this life and said to him just out of the blue your name is I think David I forget his surname and I'm going to marry you and there was how do you know my name and if someone came up to you and said that you know your name is Chiia and I'm going to marry you
- If you retire, you will dieStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Paying respects to Ajahn Ganha, Ajahn Brahm asks to retire from talks and travel. In front of everybody Ganha replies that if he retires and stops teaching and traveling he will…
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I was telling him all these people over in Perth, they said I shouldn't be travelling around so much; I'm just working too hard; I should relax a bit more." He said, "No, please tell them, please tell them, Ajahn Brahm, if you stop all of this, you stop working hard, you will die." That's what he told me. And I went, "Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu! You understand; he's a powerful monk— giving and serving gives you meaning in life. If you don't give and serve, yeah, you may amass money
- Nudist colony — slow down — naked chicksJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A chicken farmer's council speed signs fail to stop cars killing his free-range chicks. Taking kamma into his own hands, he puts up his own sign: 'Nudist colony — slow down —…
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This is the story of the chicken farmer. Another chicken farmers story, of course, this is a joke of course but this is today's funny story. A chicken farmer had trouble with all his chicks wandering into the road and people were driving so fast down this road they kept on killing all the chicken, chicks especially, so he asked the local council, who are very supportive of local business, to say can we sort of put a speed sign up so people drive slower so they won't see my chicks and kill them all. So the local council said yeah we can do that for you, so they put a sign up you know 50 km an hour, but being a rural area no chance for any police to be there, people didn't heed the sign at all, they kept on speeding right past this poor guy’s farm and all these free-range chicks were still slaughtered. So after three days he rang them up again, “the sign is not working can you try something else?”. So they changed the sign to say “children crossing - well you know, chicks they're young-slow down”. And after three days he had to ring up the council again saying “look they're paying no attention, they're still speeding and all my chicks are dying" and he said “look can I put up a sign.” You know, my own kamma, instead of waiting for someone else to do things, waiting for the council to do things, you know what happens. But he got permission and he put up his own sign. After a couple of weeks the council rang him up “so how's it going with your sign?” He said “ perfect - I haven't lost any chicks ever since I put up this sign.” “So what sign did you put up?” and he said "I wrote up the sign “nudist colony - slow down - naked chicks.” (laughter) Everyone slowed down. [laughter] See, it works, isn’t it. Would you slow down even, if you're a Buddhist?
- The Elvis impersonator with the walking stickStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the old North Perth temple a man who had fallen off a roof and suffered brain damage starts dressing as Elvis, comes violent with a walking stick (always missing), and Ajahn…
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I remember this one guy once, this was in our previous temple over in North Perth. When I first came here he'd fallen off a roof and he hit his head and he was actually crazy, he had brain damage. And he was very nice guy at first, but now he started dressing up like Elvis Presley and impersonating Elvis Presley. He was out of his mind and he came to see me and he was violent, he had his walking stick and every now and again he'd try hitting me with a walking stick but always missing. He wasn’t a very good shot thank goodness and the only thing I could remember to do, I had no, I had no training on how to counsel people who were that sort of mad. The only thing I could think of: just make peace, be kind, be gentle, make peace, be kind be gentle, even though I didn't know what I was doing and I was in a very dangerous, very... maybe not life-threatening but I could certainly got injured very easily if I'd have said the wrong word and upset him, he'd have smashed me with his walking stick for sure. "Be kind, be peaceful, be gentle." And you calmed the whole person down. It's wonderful to be able to do things like that. When you know how to make good mental kamma, you get good results.
- The log that was a crocodileStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Sri Lankan man fed the fish in a lagoon with a slice of bread every morning on his way to work, and when a crocodile appeared he fed it a slice too, every day. One morning the…
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There was a uh a Sri Lankan man who would go every morning to a little lagoon on his way to work with a couple of slices of bread to feed the fish. Then one day a crocodile came. And so he fed the crocodile a slice of bread, too. And this crocodile just came every day from that time on to get a slice of bread from this guy. I don't crocodile alligator, might get that one wrong. But anyway, he went there one morning to feed the fish and this crocodile, and that was when the big wave came. And he got swept out to sea. And he said he tried to hang on to to a chair or something which was floating, but the current was so strong it dragged him the chair away from him. The next thing he saw was a log of wood. He grabbed onto that and he could hold onto it. And he was so incredibly confused. It's a true story. They didn't It took him a while to realize all the other stuff was being swept out to sea, but the log of wood was going the opposite direction to the shore. And it got him so close to the shore he could jump off the log of wood and grab onto the bank and escape with his life. Then he looked at that log of wood. It wasn't a log of wood. It was this crocodile that saved him. Or it could be, for those of you who are cynical, the crocodile realized if that man dies, there'll be no more bread.