Stories about London
7 Buddhist wisdom stories about London from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Are you a real Buddhist monk?Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On the London Underground a woman sits beside him: are you a Buddhist monk? A real one? He doesn't know what a fake one is — yes, real; she asks about Buddhism.
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underground trains in London, on the underground trains, I was sitting, you know, calmly just minding my own business and a woman came sat right next to me and she said to me, said, "Oh, are you a Buddhist monk?" I said, "Yes." I said, "A real one?" I remember when she said, "I don't know what a fake one is." said, "Yeah, I'm a real Buddhist monk
- Halloween on the London UndergroundStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: His brother puts him on the Tube toward the London Buddhist Society. The carriage fills with vampires, witches and ghosts — it is Halloween. For the first time in robes on the…
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When I was visiting my brother in London and after having lunch with him, then he put me on the underground train to actually to go to my next appointment. He paid the fair, gave me the ticket cuz I don't have any money. And so I paid a ticket and they sent me to the London Buddhist Society just know next to Victoria. And when I got on that train, it was weird. I was the first one in my carriage. But then these vampires came on. [laughter] They're vampires. Really, I'm not exaggerating. about [snorts] five or six of them with long teeth and blood and just really weird clothing on. And then after they came on, then then came a few witches, [laughter] a few ghosts. What's going on? And then I remembered cuz it was it was Halloween's night. [clears throat] It was it was quite ordinary. But then I started thinking, you know, for the first time riding the underground trains dressed as a monk in a London, for the first time, I never felt odd wearing my robes. [laughter] And I think many of them thought, [laughter] now what are you dressed up as? I'm a monk. [laughter] And I really enjoyed that.
- Londoners laughed at the robesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Walking London streets in robes; strangers laugh at his appearance before he understands why — until he turns a corner and sees himself as they do.
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walking down the streets of London and know a lot of times because they didn't know what the heck I was, you know, wearing brown robes and bald head, no socks. That was weird enough. But then you would uh people would never ever say hello to you. But on Christmas day, everybody would say hello to you without exception. You know, there's also that one time I recall that, you know, that just the it's amazing the different cultures, but you wear these robes wherever you go because that's all you have. So anyway, when I was uh visiting like Stoke on Trent, that's where where my mother was born and so a lot of family up there. So I was visiting one of my friends or cousin and over there and going for a walk in the morning, a nice little bit of exercise. And as I was walking down the the streets, everybody was pointing at me and laughing. And I I don't mind actually creating some happiness in the world and joy in this world. It's a wonderful thing to make people laugh, but I really couldn't understand why. I wasn't telling any jokes. It was just, you know, just my appearance was sometimes making them laugh
- Mum left him on the High StreetStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a child in London his mother leaves him outside on the High Street while she shops — early lesson in trust, fear and return.
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my mother took me not to the shopping center in London those days were just the High Street
- Razor blades sewn into the flat capStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: His father, apprenticed as a bricklayer in late-1920s East End London, was taught first to sew razor blades into the peak of his flat cap so he could slash anyone who gave him…
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the first thing he was taught on the building site was how to sew razor blades in the peak of his flat cap. So, if any police or anyone gave him any trouble, he would slash them with like hidden sharp edges. And many places in the East end of London were no-go areas for police
- 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.
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halloween the night [snorts] for good and as one of my friends [sighs] he was uh in london and you know he was getting his first house he got this town house really cheap because even the real estate agent who sold it to him admitted it was haunted no one else wanted to buy it but you know he said we didn't believe in ghosts it's cheap so let's get by it so he bought it and the first night in that house he was sleeping on the ground floor in the middle of the night around midnight he heard a sound rap rap rap rap and he thought well just imagining no ghosts and everything was closed and shut there's no wind just imagining so he just turned over and tried to go to sleep again as soon as he turned over rap rap rap rap even louder and so he got up tried to find out
- The duck that tried to nest in his afroStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Young Brahm with a big curly Hendrix-style afro lies down in a London park; something tugs his hair — a duck harvesting nesting material.
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Somebody pulling my hair." It was a big f like, you know, my icon at that time was Jimmyi Hendris. I I have changed a lot since that time. Like a big afro hair hairstyle. That's what I had. 60s or 70s. And someone was putting my hair and I turned around. You know what it was? A duck. True. This duck saw my hair. That's really good nesting material