Stories about meaning
5 Buddhist wisdom stories about meaning from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- He was wishing away months of his lifeStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A fellow high-school teacher, stuck finishing a contract before a new job, realised on the way to work that he was wishing away four or five months of his life to reach the…
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he said he'd woke up that morning on on way to work he realized he was wishing away months of his life cuz he was in a job he didn't like and he couldn't change a job for another four or five months and so those four or five months he was trying to get rid of as soon as possible
- Interrupted by the radioStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A former caretaker of the Perth centre retired to Beverley for a peaceful life but fell into depression. He went into his shed, tied a noose to the rafter, set up the chair, and…
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he lives over in Beverly he was an old caretaker of our Center here he left to have a nice peaceful time up in Beverly and but you know we all go through difficult times he went through a depression and he got so deped pressed he actually went into his shed and tied a rope to the rafter tied a noose got the chair ready and went into the Caravan where he was saying to write his suicide note he had the he had the uh the radio one at the time just the local radio and as he was writing a suicide note you know just halfway through who would come on the radio aan brah and he said oh no I can't do anything without this m getting in the way so he ripped up his suicide now untied the rope and came and told me about it afterwards he said it's really too difficult to commit suicide you even get on the radio and stop me that's another guy I've got saved his life
- 'Take her, take that little kid'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A woman volunteered for a year with an aid organisation in a drought-stricken African country. Each morning she had to go outside the camp and choose perhaps 20 of the hundred…
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There was was one story I haven't told for a long time of a woman who had a year she wanted to do something for the world. She volunteered for for something. I forget what the organization was. And they sent her to some country in Africa where there was a poverty caused by a drought. And her job, she was given the job of going outside the camp every morning with a number of people she could let come in to survive. Maybe 20 cuz that's all the medication and supplies which this camp had. She could only allow say 20 people in and there's maybe a hundred outside. Every morning who just survived the night before. And she had to choose which 20 came in. And you think that was such a terrible job to do. But then she said the attitude of the people who came in or was waiting outside, it was not like take me, take me. What? It was take her, take that little kid. It inspired her just with the the compassion and the selflessness of the people who were waiting outside. By saying take him, don't take me. They knew they were going to die that day. They knew that's the best they could do. And she said that was one of the most inspiring years of her life. I remember the monk who told me this in England. Then I asked her, "What are you doing now?" She said, "I'm I'm working in my usual job in the civil service in UK." "What's that like?" "Now that really is depressing."
- 'Thank you for saving my life'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a young monk assisting another teacher at a retreat in Oban, Scotland, Ajahn Brahm is dulled by the usual complaints — until a woman comes to thank the teacher for saving her…
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this anecdote I'm not sure when the last time I told it but this happened in the fishing village of Oban in the northwest of Scotland it was not the summertime when it's really beautiful it was maybe spring time maybe about this time or maybe just February cold but we could hire a place to have a retreat as really have you been to the north west of Scotland is through modes it was peaceful just a fishing village and with her I thought as a hotel or something it was a nice retreat center there well steer but a place where people could come just to do some meditation and I was just listening to the same old stories again and again again again about not being able to meditate and not being good enough having problems with the family at the same old same old and then this woman came in and she really shook me out of my miletti dullness she said to the the teacher they'll come here to thank you for saving my life people can say that but when it's real when you really have a have had your life saved you know big time I just woke up with the power of where that came from and I was really interesting why what had happened what had happened with this woman she told her story interesting story that she was a student somewhere in middle England and she got a bit difficult with their studies with her social life with the pressures on any young woman trying to sort of achieve under pressure and she got a little bit depressed and the GP at the time just this was maybe 40 years ago GP at the time just gave her some volumes just no easy to take this pills but she got addicted got addicted to valium and sometimes that some things are very hard to break off their addiction to then I told the monks I think on Wednesday night I knew this gentleman who was addicted to brake fluid it's a brain fluid but he said he could he could stop at any time that was a joke addicted to brake fluid but he could stop at any time you fishing there what can we expect from our children anyway bingo serious dated the valium and when she comes on one of these retreats I have these things called no precepts especially the Five Precepts sometimes people listen and they don't really understand totally I needs Buddha's not supposed to take alcohol or drugs fifth precept and it wasn't explained to this means like Norma dissing all drugs like the recreational drugs nothing about sort of you know if you've been prescribed in medicine for by your doctors but she never understood that she got it wrong but on a retreat when it's nice and peaceful people aren't talking much to one another they're smiling they're kind everything is there there's no stress she could give up that valium for nine days it was hard but you know she could do it and she started to feel what it's like to be without that drug in their system not totally but then the problem came when they were treat finished and she thought I've done nine days this see if I can carry on without the valium so she decided to throw the pills away but she never realized that being in a retreat in a place of safety where people nice and kind you don't feel the people are threatening you or putting pressure on you to be anything but then she had to go through Glasgow to get back home and that meant going through Glasgow railway station you been through any terminus a station this is so distressing it soaked crazy it's just people all over the place running this way and and so noisy it's like a chaotic environment and she said that she almost has totally lost it and of course you can imagine when someone is that sensitive so actually it's a go through a railway station not like Perth Mint think more like like Sydney central or the Victoria Station in England or something it's crazy place and then she managed to get back home where she said that she spent the next I was a month I think just sitting in a chair hardly able to do anything as the effects of that works slowly wore off and it is not recommended for people to do such cold turkey it was just by mistake she did this because she started off misunderstanding about the precepts in Buddhism and had a supportive start and then just managed just to keep it together long enough to get back home and was this immobilized just sitting in a chair but she got through it and she said thank you because now she has her life back a life which is clear and free said thank you no she left and I was so impressed I remember that certainly the details that I made a resolution arrogant young monk I was said if I if I ever do that and hear someone say that because of how I've served whatever I've done I Tim Brom thank you for saving my life I think my life had found its meaning just one that's all I wanted just one
- The man who attended his own funeralStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A terminally ill man in the United States decides to hold his funeral service a week or two before he dies, so he can be there to hear the eulogies and the difference he made to…
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that gentleman in the United States who decided okay this is a bit of a pattern but here it comes decided to think outside the box decided to have his funeral service when he was still alive just a week or two before he died what a wonderful thing to do now his death was gonna happen you know it was predicted and one was unstoppable some disease we decided a week or two before his demise to hold his funeral service so he could be there and listen to the effect which he had had on other people's lives and he could be there to listen so what a great idea that would be but he also said that is also he could see a she who turned up for his funeral what he still had time to adjust the will