Stories about motivation
7 Buddhist wisdom stories about motivation from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- “Can meditation teach you to fly over walls?”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On his first prison visit, at the old Canning Vale jail, over a hundred of about 110 prisoners crowd in to learn meditation; inspired, Ajahn Brahm gives his best. Ten minutes in,…
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this is when I first went into a prison to teach meditation and you cannot make up these stories real life is funnier than any story anyone can concoct because when I went into this prison to teach meditation it was actually the old canning Vale jail I think it's called what's it called now hakia yeah Alvin canning Val and at that time was about 25 to 30 years ago in that time the prison population there was just over 100 Maybe 110. and over a hundred prisoners came to my talk almost the whole prison population the only ones who didn't come were those in solitary confinement or seeing the doctor or something and I couldn't believe just how many criminals were interested in meditation interested in actually doing something with their life improving themselves that was just so inspiring to see and so I really gave the best possible talk I can on meditation I really wanted to actually meet them halfway if they were going to be interested in this and do something with their lives and make themselves better I was also going to help them and I'd only been talking about meditation maybe about 10 minutes when this big guy stood up he was one of the leaders in the prison you know they all have their gangs he's one of the gang leaders he was about six foot four and that was just across his shoulders lots of lots of scars on him and when someone like that I often say when someone like that stands up to interrupt you and say can I ask a question say yes sir yes sir please and he said he said this is on behalf of all the people here is it really true he asked is it really true that through meditation you can learn how to fly over walls sure that did break this up and then I realized why so many prisoners have come to my meditation class stupid they believe that a couple of meditation classes you could do that and they're all out of jail so when I told them look yeah levitation can sometimes happen it's incredibly rare you have to be a really skilled meditator for Life hours and hours to do something like that when I went back next week to continue the cross only three people turned up
- Exams kill by degreesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Cambridge graffiti outside the Cavendish Physics lab: 'Exams kill by degrees' — study aimed at the credential kills curiosity for its own sake.
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graffiti which I remember outside the philosophy department, no, this was actually outside the physics lab in Cambridge. Graffiti in those days, you'd actually go looking for it because it was really profound. And that was - "exams - kill by degrees". It's a wondeful pun - they kill by degrees. They kill learning, they kill the excitement of investigating knowledge
- Nandivisāla the oxStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A poor farmer, cheated year after year by the village merchant, sits depressed under a tree when his ox, Nandivisāla, nuzzles him with a plan: bet the merchant $10,000 that he…
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a story I hadn't told for years it's a very beautiful story of nandi we saddle the Ox this comes from one of the Buddha's Jataka tales there's lots of stories which the Buddha told know centuries ago some of them are quite boring but some of them had just have a beautiful meaning behind them and this was one of my favorite stories in that collection dandy we silo the Ox there was a very very poor farmer this was set in India so it's all about farmers is a very very poor farmer he had an ox called nan de Sala and he worked so hard trying to make ends meet but being a farmer you know sometimes that the rain ever came sometimes that you know that sir the seed wasn't good enough and more often than not when he did have a good harvest the local merchants in a village just ripped him off you know that's what the merchants were in those days looking after their own profits and just exploiting the people actually supplied the goods of poor farmers so dis after another sort of very difficult year the farmer was quite depressed it is so hard just working his back off trying to make ends meet for his family so he's sitting under a tree becoming depressed and he felt a wet nose on his face there was his ox and his ox said master I can help you what and helps can speak in those days ox is could speak just like in Walt Disney so the RCI can speak now look I've been serving you for such a long time pulling the plow for you and I'm getting tired too and I don't want to spend the rest of my life you know putting the plow to make ends meet I want to sort of retire too and I've got a plan and a plan is this you know I'm a very very strong ox I what I want you to do is that merchant who's been ripping you off for years I want you to go to that merchant and bet him $10,000 $10,000 that not that you're Arc's that's me Andy Masada can pull 100 ox carts all tie together and all full of stones rocks and the farmer said look you can't do that said yes I can and I'm a very very strong I know what I can do now you go and bet $10,000 and if I'm said but I haven't got $10,000 you don't need $10,000 you're going to win it so the farmer he went to that merchant and said I bet you $10,000 the my ox can pull a 100 carts tied together all full of rocks and I Mirta said I don't be stupid no oz can do that my else can $10,000 and the Merton says this these farms are so stupid it's just easy money I know he hasn't got $10,000 but I can these take his land and that's worth quite a bit so he said okay deal and because they needed 100 carts they had to borrow cars from everybody in the village so everybody was out watching to see whether this ox could be so strong and support 100 cars full of stones and once they tired all those carts together and they loaded and full of stones and rocks they tired the big ox to the front cut and the farmer went up there and said right pull those carts and the Ox didn't move kanya stupid ox pull those carts and the ox was stationary he got up a stick and he hit that ox come on pull those carts I'm going to lose everything and the ops couldn't do it everybody started to laugh the farmer started to cry no one could pull such a heavy weight so the farmer was devastated totally destroyed lost everything he sat under the tree and started to weep a few minutes later he felt the wet-nosed in his face why you crying said 90 whistle of the ox because of you you said you could pour 100 carts and you can't OSA 10 no you can't I can then why didn't you because master you shouted at me and then you call me stupid and then you hit me that's no way to treat a friend doesn't matter said the Ox I've got a plan you go back to that virgin and you bet him twenty thousand dollars but I'm nan de Sala can pour those cuts but this time treat me kindly and the father was smart enough to understand so he went back to that merchant I said I bet you twenty thousand and nobody said that's a very stupid farm okay the cars are still there twenty thousand done and they tired the Ox to the first cards and anybody was out watching this stupid farmer and then this time he said dear ox kind ox now if it's not too much trouble for you would you mind just try to pull those little carts a little bit but if it's too much don't bother and then that ox strain every muscle his eyes were like bulging out he pulled and he struggled you know what happened nothing it was too heavy el oscar pull that much so the father said oh look don't worry about it you know just stop here and then the ox tried even harder he pulled and he struggled until the sweat was coming out he know what happened nothing and the the farmer said look stop it you're going to kill yourself it doesn't matter if we're destitute and poor we've got each other and we love each other as well Auguste leave it alone don't try to I don't want to hurt you and because the farmer loved that looked so much that ox pulled every muscle not just in his body but also in his heart and he pulled like no other ox has ever pulled because of the love his master showed him you know what happened Greek when the first excellent and once the first actual moves once he gets started once the friction lessons and all the other cart started to move until in a very short time the first the last cut stood where the first cut had one stood the man one whose bet he had $10,000 which was enough for him and the ox to retire and live happily
- Only tell them to do what they want to doAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: From the Chinese Art of War: a general whose soldiers never disobey — because he only ever tells them to do what they want to do. Motivation and inspiration come first; then…
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I read that uh years before in a book called the Chinese art of war. You ask what's a Buddhist monk doing reading a book called the Chinese art of war because they had lots and lots of very wise sayings in there. It was not just about you know violence. One of the generals in the Chinese army had perfect discipline and the emperor wanted to find out why. And how come everyone follows your instructions? Now any one of you in a management position in your life, please remember this is how to have good management skills. He said, "All my soldiers always follow my orders because I only ever tell them to do what they want to do. That's why they never disobey an order. Only tell them to do what they want to do." Of course, that doesn't make sense. How can you tell people to get up early in the morning? How do you tell people to go out and train really hard? How do you tell your soldiers to go into battle even though many of them will get injured or even killed? How can you get them to follow orders like that? And he said because he's already motivated them, inspired them. So even before the bell goes off in the morning, they're raring waiting to get get up and do something good. There's that motivation. Give them a reason for doing what they're doing. And if you give them that reason, of course, they will do what they want. They'll get up earlier than you expect. They'll train even harder. They'll go in there. I don't know why how you can convince them to give their lives, but many people do that
- Streets paved with goldJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A refugee waiting for resettlement hears that Perth's streets are paved with gold. Walking out of Perth Airport, he spots a $2 gold coin on the ground — they are! He bends to…
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it reminds me of another story about motivation about this migrant who came to Perth and they came over from the Middle East and he know heard all these stories about Australia and how rich Australia is and compared to some is really really poor countries you know water Tor and ravaged countries living in great poverty with hardly anything to eat or ravaged by floods or whatever else is the natural disaster some people are really really dirt poed compared to them I mean it's true Australia is a very very wealthy country so in the refugee camps waiting to be resettled in Australia he heard you know the streets of a Perth are paved with gold you know heard that saying before and of course he didn't really believe it but as soon as he arrived at Perth Airport on the the migrant Visa as soon as he worked out walked out of the airport he looked down and there was a $2 gold coin on the floor my goodness the streets of Perth are paved with gold and so went down to pick up the gold coin and then he stopped himself and said no no I've just arrived I won't start work until tomorrow that's called laziness
- The anti-war rally on Parliament stepsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Just before an Iraq war, Ajahn Brahm, with Dennis, accepts an invitation to speak on the steps of Western Australia's Parliament House — not to be political, only pacifist: there…
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I remember that once I did accept an invitation to go to a well I don't know if it's really a political demonstration because n Dennis was there with me that time it was just before the in invasion of Iraq the Iraq War I think it's the first one was the second one I don't know what which one it was I can't remember now so I accepted the invitation to go to the state Parliament House you know on the steps where the where the um demonstrations are and just give a little speech I wasn't trying to be um political I was just trying to be just pacifist and come on you don't need to invade a country there's other ways to solve problems and it's just going to cause huge amounts of of suffering no real suffering afterwards I thought I was Mo I should go there but I was very concerned because as soon as I started talking about you know no we shouldn't send the send the troops into Iraq and all the ORD yeah no troops in Iraq and I had to be very careful because even just one word and people get motivated with like anger and irritation and that was such a dangerous thing to actually to see that happening in giving a talk and actually arousing people's what they thought was righteous indignation justifying anger because you could see just how that could motivate people to violence seeing that was just really dangerous
- The camel's one more roundStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A man who told Ajahn Brahm the story after hearing the Nandivisāla tale arrived late at a primary-school fete in a park, longing for a camel ride. The organiser refused: the…
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And this guy he he he was helping at like a school fate raising money for the local primary school. I don't know why they have to raise money for the local primary school. They always manage to find enough money for nuclear submarines and other stuff they buy. But you know, schools, you have to raise your own money. But they're raising money in the local park. And one of the things they had, one of the fundraising initiatives was camel rides. Have you ever been on a camel ride? Anyway, this guy always wanted to go on a camel ride, but when he got to the park, it was really late and they're about to close up and it was been a really, really hot day. So, I thought, well, you know, just can I just have the last camera ride, please? And the guy who was organizing it said, I'm sorry, but the camera's been working hard all day, and the poor camel is really tired. It's been very hot. and we've got enough money now for the you know the school so sorry you missed out and this guy looked at the camel and looked at the man and said look you know it's not just for the sake of money but it's something I always wanted to do in life to ride a camel and you know I can pay double triple I don't care about the money just can I please ride that camel and apparently said the man who was organized this looked up in the up at the camel, looked in the eyes. It was, you know, he's almost like a pet, almost part of the family. Looked at the camel and said, "Dear camel, this gentleman's come such a long way. And I know that you've worked so hard and you're really tired. I'm tired, too. Would you mind? Just one more round." And of course, the camel went straight down. And he jumped on its back and the clam lifted up. One more round out of kindness.