Stories about positive thinking
2 Buddhist wisdom stories about positive thinking from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Sleeping on a door with a hole in itStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In the first days of Bodhinyana Monastery the two monks sleep on doors propped on bricks; the senior monk gets the flat one, Ajahn Brahm the ribbed door with a hole where the…
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when I first went to that monastery, the first night I was there, we had a door which I slept on. It was three bricks in each corner and a door. We only had two doors in that monastery. So we didn't sleep on the floor because there's lots of insects and animals that go biting you at night. It was this time of the year, just in January, hot and I was on the door. We only had two doors. Because I was the second monk, because of hierarchy, the senior monk got the flat door. I got the ones with the ribs on it, these houses had the ribs on the door. It's true, I'm not making it up, so I had ribs on the door. I was fortunate, there was one of the doors which the doorknob was actually in the centre of the door, rather than on the edge. So there was a big hole in the middle of the door. And being a positive thinker, I thought, well that's actually very good because that means I don't need to get up out of bed to go to the toilet. It's very, very good. I don't know why they don't make other beds like that, with a hole in the centre, a bucket underneath. You know what it's like getting these hot days or cold days, getting out of bed to go to the toilet.
- “What if a tree did not fall when we were underneath it?”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Walking home from Rabbit's house through a storm, little Piglet freezes as trees crash around them: “What would happen if a tree fell down when we were underneath it?” After a…
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So Winnie-the-Pooh was with his friend, Piglet. And Piglet was a very small being. Very kind. Very loyal. But being very small, was usually subject to a lot of fear. And then one day, they were walking back from Rabbit's house in a storm like we had today and yesterday. And as they were walking through the forest, trees were coming down around them, branches were crashing to the floor and even whole trees were being ripped off and smashing around them. That was very dangerous. So dangerous, so scary, that little Piglet could stand it no longer. He froze and he looked at his best friend, Winnie-the-Pooh, and said these words: "I can't go on any longer. I just can't. What would happen? What would happen if a tree fell down when we were underneath it?" And that was a possibility. And for a second, but only a second, the great philosopher and enlightened bear, Winnie-the-Pooh, was afraid, but only for a second. And then his wisdom kicked in and he looked at his terrified friend and replied with these reassuring words: "What would happen if a tree did not fall when we were underneath it? And that was also possible. In fact, even more possible. And that was the key to overcoming little Piglet's fear so he could move on with the thought, "What would happen if a tree did not fall when we were underneath it?" And that's exactly what happened, so he could go back safely.