Stories about power
7 Buddhist wisdom stories about power from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Keep the cage door openAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Analogy: lock a bird and when the door finally opens it never returns; leave the door open and comfort inside — it flies and comes back. Power vs freedom in relationships.
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bird in a cage if I were a bird in a cage sooner or later if you keep locking the door and they can't get out sooner or later there's probability eventually that door be left open and that bird will fly away never to come back again alas it's got its freedom that's what happens when you keep a bird in a cage instead if you keep a bird in the cage door is left open bliss a nice cage nice food very comfortable and if the bird does fly away it always come back again
- King Canute ordering the tideAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Analogy: Canute stands on the beach and orders the tide out — nature does not obey kings.
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King Canute who stood apparently somewhere in England and because he thought it was a kingly emperor with divine rights he stood on the beach and tried to order the time to actually to go out when it was coming in and obviously he made a fool of himself because you cannot control nature
- The emperor jailed the pope over reincarnationStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Early-church framing: a pope who held reincarnation is ordered by the emperor to ban it; refusal leads to a year in jail — after which the pope no longer believes in reincarnation.
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Pope V Julius I think his name was and the Pope was really into reincarnation but they Emperor was not and the Emperor told the Pope look ban reincarnation make it anathema and the Pope refused so actually the religious authority at that time was very much into reincarnation and so you know what did the Pope do in those days he put the Pope and then what did the Emperor do the emperor put the Pope in jail for one year and after one year in jail the Pope said I don't believe in re
- The emperor visits the two hermitsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Mahayana tale: top-of-mountain hermit and mid-slope hermit; Chinese emperor climbs to seek counsel from both — cooperation/wisdom frame (open).
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two Hermits they were living these were monks and they were living up on the mountain they had you know the the top hermit just because he lived on the very top of the mountain and the one which lived halfway down you know because we were both Hermits they didn't want to live next to each other they're both really really good good monks and they very wise and very compassionate that when the Emperor of China was having problems you know in his country he decided to go and visit those Hermits so the emperor he went up to the the top hermit first
- The fourth cookie always went to the supervisorStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A psychology experiment split volunteers into threes: two wrote a report, one checked it. When five cookies arrived for three people (Western etiquette leaves the last), the…
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It was a cookie experiment. If those of you who know the cookie experiment it was actually quite revealing about the nature of human beings and what happens when they get into positions of authority. As you all know, a lot of troublesome people are those in positions of authority who boss you around and bully you. And of course, psychology experiments are very revealing because they take ordinary people and see what they do in in special situations and ordinary situations which reveal some of the nature of the human being. Not just special human beings, not uh failed human beings, but ordinary human beings. Because what they did, they had u these volunteers and they split them into groups of three. And they gave each of these little teams sort of a little job and a report to to write out. And two of the three were tasked with writing the report out and the third was supposed to check them. That's all just to check to make sure they wrote the report properly. So that third person was tacitly in a position of authority. And the main part of the experiment was when they brought a plate of cookies and some coffee in because it was hard work. They didn't realize that this was actually the main part of the experiment. It wasn't just a treat because they brought like was it five cookies in and there's only three people there. And apparently western psychology means that no one ever takes the last cookie. That's a no no. But it was the fourth cookie which was the interesting one. Who would take the fourth cookie? And that would always be the person who was checking everybody else. The supervisor, the one in authority, they would always think that they deserved that fourth cookie. And the other interesting thing was when they ate those two cookies, well, everyone else ate one, they would they would uh uh spill all sorts of cookie chips all over the place. They would have no proper sort of etiquette and eating because it was realized that for them in positions of authority, rules did not apply to them and they deserved more than anybody else
- The general's holy waterStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At a time when generals were the power behind the Thai government, a major general comes to Ajahn Chah's hut in Ubon asking for holy water. Ajahn Chah says he hasn't any; the…
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aent think I told that story when this General asked for holy water aent child would very rarely give holy water and one day agent child was a joker but sometimes I thought you really go too far cuz this day this General came up to him and I was there at his H so you know you hang around cuz it's great entertainment sometimes to see what aent child was going to do next and it's major general you know that now again like the generals were in power in Thailand this was a time when they were always in power they had I think a uh lay government but the generals were the power behind the scenes and so this big Major General came up to see aan sha in uban to ask for some holy water I said I Haven got any holy water said no please that child poor they called please some holy water so bow okay bow down and that he spout all this saliva in his General's head and rubbed it in and I thought my goodness you've gone too far this time magenta you really have and this General bought it he said oh s s s I've got real holy water know from the how stupid could you be that's what he did
- The Spitfire engine in the old bombStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A monk's mate in England fits a Spitfire aircraft engine into an old car. On the motorway he overtakes sports cars and even police; when they try to pull him over he puts his…
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One of our monks once he told me his mate, he was in England, and he managed to buy a a Spitfire engine, you know, from a scrapyard. You know, a Spitfire, you know, these these big powerful for aircraft engines. And he was a bit of a sort of uh petrol head, sort of a So, he actually got an old car, and he put the Ferrari engine in the back. It took, you know, half the car. Put it in there. And it was drive And it was like an old bomb of a car. But, he said what he would do, he'd be driving down the motorway in England, just in this old car. He'd see like either a police car or some fancy sports car. And he would overtake him. And, you know, sometimes, people in like sports car being overtaken by an old bomb of a car, and think, "I'm not allowing that." They want to sort of overtake him. And so, a lot of couple times I shouldn't say this, but anyway, the police car would overtake him and try and pull him over. And then, he put his foot down with a Spitfire engine. And the police car wouldn't see him again.