Stories about problem-solving
7 Buddhist wisdom stories about problem-solving from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- 'I sent you two boats and a helicopter'Joke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In a flood in southern Malaysia, a monk devoted to Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy, climbs onto his roof. A rescue boat comes: 'No, Kwan Yin will save me.' As the water rises he…
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There was this flood. Apparently, this was in southern Malaysia a long time ago. And there was this this Buddhist monk who was a devotey of the goddess of mercy, Quanin. And as the floods came, he had to climb up onto his roof. And as he climbed up onto his roof, the floodwaters rose and rose and the venerable, the seafood, that's what they call the monks in in uh in Malaysia in in China, seafue, the seafue was on top of the roof. When the rescue boat came past and the rescue boat crew said, "Jump in, jump in. We've come to save you." He said, "No, I don't need to be saved. I'm a devotey of the goddess of mercy. She will save me. She's never let me down. I have faith. They said, "Look, jump in now. The flood waters arise." He said, "No, leave me alone. Go and save somebody else who doesn't believe in quanin. I am going to be safe." So, okay. Have you met people like that before? Anyway, the flood waters rose and so the fellow was on top of the roof. You know those curly bits on the end of the roof? He was clinging on to one of those. And the boat came past again and said, "Sefu, seafue, we really admire your faith. It's wonderful, but now please jump in the boat." He said, "No, I have faith in the goddess of mercy. She will save me." So they couldn't force him to jump in. So they went away to save somebody else. The floodwaters rose and now he was holding on to his TV aerial. That was the last thing to hold on to. He was holding on to that as a flood waters were sweep sweeping past him. It was too strong for the boat. So they said helicopter and the helicopter dropped the the ladder down and they shouted out she grabbed onto the rope and he shouted out no need I have faith inwin she will save me how was the special effects with they need some feedback every now and She will save me. Hold on to the rope. No. They couldn't force him. So the the helicopter went to save someone else. You know what happened? He drowned. He died. And when he went to heaven, don't worry whether it's a heaven or not. It fits into the story. When he went to heaven, when he went to heaven, oh, he was in a filthy mood. He was really upset and angry. And the first person wanted to say, "I want to see that Kwan Yin." And he went out, he found her up there. And when he went up, he said, "You really let me down. You embarrassed me. I'm You make me ashamed that all those years I've been believing in you. When I really needed you, you let me down. I'm brown." And like most heavenly beings, she looked down upon this devotey and says, "Sefu in a very soft, kind voice, Seu, I didn't let you down. Didn't I send you two boats and one helicopter?
- The ghost that moved next doorStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Near Dr K. Sri Dhammananda's temple in Kuala Lumpur a haunted house is cleared by his chanting — then neighbours complain the ghost has moved next door. He ends up chanting…
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But one of the most interesting ones was not one of the ones which I did, but one which Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda in Malaysia did and told me about. Just This was in Kuala Lumpur. And very close to his temple, there was a house which had a notorious ghost in it. And they tried many ways to get rid of the ghost. Nothing was working. So they asked him to go there. He was a good monk. He did the chanting there, and the ghost left. Departed the house. It worked, sort of. But a couple of days later, the neighbors came to complain. The ghost had just moved next door. And so he said he had to go doing some chanting in all the houses in the street, every one of them. So that ghost couldn't just move next door. Had to leave the whole neighborhood.
- The hole is too deep — or your arms too short?Analogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Man can't reach forest-hole treasure; complains the hole is too deep. Second man uses a stick: problem isn't depth — your arms are too short. Extend them.
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it's not the hole is too deep, your arm is too short So when he extended his arm by picking up a stick and hooking the treasure out I always liked that simile It's not the hole is too deep your arm is too short so lengthen the arm problem solved
- The PA system that wasn't plugged inStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Teaching a retreat at Jhana Grove for Singaporean business people and engineers, the PA system won't work and the caretaker is overseas. Nobody can fix it, so he gives the talk…
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like the other day when I was teaching a retreat over at n uh Paul Singapore is on they'll never live this one down you can bring it in here there was teaching a retreat over John and Grove about a week two weeks ago and the the PA system didn't work and Dania was overseas she was you know the caretaker over there they couldn't get the PA system to work and these were really big business people and and Engineers from Singapore and you know so I just gave a talk unplugged and then afterwards I went what's wrong with her I said look it's in the cabinet we haven't got the key for the cabinet and I said look down there it's not plugged in it's just a simple thing turning it on
- “There is no problem in the Middle East”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Asked during the Six-Day War about 'the problem in the Middle East', a British Prime Minister (Ajahn Brahm says Harold Macmillan) replies there is no problem: “a problem is…
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the famous story of the Prime Minister of Britain many years ago, Harold Macmillan, who was interviewed during what was known as the six-day war between Israel fighting Jordan, Syria, Egypt and I don’t know who else but a lot of countries. It was called the Six Day War. One of the beginnings of the difficulties in that part of the world and this journalist interviewed the prime minister and the first question was, what is your view about the problem in the Middle East? To which the Prime Minister replied without hesitation. Sir, there is no problem in the Middle East. What do you mean said the journalist, there's the war on as we speak, people are blowing each other up, bullets are flying all over the place people are dying. There's a war on. What do you mean there is no problem in the Middle East? To which this Statesman said very calmly. "Sir, a problem is something with a solution," there's no solution in the Middle East. Therefore it can't be a problem.
- 'Urinal for dogs'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When Ajahn Brahm was a young monk, the town of Ubon had too few public toilets, and tuk-tuk drivers and passers-by all urinated against one wall until it stank. The council put…
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when I was a young monk in Thailand there was a problem in the local town of ubon that's you know in Northeast Thailand where aan Cha's Monastery was there was not enough public toilets so there was a place in that town where taxi drivers you know they took took drivers and anyone else who was passing would urinate it was against a wall and everybody would go there to urinate so much the place stack so the local government put a sign up please don't urinate here did that work no they put signs up saying you will be fined if you urinate here did that work no the place got smell it and smell it until one bureaucrat and there are some smart bureaucrats surprise surprise put up the sign which works he just put up a simple sign urinal for dogs and no one would use that place ever since
- Working backwards from the solutionStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Some ten years earlier Ajahn Brahm attended a high-powered think tank in the Whitsunday Islands, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Wayne Swan, Anna Bligh, the…
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One of those conferences I went to several years ago was very high power conference and at the time I think I don't know exactly the year because I live in the present moment but I know it was when Kevin Rudd was the prime minister cuz he was at this conference together with Julia Gillard and Wayne Swan and uh the premier of Victoria at the the the time and also Anna Bllye from Queensland. All these very highprofile also had a representative from the Iranian uh revolutionary guards. How they got him into this country, I don't know, but very highprofile people on this think tank in the Wit Sunday Islands. And the presentation I always remember was on climate change but they looked upon it a totally different way. This is actually the thinking outside the box type of stuff with the hope not just the anxiety with a terrible situation. what they said. The uh moderator of this one panel started saying, "Well, this is the scenario. Just imagine this. A huge chunk of the uh Greenland uh Greenland glacia fell off, created a tsunami, and just wiped out half of New York port." And so they had to um solve this problem and they did reducing greenhouse gases to zero. So they did it. Okay. So this is where you start. You start from the end. Now I want all you experts to think backwards. How did we get there? How did we reduce everything to zero? And that was actually that thinking backwards thing and I thought what a wonderful this was just over 10 years ago. I knew know that you know why I I got that timeline correct because when it came to my little problem my little problem was how can we give full ordination to bikunis? That was just over 10 years ago. You know what I did? I said, well, I I talked with Ajin Bumali. Okay, suppose let's imagine that we've got full auto ordination for Pikunis. We solved the problem. How do we get there? Let's work backwards from the solution. And of course, that's what we did.