Stories about public speaking
4 Buddhist wisdom stories about public speaking from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- 'Ajahn Chah is giving this talk'Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: The first time Ajahn Brahm gave a really big talk on his own — at the Suntec City convention centre in Singapore, to 3,000–4,000 people — he was afraid, not only of giving a bad…
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the one of the tricks which I I did when I first gave a huge talk over in Singapore all by myself there's no B act or no supporting act it was just a bra at Sant city there was the uh convention center there about 3 or 4 thousand people the first time I gave a really big talk and I was afraid afraid not so much of, you know, not giving a good talk, but afraid of also the problems of giving a good talk, becoming too proud and arrogant, thinking you're the the best mug in the whole of the world or whatever. And that's also dangerous. So, how can you get not really worry what other people think of you? It was pretty simple because I knew that whatever talk I gave was only because of the teachers which I'd had especially someone like an agent. So as I was walking to the the chair the chair there lots of flowers everywhere and with all these people about to listen to me I thought I'm not giving this talk. It is Ajancha my teacher was giving the talk. I'd just been trained by him, conditioned by him. So I have nothing to worry about. I didn't there was no fear at all. Because I had no fear, I gave a really good talk and I had to go back again, give another one.
- Ajahn Chah's eyes stop on the four-year monkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At Magha Puja at Wat Pah Pong, before thousands of lay people and some 150 monks, Ajahn Chah's gaze runs down the line of monks, passes the four-year monk Brahmavamso — then…
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Imagine this, this was in February after my - I had only been a monk for four years, and this was the second biggest festival in the whole Buddhist calendar in Thailand. The full moon of February. It was called Magha Puja. Second only to Vesak in its size. So together with all the other disciples of my teacher Ajahn Chah, we went to his monastery, Wat Pah Pong, where there must have been five or six thousand people, lay people, and all the monks were there as well. And in the evening after the chanting, it was time for the talk, for the sermon, and I was looking forward to hearing Ajahn Chah teach something inspiring. But sometimes he didn't give the talk. Sometimes he would ask his second monk or his third monk to give the talk. Sometimes he would ask for any monk to give the talk, and that was scary. And what he'd do, he looked down this line of monks, this line of maybe 100, 150 monks, and if his eyes stopped at you, you were in trouble. Big trouble. So I remember this very clearly, his eyes went down the line, past all these very senior monks who could give really good talks, and he came to me, and went past. Phew. I was so relieved he was going to choose someone below me, someone who could speak Thai, because the talk had to be in Thai. But then his eyes stopped and went up the line again - he was a sadist - and stopped at me. "Brahmavamso, get up and give the talk!" I'd only been four years as a monk and I had to give the talk on this huge occasion in front of about six or seven thousand Thais. As I tell the story, it was 6000. Now it has gone up to 7000. This is just what happens when you give talks. And with all these senior monks and in front of my teacher, how would you feel? You were trained it didn't matter. You just went up there and gave a talk in Thai. It didn't matter how it came out, because the whole purpose of that was teaching you how to overcome your fear.
- “Another hour!” — Ajahn Sumedho's four-hour talkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Sumedho gives an hour's talk in Thai to the overnight lay guests; each time he stops, Ajahn Chah calls “Another hour!” — through mumbling, people leaving and snoring —…
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Ajahn Sumedho, it was him who was asked to give a talk, not on such a big occasion, but on the weekly talks, to all the lay community who were staying in this monastery overnight. So he gave a talk in Thai. It was sort of all right, but westerners giving a talk in a foreign language, it's difficult. Sometimes you say the wrong word and people laugh and you don't know what you've said, but you find out afterwards. You get very embarrassed. And after he finished the hour, he went to stop the talk and go and sit down, but Ajahn Chah said, "Another hour!" And he ordered this monk to give another hours' talk in Thai. You know, that's very difficult. You end up repeating yourselves, telling the same stories. You know, I tell the same stories, but I usually wait two or three weeks, you know, before - and that's why I really like - what I really like talking to is old people who haven't got such a good memory, because then they can always laugh at my talk jokes every week, even though it's the same joke. So he had to do another hour. And when finished the second hour, you know, he said, "Now the talk is over", and Ajahn Chah shouted out, "Another hour!". And at that point, many people got up and left. It's very embarrassing when you're giving a talk and people leave, but he had no choice. He had to keep on speaking. And now, of course, you get lots of pauses. You think, "Well, what am I going to say and how am I going to say it?" And eventually he finished. He finished the third hour. By that time, many people had left. And those people who were still there had their eyes closed, snoring. They weren't paying attention. But he got through the third hour. And then Ajahn Chah said, "Okay, another hour!". And the poor monk had to give another hour of talking. The worst possible talk you can ever imagine. Just mumbling, saying anything when everybody had left, except Ajahn Chah probably. And then Ajahn Chah finally, after four hours, let him off. And he said after that experience, he was never, ever afraid of giving a talk ever again.
- The runny nose before live TVStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In Korea, at −15°C with snow everywhere, Ajahn Brahm wakes with a cold and a dripping nose — and has half an hour before a live interview on South Korean TV, where a running nose…
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what happened in career a couple of years ago having a a cold woke up in the morning as -15° snow everywhere and my nose was dripping you know no snot I don't know what the correct word for it is but that's how I grew up with that just with the stuff in your nose so nasal fluid mucus whatever you call it to be polite so all this stuff was coming out of my nose and only had one half an hour and I was going on live TV for an interview in NKT that was South Korean TV and it's very it's so basically not done to go on TV we're stuff coming out of your nose so I had half an hour so what did I do sit down meditate focus on the irritable sinuses focus on them not force the scientist spinal fluid to stop but just be kind to it opening the door of my heart to this irritating we really like my imagining my mother kissing a wound to just a real eye sit let it be be kind be compassionate there knows everything will be okay and it works