Stories about responsibility
8 Buddhist wisdom stories about responsibility from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- A Buddha to stop bulletsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A long-time supporter of Ajahn Chah, drafted into the Thai army, begs him for a blessed Buddha amulet to protect him from bullets — after all the food and donations he's given.…
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even ajahn Chah the great master is this great story when one of his disciples had been around a long time was drafted into the Thai Army and there's always a lot of problems being in the army sometimes the skirmishes on the border or down the south of Thailand people actually get killed when he joined the army so you've got drafted in the army and he waited to see the very teacher said look can you please give me something to protect me from harm especially from bullets he said I know that you've got these amazing powers I'm sure if you could give me some amulet to wear around my necks a little Buddha to wear around my neck I'm sure that that will protect me from bullets so though we don't get into that you know this is not what a monk is supposed to do we're supposed to teach you how to live a good life and how to look after yourself and take responsibility for yourself you know to keep out of harm's way sort of being mindful being learns when you're in the army because a lot of times people get injured because of stupidity he said no you know there's always things go on go on I might be unlucky I didn't I please give me a Buddha statue and I've been looking after you for such a long time I come to the temple I give all these dollars in a donation box I give you food come on I'm only asking for them for Buddha to wear around my neck you could do that so the great brass said Oh Hey I will give you a Buddha statue to wear around your neck and he said I guarantee they were protected from bullets 100% and they thought wow this great monk with all his powers can bless a little ambulance a bullet a bullet proof ambulance and there was a movie about that bulletproof monk or something but anyway this was a real story I much probably bulletproof mic was was based on I'm not sure I never seen that movie but anyway he said okay I'll give you a Buddha to wear around your neck which will protect you from bullets oh thank you thank you thank you where is it and now John shall see that Big Buddha like the one behind me over here in the main hall put that around your neck and I guess it will stop any bullets
- In Thai law the bus driver was guiltyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Outside the Thai monastery a drunk villager on a bicycle, no lights, wrong side of the road, is killed by a bus that had lights and was sober. The bus driver flees — under Thai…
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there was this one villager was driving home from another Village after the party drunk on a bicycle on the wrong side of the road with no lights on it was totally drunk driving on the the highway wrong side of the road no lights on and he got creamed by a bus killed the bus had his lights on the bus you know was on the correct side of the road the bus driver didn't have any uh alcohol or drugs in him but the bus driver had to run away and flee cuz in Ty Law the bus driver would be guilty because in now when I heard that that's unfair there's a guy the bicycle is fault he's on the wrong side of the road he was drunk no lights on how can you blame the bus driver just explain to me that that's the Western way of looking at it always looking at the individual's responsibility but in tie law they were saying no the bus driver the bigger vehicle has a responsibility to look after the smaller vehicles they have more onus on them to be on the lookout and so in tyw if that buzz driver had been caught he had to run away and escaped till the heat went down he would have been put in jail for that
- She failed her exams — and blamed the monkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A first-year Malaysian student asks Ajahn Brahm to chant for her exams. Later her friends tell him she's going round the university saying he's a hopeless monk — because she…
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Malaysian girl, though she came to me to do some chanting, she was doing her uh, I forget, first, second, third year university exams or whatever it was. And she said: “Can you do some chanting? Got my exams next week.” So I chanted chanted chanted really give everything I’ve got for exams, and afterwards, She never came back. I never saw her again. But some of her friends came and told me, said she's going around turning all of her friends: “Ajahn Brahm is a bad monk. Ajahn Brahm is no good
- She had to sign children away from their parentsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A highly educated Thai woman on retreat carries the job of signing final judgments that remove children from parents too damaged by addiction — she arrives late because that work…
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She was very highly educated Thai lady. And she was had a terrible, terrible, terrible job. It's the job she had was she had to sign off on people uh who she had to give the final judgment were in her opinion not capable looking after their kids. And when she signed that document, the children would be taken away from their parents
- The half-million-dollar bulletproof amuletStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: From a Thai newspaper: an army general in Bangkok paid half a million US dollars for an amulet guaranteed to stop bullets. After dinner and a couple of whiskies in the officers'…
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this was one case this was in the local paper a few years ago there's one general in the Thai Army in Bangkok I don't know way gotta fart half a million US dollars from but let's not go into that so I'm going to Thailand tomorrow they may be listening on the internet and I can in trouble so he had this emoji what won't get into trouble because he's not around anymore look what happened to you it's but half a billion US dollars on an amulet and apparently he was in his officers mess it had his meal he had a couple of glasses of whiskey and he was boasting sip this Amla over here I bought it for half a million u.s. that's how much it's worth and the reason I spent so much money this amulet will protect me from bullets it's magical and it's been guaranteed sort of protect me from bullets they said here you are and he gave his gun so his junior officer and it ordered him shoot me this is how stupid people get especially where they've had two glasses of whiskey and they have faith in his ambulance shoot me he said and of course the junior officers the army have to follow orders bang-bang it was amazing is a credible the general died
- The wet-road skid — crash or swerveStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Wet road; car ahead stops for a pedestrian; Brahm skids and must choose rear-end crash or swerve through the crossing — swerves, barely misses the pedestrian, remembers how close…
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started skidding. And I remember this moment. I had a choice, a choice of just crashing into the back of the car. I don't know what damage it did to myself. I had enough sort of control to swerve around the car but not stop and just go through the pedestrian crossing without any control, to maybe crashing into the pedestrian. On those moments, you know what I did? I swerved around the car and took my chances. I just missed the pedestrian, thank goodness
- Two cakes: karma as ingredientsAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Simile (from Opening the Door of Your Heart): one person bakes a cake with mouldy old flour, cheap sugar and butter and an old kitchen; another has organic gluten-free flour,…
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the best simile I've got two people baking a cake the first person baking the cake has got the very worst ingredients they got white flour which is so old it's got green moldy bits in it I remember flower like that when I was a student we couldn't afford anything so you know we'd have to take the green bits out and use the other bits white moldy flower uh diabetically enhanced sugar cholesterol enhanced butter and whatever fruit you can get you know to put in there and just an old kitchen to actually to cook it in the very worst ingredients but the second person has got the very best ingredients organically grown whole wheat flour gluten free if sown in a field where there has to be no genetically modified crops for a thousand kilometers surrounding a free range wheat that is I don't know what I'm talking about I sometimes read this on the stuff which I see and I don't know what it means but anyway and canola oil which is people I'm not sure if it's just true or not it's supposed to be cholesterol free beautiful honey from Western Australia and fresh fruit from their back Garden and the very best of ingredients and the most modern kitchen to cook it in so those are the two people who bakes the best cake and this is actually where you understand what karma is who makes the best cake it's not always the person with the best ingredients it's not always that you go to Asia Penang where'd you get the best food in the restaurants in the streets yeah the Hawkers they can't afford the best ingredients or the best kitchen but that the competition is so cutthroat that they have to make the best to survive they have to put so much more effort energy love and skill into their cooking they have to otherwise they won't survive and that's why they're cooking is much more delicious now that is like you know what the law of karma it's not just the ingredients you have to work with the most important part of calm is what you're doing with those ingredients how you put them together
- Worried he'd have to be abbotStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When the 2004 tsunami hits, Ajahn Brahm is in Penang. His number-two monk back home hears that people have died in Penang and tries desperately to reach him. When he finally gets…
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I was in Penang when the tsunami hit I remember this story it was really interesting because I was you know the head Mark the number two monk at the time was trying to contact me heard that tsunami had hit Penang and a few people had died that was really concerned how are you how are you and eventually got through to me found out there's no problem at all and he was so relieved and I said were you really worried about me he said well actually not really worried about you but worried that if you died I'd have to be the Abbot