Stories about retreat
12 Buddhist wisdom stories about retreat from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Australian boys don't cryStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A ~30-year-old South Australian on his first retreat weeps uncontrollably. Asked when he last cried, he says age 12 or 13 — when his father told him Australian boys don't cry.…
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And I remember telling this lady a few minutes ago about this guy. He was an Australian and he's about 30 and he came from South Australia and he came on one of his first retreats and during that retreat he started crying his eyes out. [clears throat] Ah, what's going on? Is something going wrong? I'm crying. And I asked him, "When was the last time you cried before today?" And he went silent and said, "I last cried when I was only about 12 or 13." That's when my father said, "Australian boys don't cry." That's obvious, isn't it? you know that if you suppress that crying there's a lot of tears have to come out you know you build them up for a long time and so he cried and cried and cried what the benefits of crying so much and I mentioned and it was actually true he told me afterwards cuz he was a single guy he said he got lots and lots of uh females on that retreat were very interested in [laughter] It's a very attractive thing to do, isn't it? To cry. So, I don't need to go to to wear fancy clothes. Learn how to cry.
- I'm going to marry you — she knew his nameStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On a Jhana Grove retreat a couple cannot keep apart despite the eight precepts. They explain: about a year earlier in Germany a woman he had never met walked up, named him, and…
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these two were there and this is supposed to be a meditation retreat. Many of you have done the meditation retreats. not really supposed to hang out, you know, with people of the opposite gender, you know, keep apart, keeping eight precepts, it's called. And this couple were just they couldn't keep their hands off one another. It was going on. And then they came and told me the reason why. And they said just it was about a year earlier. They were I think it was in Germany somewhere that this girl who he now married came up to him he'd never seen her before in this life and said to him just out of the blue your name is I think David I forget his surname and I'm going to marry you and there was how do you know my name and if someone came up to you and said that you know your name is Chiia and I'm going to marry you
- Muslim woman on the Buddhist retreatStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the Redemptorist retreat centre in North Perth a woman in hijab joins his retreat; she removes it inside per her rules, finds nothing wrong, thanks him — embrace across…
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lady came to one of the retreats which I was giving before we had our own retreat center. This was over in North Perth in the Redemptous Monastery Retreat Center. And she came in a hijab. And I said, "You're a Muslim." "Yeah, look at me. Of course I am." She said, "I'm come on your retreat." "Okay, I won't tell." See, I don't have to be serious like that. So she came into the retreat, took off the hijab and because inside you didn't need to wear it according to the rules and she said, "I can't see anything wrong with this. It was a wonderful retreat
- 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
- Six months alone and never lonelyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm's record is six months alone, not speaking to or seeing anyone; food was left in a box, and he left his bowl back there to be filled the next day. Asked whether he…
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my record was 6 months by myself not speaking or seeing anybody and it was an amazing experience because throughout that whole 6 months never seeing anybody Not a Human Being no they just leave food in a box and I know when they were coming there and afterwards I go and pick it up I put my ball back there afterwards so they fill it up the next day never spoke to anybody for six months said didn't you feel lonely and the answer was I never felt lonely and I asked myself why I didn't feel lonely and the answer was because there was always someone there me and I quite like myself so because I quite like myself where throughout those whole six months I was with my best friend how can you feel lonely when you're with your best friend all day the reason was I was my best friend
- Six months alone, and the kangaroos ate the pizzaStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Sometime between 2000 and 2008 his year's sabbatical shrank to six months. Instead of touring, he stayed in a hut in the Serpentine forest without seeing or speaking to anyone.…
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I spent six months without seeing any human being, without talking to anybody else. What had happened was, I was supposed to have a sabbatical, a year off, but then it, one thing led to another, I can only have six months off, so you go anywhere in the world, where would you like to go for six months? I could go touring here, visiting this monastery or that monastery, but I said, "No." Why do people always have to seek for happiness somewhere else? Why can't I find that happiness right where I am in that monastery where I worked so hard to build it up? So I said, “No, I'm not going to seek for happiness contentment anywhere else,” I could go wherever I wanted to, but I decided to find the best happiness and truth and freedom and wisdom right here. So I had a hut in the forest in Serpentine and I stayed there for six months, never went anywhere except deeper and deeper inside.. And it was arranged that we had a box…, actually where's that box now? The box which…, I think it's over… Okay, still is there somewhere, anyway, we had a little box there, and in the morning, at a certain time, about 10:30, one of the monks would actually put my bowl with food in the box, and I'd know the time they were coming, so I knew to be in my hut, and afterwards I will go to the box, open it up, eat the food, and then wash the bowl, put it in the box there for the next day. So I never, it's much better than Uber Eats, it was “Monk Eats". I never got charged, I never saw anybody. So there I was, and they knew I was alive because they see my bowl, and the food was eaten, so and it could have been the Kangaroos, I suppose, eating the food, but no it was me, although sometimes, those kangaroos…, you know, that they're really really really smart, and they soon found out that I was, you know, in that hut, and sometimes you'd leave your food outside on the veranda, it's a walking path, and leave the bowl there just for a few minutes to go inside to get something 'cause I liked eating on the veranda at first, and you know what happened? You find a kangaroo with it's head inside my bowl, (laughs) taking the first choice of food before I ever got to it! And so I from that time I decided to, to eat inside my hut, and so even inside, but, you know, the window was open and the kangaroo will come up onto my path, and look at me through the window, and ahh… a poor kangaroo, so you know, you felt sort of some compassion for this poor.. They had plenty of grass, but then, I started by putting some healthy food outside, I remember, like a carrot, or some…, but you know, they weren't interested in that, you know the food they liked the most when I was on retreat? Pizza! Honest! (laughter) Like…, it was, I don’t know if it's healthy for them, but, you know, that's what the Kangaroos decided they wanted to eat, see a little kangaroo with a little pizza in their mouth, they loved that
- Six months of silenceStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm spends six months in a little hut in total silence, seeing no one: a monk leaves food in a box, he eats and returns the clean bowl. He wonders whether he's just being…
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I did a six-month retreat, pure silence, never saw a human being for six months, never said a word. And I first of all thought, am I just being lazy? I'm not teaching. I'm not helping. I'm not doing anything for anybody for 6 months. Just staying in little hut. A mug would bring food and put it in the box. I wouldn't see them. And I go to that box, open it, see if there was any food in the bowl, which there was. After eating, clean my bowl, put it back again. And that's how it worked for 6 months. And I I must admit I did feel a little guilty towards the end. Maybe I should come out early and do something. But no, I stayed for 6 months. Then afterwards so many people said thank you. That was really inspiring that people could see it can be done by example.
- The grumpy licenceStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On a meditation retreat a woman complains that everyone else is happy and she feels pressured to be happy. Brahm prints her a letterheaded 'grumpy licence' — permission to be…
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I wrote her out a grumpy license and it was on a letter head it was really nicely done nice font and I said this certificate gives you know to this girl permission to be grumpy for any reason or no reason whatsoever for the rest of her life s aab Bram her teacher it was a grumpy license and I've done many of those license before angry license depressed license I'll give you permission to be depressed and as soon as I gave her that grumpy license she looked at it and she laughed her head off and that was the end of her grumpiness
- The mushy peas that explodedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Every year Ajahn Brahm spends 15 days alone in his cave, not talking, just meditating. On the first day out, the first spoonful of food at lunch — ordinary mushy peas — explodes…
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I did my 15-day retreat in my cave every year it's my holidays my vacation and of course no not giving any talks not talking not doing anything just meditating all day and every day for 15 days in a row not saying anything you get really deep meditation and of course after you get that you get really powerful mindfulness so the first day out lunchtime I always remember the first the first piece of food I put into my mouth was a spoonful of mushy peas and it was it exploded honestly it just wow that was such incredible flavor and taste I never ever tasted mushy peas like that all it was was that my mindfulness was so incredibly strong you could have tasted anything it tasted a carrot and that carrotness would be so intense just an ordinary carrot
- The texture of a bean after a month's retreatStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Just after a month self-retreat at Bodhinyana he eats a bean slowly and notices texture he had never attended to — soft yet structured — stillness opening ordinary senses.
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just crunching it with my teeth very slowly and the texture of it. You ever notice a texture of a bean
- There are zombies in your retreat centreStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At Jhana Grove a visiting child tells him there are zombies — retreatants doing very slow walking meditation.
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zombie meditation I called it zombie meditation because it was a retreat being held at my retreat center in chag grve and a little kid went to visit with his parents and he came back to me I BR I BR I br there are zombies in your retreat center cuz they were doing what you can see outside now
- What drug is he giving you?Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A high-flying Sydney executive has to beg and grovel to her boss for time off for a nine-day retreat at Jhana Grove. Afterwards she emails Ajahn Brahm: as soon as she got back,…
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This lady from Australian girl from Sydney, one of these high executives. When she came, she said, "I had to beg and crawl and grovel from my boss to get the time off." But then she sent me this email after the 9-day retreat had finished and she said, "AJ, as soon as I got back to work, my boss took one look at me." And she he said to me, "Look, I don't care what drug Ajan Brah is giving you, but please bring me back some next time." She looks so peaceful and happy. It's weird.