Stories about sacred space
3 Buddhist wisdom stories about sacred space from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- “Thank you for the car park”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: After lunch at Bodhinyana a stranger turns out to be the Serpentine-Jarrahdale Shire building surveyor who signed off all the monastery's plans. On his last day before retiring…
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that over in Bodhinyana monastery, over in Serpentine, I was just sitting there after lunch receiving guests, and this gentleman came up I’ve never seen before (but I remembered his voice for a strange reason), and I find out after he told me that he was the local building surveyor at the Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale. So every building which we applied for permission for, he'll be the one who looks at it and checks that it fulfils all of the regulations and ticks it off. And I asked him: 'What are you doing here' and he said that he's not come to check up on anything, because this was his last day at work in that job, he was retiring that afternoon - but he said he came here to thank me for the car park. I felt really weird, ‘thanking me for the car park, what are you talking about?’ And he said to me that he wasn't a Buddhist, he didn't know how to meditate - but - every time he got stressed out at work, he simply got into his car, drove to the monastery in Serpentine and parked his car in the car park, and just sat there maybe 15 minutes or half an hour. And then, afterwards, he felt so much better, he went back to work
- The silence of Westminster AbbeyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a young man in London, whenever Ajahn Brahm was confused he would go into the great cathedrals — the last time Westminster Abbey — to sit in the vast quiet away from the…
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again I remember this story that I used to know whenever I was confused you I used to go to these great churches they had these beautiful cathedrals in London when I was young and I remember the last time I ever went into a cathedral in this was in England in London was actually Westminster Abbey this huge cavernous uh place where I could just go and just sit down and be quiet outside was all the noise of the traffic in London you go inside it was just absolutely s you can sit down relax and find answers to any problems you didn't need to be told you just need to be relaxed and be still and the last time I went in there I was very very upset I must admit because I went in there there was a refuge of silence and peace you know my little pyramid in London where I can get above everything the jungle of people and traffic and noise but then when I went in there they had just a week or two before installed a PA system throughout the whole complex having all these announcements and sermons and stuff and so what the silence had disappeared and I thought that was sacr because the best the most sacred part of that old ancient building was the silence and it was not there anymore and to this day I thought that that was one of the great reasons why they had those immense Cathedrals because they were celebrating and worshiping silence
- Twenty minutes to cry in a Bangkok templeStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Western visitor interested in Buddhism sees a young woman crying her eyes out on a bench in a busy Bangkok temple. Unsure of the culture, he leaves her be; twenty minutes…
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I remember a man came and told to me once he was visiting Bangkok he was very interested in Buddhism It's very hard to find someone who could teach him what Buddhism really meant. But he found some of his answers in an experience when he went to visit a Buddhist temple in the city and those of you who have been to Bangkok, you know how busy and noisy it can be. He was visiting a temple he noticed a girl siting on one of the benches in the temple crying her eyes out. she was distraught about something but not really knowing the culture of Thailand, he thought I don't think I should intervene, but he felt like he was concerned about this woman who was obviously suffering quite intensely. So went off to visit the temple inside and when he came out, may be 20 minutes afterwards he noticed this woman has stopped crying was about to get up and leave. He couldn't help himself but just go and ask her Is there anything wrong? Is there anything I can do? and she could speak English And she replied 'no I am fine now' What happened was 'I had lost the keys to my car' and I came into the temple. All I needed was a quiet place just to cry for 20 minutes and now I am fine. Thank you very much