Stories about teaching
16 Buddhist wisdom stories about teaching from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Ajahn Liem: easy to trainStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Abbots in the Thai forest tradition greet each other: “How are your monks — are they easy to train?” Visiting Ajahn Liem, Ajahn Chah's successor, Ajahn Brahm asks, and Ajahn Liem…
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a few years ago I went to see the man the monk who took over from aan cha a man called aan Liam very good Monk and I asked him one day when I was visiting Thailand I said how are your monks are they easy to train and he said oh they're just no problem at all to train and the way he said it was such nonchalance I said well what's your trick how do you train your monks when they're so easy to train so very easy if they want to go this way let them go that way if they want to go that way I let them go that way it's so easy to try
- Are you a real Buddhist monk?Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On the London Underground a woman sits beside him: are you a Buddhist monk? A real one? He doesn't know what a fake one is — yes, real; she asks about Buddhism.
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underground trains in London, on the underground trains, I was sitting, you know, calmly just minding my own business and a woman came sat right next to me and she said to me, said, "Oh, are you a Buddhist monk?" I said, "Yes." I said, "A real one?" I remember when she said, "I don't know what a fake one is." said, "Yeah, I'm a real Buddhist monk
- Buddhism in a minuteStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Singapore gentleman asks Ajahn Brahm to teach him what Buddhism is — he has only a minute before work. Challenged, Brahm answers: suffering is asking from life what it cannot…
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when a singapore gentleman he came up to me many years ago and he said no i hear that you're a very wise monk so can you teach me what buddhism is i've only got about a minute because i've got to go to work so you know that sometimes when people just want really deep teachings and they've only got a minute instead of saying that's impossible i always like to challenging myself and just finding sort of see what you can do in such a short time and what i came up with i often repeat to people if i just stuffed it and failed and got something stupid of course i wouldn't remember it wouldn't repeat it what i said is like the suffering is asking from life what it can't give you is asking from life something which you cannot have that's called suffering so learning the limitations of life for yourself
- Hands behind their backsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In his one year as a schoolteacher in Devon, walking down a narrow lane at lunchtime, he meets two sixth-formers whose hands go behind their backs — the dead giveaway of a hidden…
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for one year I was a school teacher. I remember just having a big conflict inside of myself. Should I sort of discipline those children in this school for doing things which I would have done only two or three years earlier? I remember these kids coming down, it was a nice day and I went for a walk down this lane in this uh summer time and lay off and then I saw it was lunchtime in the county of Devon. It was a beautiful day. I went down a lane and I saw a couple of the sixth formers when I was grade 12 or probably this uh the equivalent of the first year at university in Australia coming down the road. And as soon as they saw me, a teacher, their hands went behind their back. I know what that was was cuz that's what I used to do. That's when you're smoking and you're trying to hide a cigarette. A dead giveaway. And it was a narrow lane, they couldn't miss me and they couldn't turn around, so they were very, very embarrassed. And I I told them, "Look, that's not the way to hide a cigarette." But there's no way I would discipline those kids, even though it was against the school rules, because I felt being a hypocrite. I was rebelling against those rules. So why should I sort of impose those rules on others?
- How the ice-cream cone was inventedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the 1908 (he hedges the year) St Louis World's Fair, an ice-cream stall sat next to a waffle stall. After a couple of weeks the vendors became friends, combined their…
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but I told them a little story which from a long time ago I in the 1908 or somewhere around then World's Fair was held in St Louis United States and like any World's Fair there were selling all types of food and it just happened by fortuitous chance that the ice cream store was situated right next door to the store selling waffles and you might think what has waffles to do with ice cream or what has ice cream to do with waffles but because they were next to each other for a couple of weeks they talked to each other they became friends and they be decided to try and combine their products and that is where we got the ice cream cone from the St Louis World's Fair the fortuitous coming together of waffles and ice cream so who knows the coming together of Buddhism and computers who knows where that might lead and that is why it is great to actually to think outside the box look outside the box
- If you retire, you will dieStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Paying respects to Ajahn Ganha, Ajahn Brahm asks to retire from talks and travel. In front of everybody Ganha replies that if he retires and stops teaching and traveling he will…
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I was telling him all these people over in Perth, they said I shouldn't be travelling around so much; I'm just working too hard; I should relax a bit more." He said, "No, please tell them, please tell them, Ajahn Brahm, if you stop all of this, you stop working hard, you will die." That's what he told me. And I went, "Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu! You understand; he's a powerful monk— giving and serving gives you meaning in life. If you don't give and serve, yeah, you may amass money
- If you understand, you can explain it to the barmaidAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Heisenberg (via Brahm): if you really understand quantum physics you can explain it to the bar girl serving a pint — and she will understand. Same test for Nibbana: if it's…
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there was this very powerful quote by one of the most famous Quantum physicists Vera Heisenberg which even if you weren't a physicist everybody knows Heisenberg by Heisenberg's uncertainty principle you know at least I think you do anyway but you also know that quantum physics is incredibly complicated but this man he's quoted as saying if you really understand quantum physics if you really understand it you can explain it to the bar girl serving you a pint of beer in the pub and she will understand it so if you really understand Nana or God you'll be able to to explain it to somebody serving you beer in a nightclub and they will understand in other words if what you say is Goble cook it means you don't understand so when I gave up Christianity and became a Buddhist
- In this jail — no BSStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On an early prison visit (Bunbury, then Fremantle while it was still open), a prisoner tells the monks they do not care who they are: in this jail there is no BS — be honest and…
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I remember the first time I went to prison I think was I no it was actually down in uh in bunby but I started going to freem manle prison when it was still open and I remember this guy came out to us and you know I was going to sit around a table and talk to him and he said look you know we don't care who you are but in this Jael no you know BS b u l s h i t I'm not I'm still not g enough to say that word but you want know what I mean that's what they said to me because this is a prison there's a sense of honesty in here straightforwardness you tell it how you feel you be honest and we'll listen to you you try and just make up or just be something you're not and just you might as well walk out of here because we won't listen and accept you and I really respected that thank you that's the sort of people I love talking with straightforward is not just going to listen and accept because I'm a monk
- No BS — Fremantle jail audienceStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Teaching in old Fremantle jail while it was still open; prisoners warn: no BS — if we disagree we will tell you. Tough and refreshing.
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old freem manle jail when it was still open and I thank those prisoners in that jail CU as soon as I walked in to give a talk and know they said no BS unfortunately I can't say the PO word now because people already complain when I use this word which I'm not supposed to say but I've said it again but this is Australia okay we're supposed to sort of teach in the local language but they said you know please no BS you know over in here if we don't agree with what you say we're going to tell you
- Only tell them to do what they want to doAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: From the Chinese Art of War: a general whose soldiers never disobey — because he only ever tells them to do what they want to do. Motivation and inspiration come first; then…
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I read that uh years before in a book called the Chinese art of war. You ask what's a Buddhist monk doing reading a book called the Chinese art of war because they had lots and lots of very wise sayings in there. It was not just about you know violence. One of the generals in the Chinese army had perfect discipline and the emperor wanted to find out why. And how come everyone follows your instructions? Now any one of you in a management position in your life, please remember this is how to have good management skills. He said, "All my soldiers always follow my orders because I only ever tell them to do what they want to do. That's why they never disobey an order. Only tell them to do what they want to do." Of course, that doesn't make sense. How can you tell people to get up early in the morning? How do you tell people to go out and train really hard? How do you tell your soldiers to go into battle even though many of them will get injured or even killed? How can you get them to follow orders like that? And he said because he's already motivated them, inspired them. So even before the bell goes off in the morning, they're raring waiting to get get up and do something good. There's that motivation. Give them a reason for doing what they're doing. And if you give them that reason, of course, they will do what they want. They'll get up earlier than you expect. They'll train even harder. They'll go in there. I don't know why how you can convince them to give their lives, but many people do that
- Putting Descartes before the horseJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A philosophy horse walks into a bar, says 'I think not,' and vanishes — Descartes: I think therefore I am. Punchline: putting Descartes before the horse.
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this was the horse which walked into the bar and the Baran said do you want to drink and the horse said I think not and then vanished disappeared Into Thin Air the horse was a philosophy student he studied dayart in his dayart he used to say I think therefore I am so the horse worked out logically if he doesn't think or he think I'm not or I don't think then he has to disappear I think therefore I am I don't think therefore I'm not so the horse vanished to understand that joke more easily I should have explained about the philosophy first first but that would have been putting daycar before the
- Raining cats and dogsAnalogy · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: People whose first language is not English, translating 'it was raining cats and dogs' word for word into their home language, laugh because cats and dogs do not fall from the…
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And a good example of that is when people who come to Australia and English is not their first language where they have to try and translate things like it was raining cats and dogs and if they translate that word by word into their original home language they start laughing because of course to rain means to come down from the sky and it never happen that a cat and dog has fallen from the sky from a tree may be but not from the sky and if you do translate word for word you actually miss a lot of the meaning of what was meant to be conveyed
- Teach year threes and fours BuddhismStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the old North Perth temple a teacher dumps year-three/four kids on him: please teach Buddhism — Four Noble Truths won't do; he must find kid-level virtue talk.
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year uh three or year fours who came to our they came to our um Temple when it was stood in North per many years ago and the teacher brought these kids to me I got loaded with them can you please teach our kids Buddhism something and of course it's always very difficult you know when you know you learn Buddhism sort of in place like Thailand you know all about for noble truths and dependent origination and all these very complicated subjects but how can you teach year three or year four year old
- Teaching 650 schoolchildren to meditateStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: As a young maths teacher, Ajahn Brahm uses a week of school assemblies to teach 650 high-school children to watch the breath; they all do it and spontaneously applaud after five…
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But, I had to take the school assembly, there were 650 children, high school, and I decided to take the school assembly for one week, and teach 650 children how to meditate. The first lesson was just meditation on the breath, and those 650 children, when I said "sit up straight," all the children sat up straight. When I said "close your eyes," they all closed their eyes. When I said "let go of the past and future, watch the present moment and watch your breath," 650 children just were watching their breath. After 5 minutes they spontaneously clapped. The teachers afterwards asked me, "What would you have done if one child hadn't cooperated," and I broke out into a sweat. Because all it needed is one child to start giggling or laughing and it would've broken the spell
- The cold that vanished mid-talkStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On his first visit to Canberra, his hosts take Ajahn Brahm everywhere all day in the cold, getting lost, with no rest. By evening he has a terrible cold, and at a big public talk…
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first time I went to Canberra to give a series of talks and to my house they took me all over the place all day and they got lost and it was one of these days no rest and just from early in the morning it was really cold so by the end of the day I had this terrible cold and I was supposed to give a talk public talk in a big Temple advertised all these people came and as soon as I started trying to give a talk every other sentence I'd sneeze and cough and stuff was coming out of my nose ears everywhere it was disgusting so after about 15 minutes there's no way I could give a talk like that so I said let's all meditate so I had half an hour meditation altogether and afterwards I gave this beautiful talk Not a Cough not a sneeze really impressive people saw that wow is that possible he had a cold you know any stuff coming out of your nose you weren't sort of imagining this it's real you meditate you know because I had to sometimes we're lazy don't really do it unless you really want to unless you have to mostly so you'd sit there and just after a while the cold vanish and I gave us lovely fluent talk without any interruptions wow that's interesting this meditation actually works
- The fan at the restaurant windowStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Having a quiet sponsored lunch in a little restaurant in Kennedy Town, Hong Kong, Ajahn Brahm sees a young woman press her face to the window, recognising him. Her English…
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But even when I was in Hong Kong, I was quietly having my lunch. Somebody was sponsoring my lunch in a little restaurant. uh in I think in I think they call it Kennedy Town. It's over in Hong Kong Island. And when I was having my lunch there, this lady walked past a young lady. And she looked pressed her head against the window to look because she recognized me. And she had an English her husband who encouraged her, "Go in and make sure if it really is him." And it was like being a pop star. She came in there and said, "Yo, Ambra, oh, I'm so excited." That's what she actually said. And her partner said, "Oh, she listens to you all the time." And she said, "Thank you so much." And I was just trying to have an a quiet lunch. I know you can't have a quiet lunch here in Australia. [laughter] Too many people try and come come and talk to you. But I never expected this, you know, in Hong Kong.