Stories about uncertainty
18 Buddhist wisdom stories about uncertainty from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- “A very good year for romance”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: For Ajahn Brahm's birthday, a kind, wealthy Malaysian ex-lawyer quietly asks his time of birth (about 5:30 p.m., 7 August 1951, UK) and pays one of Australia's best astrologers…
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I have Commissioned your horoscope from a very well known astrologer. Cost me a lot of money, but that's worth it to present this to you for your birthday present." And he read it out in public. He said, "Ajahn Brahm... for anyone who's born on 7th of August 1951 about that time.. because of the alignment of planets and stars and other stuff, that this year, the astrologer predicted. for me would be a very, very good year for Romance! (lots of laughter from Ajahn & audience) That's what my horoscope said! It never worked. I'm still a monk
- Ajahn Chah reads a palmStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A lay supporter asks Ajahn Chah to read his palm. Ajahn Chah says Buddhist monks don't do that. The man argues cleverly: you just taught gratitude, I've fed you and driven you…
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You are a monk, I'm sure you can predict the future. Come on, predict the future... and so this man came up to him, and said.. "Read the lines on the palm of my hand", he said. "...and we don't do that ..." (said Ajahn Chah) now that's not the sort of stuff... that you know great monks or teachers or nuns do... We actually teach the dhamma, and just. Man said, "you mean you won't do it?" and Ajahn said "No"... and then the person was prepared... he was very sneaky and he said... he tried to outwit Ajahn Chah... don't ever try to do that... but he tried... he said, "You remember the last sermon you gave? On Gratitude? Now I have been giving donations to this temple for such a long time. I bring food to the temple, I serve on the committee... I look after, Come on Busy Bees, I help out erect the tents on... (clarification) ... Saturdays at 7 o'clock I do All this work for you and this is the first time I've ever asked anything from you Ajahn Chah! And you say No? What type of gratitude is that?" He put Ajahn on the spot... So Ajahn Chah said... "Hmm... you got a point there, you know... gratitude You were really generous, I suppose I should help you back. Give me your hand..." So Ajahn Chah, the one and only time he read the lines on the person's palm to predict his future And he said, "Now because I'm a monk, and I keep my precepts, what I tell you will be the truth." The man, " Yeah I Know... That's why I asked you". So Ajahn Chah... "Are you ready for this?" He, "Yes, Yes, Yes!", Ajahn, "Are you Sure?"; He, "Yes!" So Ajahn started tracing the lines on his palm very slowly... and every now and again... he would stop, and look and sometimes he would smile, sometimes he would shake his head... this poor man was getting so excited... and afraid at the same time this was his future being read and it would be absolutely true whatever Ajahn Chah said no matter what came out, he knew he could trust this monk... and he took for ever to finish reading the palms of this man's hands... and as soon as Ajahn Chah was finished... He, "Yes, yes, yes,... what's my future going to be? Yes, please tell me!" Ajahn, "I just read", "yes, you read the palm" Ajahn, "What I say is going to be absolutely true" He, "Yeah I know that, what's going to be?" He, "I'm so excited... I'm so excited!" but Ajahn Chah was very calm. and it seemed it was for ever before he would get the prediction for his future... and eventually Ajahn Chah said, "Your future..." He said, "Yes, yes, yes...!" Ajahn, "Your future...", He, "Yes!" Ajahn, "Is going to be...", He, "Yes!" Ajahn, "Uncertain!"
- Ajahn Sajato flew to the wrong airportStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Sajato flew to the wrong Indonesian city for a conference; as a moneyless monk with no phone he was stuck until someone recognised him and got him on another flight to the…
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ajahn sajata he was going to conference over in indonesia i don't know how he managed to do this but he flew to the wrong airport and he went to the airport and when he went through there's no one to meet him i wonder what the heck's going on and of course being a monk has no money no mobile phone what am i gonna do fortunately in his case anyway somebody recognized him don't just see your buddhist monk where you going he said it's supposed to be a conference here no conference on this town but i managed to find out where the conference was and give him another flight to go to the right place
- Chanting for a dying mother in SingaporeStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In Singapore a woman asks Ajahn Brahm to chant for her mother, just home from hospital and expected to die soon. After the chanting the old lady gets out of bed and starts…
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I did some chanting for them the lady asked me to come even I was supposed to go to a funeral for somebody else say can you please child from my mom she's just come home from hospital and you know I think now may be the last time maybe looks like she's gonna die soon so can I come chant for her so I went to chant for this lady you know I've known a long time and apparently after chanting she got out of bed and started walking around another miracle that's not a miracle is uncertainty
- Falling off a Scottish cliff, his life flashed byStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At 19, walking alone in Scotland with a heavy pack, he stepped off an eroded sheep track and fell down a cliff; his life flashed before him. He landed after what felt endless —…
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when I fell over a cliff once I have mentioned that other times, real, I thought that cliff was about 100 feet. I thought I was a dead man because you fall over a cliff, 100 foot I turned about, I had really old backpack in the 1960s 1970 or something So anyway just facing this cliff, I go down down down down I thought 'this is it, I am death' And then just managed to automatically bend my legs, roll over looked up and that cliff was only about 10 foot
- From Perth Airport uncertainty to a Rolls-Royce in ArmadaleStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A visiting monk arrived at Perth Airport without saying which day, started walking, and within ~50 metres got a lift to Serpentine. The same monk later rode to the Armadale group…
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arrived at perth airport i knew he was coming sometime but he didn't tell me the day he was coming or the time he was coming he said he just wanted to just try just living with uncertainty and see what happens so he arrived at perth airport no one to pick him up no money or credit card or anything just started walking and i think he got to about 50 meters outside outside of the the the doors and someone stopped him in the car hey you're a mug where you going and so he said i'm going to certain time i'll give you a lift who needs taxis and you've got this lift all the way there so living with uncertainty he was actually also the mark had mentioned this story to someone today he was also the monk he was scheduled to give a talk at one of our groups which is in armadale in the armadale group and he was inviting down the monastery and that we had a very wealthy sri lankan man came to say hello and he came in a rolls royce so i think it's the only time we've seen the rolls-royce and burning down the monastery and so then it was on a tuesday afternoon and we said oh this month's got to go to the um the armadale group this evening would you like to give him a lift so he said yeah i can give him a lift so armada as many of you may know is a low socio-economic area and so it was really quite a first for a month to arrive at this group in a rolls royce and they never let him forget that is that taking a lift it's not mine anyway
- No electricity on the big dayStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: On the morning of the ceremony starting the rains retreat at Bodhinyana — the monastery's second-biggest day, with many guests coming — Ajahn Brahm comes out of meditation at…
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last Sunday we had to be ceremony abode jnana monastery in certain time start of arranged retreat we'd all been organizing this got all these people coming and when I actually I got up very early but when I came out of meditation at 6:30 no electricity the power outage on the biggest day of art not yet second biggest day of our year in the monastery no electricity it was freezing cold we won't be able to turn on any heaters won't be able to make cups of tea for people there'll be no lighting you know I never thought like that at all I thought what a wonderful thing let's embrace it it reminded us of the the first time is 28 years reading I'm honestly the first time we didn't have any electricity we just use candles or just no get a gas stove to heat up the water in it just nice we were just at that a lot of times when you adapt it becomes much more enjoyable
- “Please don't die during our retreat”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At the start of the rains retreat Ajahn Brahm jokingly asks everyone not to die until October or November, since funerals break his meditation. On Monday an email arrives: one of…
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I made an announcement last week please don't die during our retreat because if you do I have to come out of the retreat and do your funeral service for you and that breaks my meditation so just out of respect and out of kindness can you please delay your death and to the least know October or or even better November so of course there's a there's always karmic consequences when I say city jokes like that because on Monday I got an email one of my disciples died then he left it for one day and so all my plans of what I was supposed to do on Tuesday and Wednesday were thrown into turmoil as I had to go to Singapore for their funeral so on Tuesday morning at one o'clock in the morning I had to take the flight and I came back on Wednesday afternoon just you know 20 less than 24 hours in Singapore to help with the funeral service
- The 2012 doomsday betJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: When people in Indonesia worry about the world ending in 2012, Ajahn Brahm offers to bet his monastery against their house; nobody takes the bet.
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At the retreat people were telling me about 2012 when the world is going to end. The tectonic plates are gonna shift, there's gonna be tsunamis, there's gonna be earthquakes. So forget about having a mortgage, you don't have to pay it off in another two years. Of course it's not gonna end in two years' time or whatever it is. You don't think about that. In fact I saw in Indonesia, people were talking about it even in Indonesia, in the islands over there. I said, "Look, I volunteer my monastery and the whole Buddhist Society of Western Australia with all its assets, against your house. I'll bet if the world ends you get our monastery and the Buddhist Society of Western Australia's assets. If it doesn't end we get your house." No one took me up on it. Of course you don't, that's not much of a deal.
- The abbot who forecast the winterJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In a mountain monastery in Ladakh, a newly elected abbot, a poor meditator, is asked whether the winter will be cold, as the psychic old abbot used to be asked. He says he'll…
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monastery in Northern India about this time of the year actually probably around the November time and the old abbot... you know had passed away and they had a new abbot. The old abbot... was working too hard and got worn out and faded away. So they had to elect this new abbot. And anyway... if you are like a head monk you are supposed to be wise and good meditator and a good leader, but you are also supposed to have a few powers... in the back pocket, just in case and one of these powers which this abbot had in this monastery in the North of India... he would always be able to... sort of you know predict you know sort of catastrophes or whatever is happening... in particular at that time of the year the other monks depended on him and they did this... this year as well... they asked the abbot... is it going to be a cold winter? up in the foothills of the Himalayas... or is it going to be a mild winter? what's going to happen? the old abbot would always be very accurate he would be able to meditate and say very cold winter, mild winter, or in-between so they asked the new abbot and the abbot said "leave it with me tonight and I'll meditate on it" the new abbot wasn't as experienced as the old one so instead of meditating on it... he got out his cell phone and rang the Meteorological office ... asked to get through to the head-guy this was actually a professor. Abbot didn't tell he was a abbot of a monastery a famous monastery all he did is say, "ah... if you don't mind me asking what's the long term weather forecast in this area of North India?" and the professor said... "well... you know it would probably be... average cold" "thank you!" and so the following morning the abbot after the chanting told all the monks... "I perceive... I predict... it's going to be just an average cold winter up here so you better collect some wood to heat the monastery so all the monks... every other duty was stopped and they went to collect some wood and after one week of hard work collecting wood they (monks) asked, "is this enough?" and the abbot said, "leave it with me" "I'll meditate tonight", he wasn't lying, he did meditate, but also rang up afterwards he rang up the meteorological office and asked, "How's it looking?" and the professor said, "actually it's got worse" "I think it's going to be quite a cold winter", Abbot, "Thank you!" So the following morning, he told all the monks, get back to work, go collect some more wood, it's going to be a cold winter up here. so they worked very hard getting some wood and then... after another week, same thing (monks) "Is this enough"... (abbot ) "leave it with me" in the night when monks were asleep he got the mobile phone out and rang the professor anonymously (abbot) "how's it looking?" (professor) "oh, it's got much worse!" "it's going to be a really cold winter" (abbot) "thank you!" ... so... next morning told monks ... "It's going to be really cold" said the head monk (abbot) "collect more wood" so they really worked hard collected wood all over the place stacking it here, stacking it there and they were really exhausted and at the end of three weeks "is this enough?" (abbot) "leave it with me" and that night he called the professor again (abbot) "how's it going?" and the professor said... "phew... I've never seen anything like this" "the signs are it's going to be one of the coldest, bitterest winters ever seen in this part of North India" and the abbot... anonymous... the professor didn't know who he was abbot, "are you sure?", professor, "yes" (abbot) "how do you know?" "well" said the professor of meteorology "All those monks in the holy monastery are collecting wood like nobody's business
- The bomb threat that saved the interfaith serviceStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: For years Ajahn Brahm chants at the rather dull Commonwealth Day interfaith service in St George's Cathedral, Perth. One year the Dean, John Shepherd, is called away mid-service…
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every year every year I used to go to I still do I've been doing this for about 25 years now to this this in George's Cathedral they have a Commonwealth interfaith Commonwealth day interfaith service as I've been going there for many many years and now I do my little bit of chanting someone else does their chanting and you know it was pretty boring but one day one year forget know how many years ago one year we were doing the same old boring stuff you know chanting and same old stuff every year and just a few people the people had to be there because know there their daughter was singing in the choir or you know they were told to go there by their teachers cuz of school groups here and this one year right in the middle of the chanting so the Dean John Sheppard is a good friend he's been to give talks here before he was called away and I realized that something was going on because this was not in the program and he came back again and he interrupted us all and got on the microphone and said we've just been told by the police there's been a bomb threat some sort of know crazy fundamentalist and said it's wrong it it's evil that you have people who aren't Christians in this Cathedral and a piece of taken this bomb threat seriously so we all have to evacuate that was the best service I've ever been because the reason was now the whole plans were thrown into chaos which meant that are now we were being human again and so we went to some hall had some tea you know that's when we started talking to each other because we had nothing else to do said all these people you know because it was an emergency I'm scheduled talking to each other getting really friendly and when we came back to finish the service very quickly because no was only just a scare so I'm looting a ticket ringing up the police there's no bomb in there at all it was a life it was a friendship there was the moving together was interfaith then that was at one time was really interfaith and I mentioned to John Sheppard said he should arrange us every year it was a very vessel as we ever had
- The dentist appointment that never happenedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At about seven, terrified of the dentist, the young Ajahn Brahm tries every trick — “Mummy, you don't love me, you're sending me to the torturer!” He sleeps badly with worry and…
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one of my earliest memories is when my mother told me I didn't need to go to school the following morning. I must have been about six or seven, or eight, maybe. I said: “Yeah! I don't need to go to school tomorrow morning!”, and because my mother said I had to go to the dentist I said: “I think, I'd rather go to school, mom”, but she said: “No, you have to go to the dentist”. And those were the days, where the dentists, oh, they had these drills, they had these sharp pointers, which they picked your teeth. It was like going to a torture chamber, and so I was very upset as I don't want to go to the dentist, and I started crying, I started throwing a tantrum. I didn't want to go, but my mother said: “You had to go”. So, I went to bed, and I was really upset. I didn't sleep well, I was trying to think of all ways to get out of going to the dentist tomorrow morning, and when I woke up, I decided on my plan. Never underestimate kids, because even kids they got some plans, which I thought would certainly work. I told my mother: “You can't love me. You don't love me, do you, mommy? Because you're sending me to the dentist”. It didn't work, of course. She dragged me to that dentist, screaming and kicking. And I always remember that, when I got to the dentist's surgery, there was a sign on the dentist surgery's door “Closed” because a dentist was sick. I remember that all that suffering, all that kicking and screaming, all that crying and not sleeping well, I was worried about something, which never happened, but it taught me a very good lesson
- The dreams that were right — until they weren'tStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A fellow monk told Ajahn Brahm he had twice dreamed truly: a recurring dream of his sister drowning that let him save her at 16 or 17, and a New Zealand drug-bust dream he…
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he'd always have this recurring dream he told me that his younger sister would fall into the swimming pool drown and die and he said one day he was just as a young 16 or 17 year old he was just sitting around the pool just doing nothing and then the dream which he had uh seen so often started to unfold it was exactly as he dreamed but because he remembered the dream and knew what was going to happen next he actually intervened and saved his sister's life he said it was weird but if he hadn't had that dream his sister would be dead and that gave him such confidence in dreams especially in those Vivid types of dreams that he believed in them except for once when he said he was maybe about 2122 and he was in New Zealand remember this was 30 40 years ago uh shows how old I am but this was a time when young people were really into smoking marijuana and he was in a house over in New Zealand with a few other young people you know sort of taking those recreational drugs and he had a dream he said many times that the New Zealand police came into the house and arrested everybody and he said he was kicking himself because he never took preventative action and it happened and he got deported and so he had two dreams he said which actually turned out to be true and he said the third dream which he had and this was the one he kept on telling me this was in 1974 when I became a monk and it was just the towards the end of the Vietnam War and the Viet Kon had taken over Vietnam patet La had taken over LA and the Karu had taken over Cambodia and our monasteries were very very close know to the border between Cambodia and L right in that sort of West northwest corner of Thailand and I remember looking at a map once and the distance from my Monastery in Thailand to Bangkok was twice as distance as it was to Hanoi we're much closer to Hanoi let alone the other sort of communist places and there was an evacuation plan which we had to register for our embassies because most western diplomats at the time subscribed to what was called the Domino Theory they thought once Vietnam LA and Cambodia fell tider would be next especially the Northeast where we were very close and so he thought he had this dream of the Communist soldiers invading that part of Thailand him running away across a pfield and got him shot in the back of the head he was so convinced of that dream he said that's how I'm going to die I know I'm going to die the Communists are going to invade and I'm going to be caught and killed cuz two out of two times he got it right that never ever happened you know he disrobed fell in love got married and one year after he got married he got killed in a head- on car crash in California so it never worked out
- The fortune tellers looked so poorStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In Hong Kong Ajahn Brahm was taken to a street of fortune tellers who looked ill-dressed and out in the rain — if they cannot tell their own fortune, how can they tell yours?
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they took me to this street where all the fortune tellers were and i looked at those fortune tellers and they were just so ill dressed poor and some of them were out in the rain and i realized my goodness you call that a fortune teller they certainly can't tell their own fortune how on earth can they tell yours
- The ICU patient everyone had given up onStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Brahm is called to chant for a woman in ICU at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital with severe flu — septic, bloated, the nurses giving her little chance — hoping at least to…
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there was this one lady I went to see once at the ICU at Charlie gardeners she was in the ICU she moon I was one of these cases with a flu and no really really bad cases septic all over bloated no honor lasts and a few breaths can you please come in and do some science that isn't charging for this lady and couple weeks ago she looked toward intents and purposes a goner you know the nurses said no I'm not much chance for this lady but you know a bit of chanting a bit of presence of a good mug a bit of spiritual uplift you know would give her a good death couple weeks later got a phone call from her husband can you come round to the house and she was perfectly well total recovery
- The Japanese monk who just started walkingStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Japanese fellow-monk of Ajahn Chah flew to Tokyo to visit family in the north without telling them, walked from the airport with no money or plans, made the news, and was taken…
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there's one monk he was a japanese monk a friend of mine and uh now with ajanchar and he decided to go and visit his family in japan but instead of actually just arranging everything he never even told his family he was coming his family lived up in the north of japan he just arrived at the airport in tokyo just got out of the uh the aircraft and just went to the customs and had his passport stabbed and then started walking just walked into tokyo and then just where he rested that night was just in the park in the morning got up and started walking again and you know we just had no plans no money first couple of days didn't get anything to eat but did you know go on arms round in tokyo and as he was walking somebody saw him he said who are you because he was japanese he spoke obviously perfect japanese language and then he said he was just a monk he's walking from the airport to visit his family and of course that was newsworthy he got on the news and after he got on the news the thai ambassador to japan saw that and so at last a real monk someone who doesn't make plans doesn't have money to survive somewhere and sleep outside and just walk and just living with the uncertainty of life and that she took him under her wing and just really looked after him and she later on became the ambassador thai ambassador to australia so you know she came here a couple of times that was suchitra and that's where she got her faith in buddhism again
- The millionaire who retired to GuadalcanalStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A man who made his fortune in the Roaring Twenties and cashed out before the Depression researches the safest, most perfect place in the world to retire, and chooses the tropical…
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There was a man who was in the boom years of United States in the roaring 20s made enough money and managed to cash it in before the depression years and being a multimillionaire he decided 'why should I just live in the United States' are there any other places in the world where I can live which got a better climate, safer, more happy existence so he went to the local public library got out books and he used his intelligence to try and find the perfect place in the world where he could retire and enjoy his remaining years using his great wealth. He could go anywhere he wanted with so much money. So he decided on a tropical island with perfect climate it was called Guadalcanal For those of you who are old enough you know that Guadalcanal became famous because it was the site of two major battles in the Second World War. First when it was taken over by the Japanese Imperial Troops and then it was actually taken over by the Americans afterwards two huge battles. So there was a guy who made his pile, and thought I am now gonna retire to Guadalcanal thinking of being peaceful for ever after. What happened? He gets involved in two major wars, Actually he survived both battles apparently. Two major battles, he survived both and lived to tell the tale but it wasn't a peaceful place.
- When am I going?Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At Wat Pah Pong, Ajahn Chah tells the young monk Ajahn Jagaro he is being sent to another monastery ('the banana garden'). Jagaro asks when he's going; Ajahn Chah changes the…
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Agent Chow won't tell me when I'm gonna go. " He kept going there every day to ask him when he could go so that he could actually make arrangements and agent Chow would never tell him. This went on for about two weeks and agent Jack kept on asking, "When am I gonna go? I need to make preparations," and agent Chow would never tell him. Then one day, agent Jackrow never went to ask. And then agent Chow told me, "You're going the next day