Stories about war
14 Buddhist wisdom stories about war from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- Floating above the paddy fieldsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An Australian soldier in Vietnam, going to help an injured mate, steps on a landmine that blows off his legs. After the intense pain, he wrote, he found himself floating above…
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that was a story of one of the state mp no the government in peace a long time ago and now what was his name again but anyway he was in vietnam during the vietnam war australian soldier and he was helping one of his colleagues who was injured and as he went to help his colleague he stepped on a land mine and blew off his uh his legs and because he blew off his legs he described what happened next i remember reading the article which he wrote about this experience obviously immense pain but the next thing he noticed was so intense pain the next thing you notice in his words which i can always remember was floating above the paddy fields of vietnam without a care in the world one of the most happy peaceful blissful experiences of his life and of course this was written by a politician who was always trustworthy come on when they talk about worldly things maybe you can doubt what they're actually saying but this was actually real honestly describing what he felt one of the most blissful peaceful experiences of his life but then he recalled that his wife back here in perth had just given birth to his first child a son and the thought came up it is not a kind thing just to die for his wife who had just given birth he had to come back for her so he next thing he noticed was being pulled back into his body and when he was in his body it was enormous pain again so much that he uh fainted and when he came to again he was in the hospital getting treated starting the long journey to um being a recovery he had to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life and apparently that because of him in the federal parliament in canberra they did make sure there was adequate wheelchair access for everybody but anyway the important part of that story was just what happened when he left his body the first initial shock of the explosion which blew his legs off so peaceful so blissful so joyful
- Funeral for the first wife years laterStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At a ceremony Ajahn Brahm learns the man's first wife died of malaria just after they escaped the Khmer Rouge into Thailand; as a destitute refugee he could not mourn her…
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Found out afterwards the story was that that was his first wife who he met in the villages. And during the time of the Khmer Rouge, that they were treated badly. And he escaped with his wife. He was one of the few people who managed to find his way over the border into what you thought would be safety in Thailand. But on that journey, you know, which people see in those movies, Killing Fields, he said after they they got to so-called safety, he found that during that journey his wife had contracted malaria fever. And it was so severe that they couldn't keep her alive. He come so close to success on his escape. He made it over the border and his wife made it over the border. But a few days later, she died. And of course, being a refugee with absolutely nothing, and being unable to mourn the death of his wife, even though his wife was there, he could not do anything at the time. He could not perform any ceremonies. He didn't have the means to do that. He waited for about, I don't know, how many years, 5 6 7 years. And he got married in the meantime. He obviously asked permission from his wife. He still had unfinished business with his first wife. The whole ceremony to which I attended was just for that first wife. It was her funeral. It was a time he could say thank you. A time he could let her go. And then go back and join his new wife, his second wife. And put away all that past. It was an occasion when if you cannot perform those funeral services when somebody passes away, especially in some countries now because of COVID, if you can't actually do them now, you can always do them later.
- I am the Thai pirateStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Early in his monkhood Ajahn Brahm was spun around by a poem of Thich Nhat Hanh from the boat-people years: I am the refugee, the pregnant woman, the woman raped by the Thai…
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poem by Venable tikat Hanan now you know he was a Vietnamese Monk and he was in his early years before he became famous he was really looking after the Vietnamese Community who had escaped from Vietnam on boats risking their lives many of them didn't make it the boats were even worse than they are these days most people died at Sea those people who survived were raped by Tha Pirates their money their collections disappeared it was a terrible terrible time and there any Vietnamese people here you know you understand what I mean and this monk wrote this poem which was both shock it just span me around but gave me an insight into how such conflicts can be resolved I can't remember the poem properly but it was something like I am I am the refugee in a boat tossed on the waves I am the woman pregnant in that boat I am the woman raped by the Thai pirate I am the Thai pirate raping this woman I am the Tai pirate stealing the money I am all of those people
- In Laos, war stops for lunchStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A monk friend, in Luang Prabang during the war between the communists and royalists, is eating lunch at a bamboo-and-thatch restaurant beside government soldiers whose M16s lean…
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I remember one of the stories this I never saw this myself but this was told to me by one of my friends who was a monk he was in luang probang the second the city of Laos doing the the war with the Communists and the royalists and this is actually how you relax he was at one of these little restaurants you know they would fare every occupational health and safety regulation in Australia but the food was delicious you know dirty but great food bamboo and thatch that's all there was and he'd go there for his lunch he was sitting at a table eating some delicious meal and he did notice there was a government soldiers they were sitting at another table having their lunch with the M16 the old machine gun rifles leaning against the wall this was lunchtime and he was enjoying his lunch when his heart almost stopped when he saw the Communist soldiers came in they called potato at the time these were the enemy this was a watch in the Vietnam War times and the the Communists came into the restaurant and he went to dive under the table but no one else was trying to escape or dive under the table because they saw the enemy troops the Communist troops they just looked around and chose another table they put their guns against the wall and they ordered their lunch because in Laos at that time War always stops for lunch oh would it be a wonderful thing if even these days people get their priorities right and lost they'd always have a lunch break when you're free fighting a war and that's what they did those days and of course afterwards said what happened next after lunch was over all of them they had some understanding the you know the Communist troops would go one way the rewarders will go the other way so they would have to meet each other
- Parachute the monks into SyriaStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Someone told Ajahn Brahm about an episode of the ABC's Q&A on violence in the Middle East. Asked for a solution, a panellist — the editor of The Spectator — cited a study (at…
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apparently somebody saw this on Q a the Q a TV program on a Monday night I've never seen that but every now and again people actually hear something on that program and this was say uh a program about the problems in the Middle East and the wars and the terrorism stuff going on there and they had one of the presenters there was the editor of The Spectator magazine a very influential magazine in uh in England and they asked her what was his solution or give some advice try and stop the violence in the Middle East in Syria and Iraq and all the bombings and stuff which go on and he said he quoted there had been a study done in Sussex University in the UK though when people were meditating even for seven minutes they said everybody in the vicinity also calmed down and became peaceful unless fighter less aggressive just actually the a few people meditating had calmed everybody else down so this guy on TV on ABC said his solution was getting a few Buddhist monks and parachuting them into Syria
- She sat on the stone stairs when thunder cameStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A London Blitz survivor, years later, stops whatever she is doing at every thunderstorm and sits on the stone stairs — the safest place she was taught as a young woman. After the…
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Every time there was a thunderstorm over that part of London and the lightning bmed and cracked, it would bring back the memories of that episode during the Second World War. And whatever she was doing, she would stop and go and sit on the stairs. It was a second story flat she was living in. She would sit there because she was taught as a young woman that was the safest place in the house in wooden houses. The stairs were made of uh mostly um stone. They were tougher. So that's where she would sit. And after the thunderstorm had passed, she come back and join us. That was her way of dealing with it. It may not be the standard way but that was the way which worked for her
- Still in the POW campStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Two Australian veterans who were captured at the fall of Singapore and held in prisoner-of-war camps meet at a reunion. One asks the other whether he has forgiven the Japanese…
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this was the story of those two Australian soldiers meeting together in a reunion, they'd both been in the Second World War, they'd both been in Singapore, the fall of Singapore, and both been put in P.O.W. camps. Well, one met the other, and said, "Have you forgiven the Japanese yet for what they did to us and our friends?" "No! Never! How can you forgive that??" said one of the soldiers. "What about you?" His friend said, "I forgave years ago. But you, my friend, are still in the P.O.W. camp." I love that story, simply because until you forgive -- until he forgave what those guards, those soldiers, did to him and his friends, in the camps in Changi on the Death Railway in Thailand on the Burmese border. Until they forgave, they were still being tortured. They're still in the camps. They can never be happy. His friend had let go and therefore he was free.
- The bomb next door in the BlitzStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During the London Blitz a bomb falls right next to the terraced house where Ajahn Brahm's mother and grandmother are. The neighbours, only five or six metres away, are killed…
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Even my family, parents and grandparents would tell me about life in London during the Second World War during the Blitz where a bomb fell right next to a terrace house. The next terrace house where my mother and grandma were. People in the next house are neighbors. They were instantly killed. My mother had her arm lacerated. She hardly remembers it, but it did happen apparently. And these were the old terrace houses which was only maybe what maybe 5 mters wide, 6 m wide to the next house. And they said there were some of the most wonderful times when even though many people were dying, there's so much kindness and help and joy and even joy as well.
- The Buddhist soldiers from the British ArmyStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: In the UK a group of Buddhists from the British Army come to see Ajahn Brahm. He had assumed Buddhist soldiers would be dentists or accountants, but some are frontline soldiers…
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there was a group of Buddhist military who came to see me in UK a few years ago. Just like in all parts of life, even in the British army, there were many Buddhists. I thought those Buddhists would be in the ancillary services such as the dentists, or the accountants, but some of these Buddhists were frontline soldiers who had fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. Is that a good thing for a Buddhist to be doing? I'm not going to judge but that's where they were and that's what they were doing. And so I had to change many of my attitudes, and I'm willing to change those attitudes to face these people in front of me who were obviously very sincere—they weren't bad people. I could sense straightaway that they had a very strong, inner morality in them. And how can that be? It was a contradiction in all I had ever told about Buddhism. And so one of the things I told them is never allow your knowledge to stand in the way of truth. I remember that they were shocked by that. They said, "Yeah!" Because my knowledge was telling me that what these guys were doing is wrong. But the truth in front of my eyes that these were beautiful people. Which is the one you're supposed to follow? If you follow your knowledge, you'll make so many mistakes— you'll be judgmental, critical, harsh, and you'll never be able to connect, appreciate and respect people. The truth of the matter is something different. That was a wonderful experience. I still don't know understand. I still haven't really processed that totally
- The night they stayed in bed during the BlitzStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During the London Blitz a couple who had been up night after night with the bombs, and had lost so many people they knew, heard the air-raid siren and decided: 'No, that's it.…
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I remember one story of a couple who they'd been up for so many nights with the sound of these bombs going off and many people they knew, you know, being obliterated or being very seriously injured. Thousands of people every night for months and they decided the air raid siren went off and they said, "No, that's it. We're going to stay in our own bed tonight and we're going to have a sleep." So even though there's bombs going off off all over the place, they decided, "No, we're going to stay in bed." And they had a good sleep and they woke up in the morning and they were okay. Bang, bang, bang, boom. All night long. They were so tired. What the hell? We could have asleep. And they had a beautiful deep sleep. They felt so good afterwards. You know, doubly good cuz they were alive afterwards.
- The only ones running for shelterStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A New Zealander, a late member of the society — reportedly the first New Zealander to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in Europe — reached London in uniform. The first time he…
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one of our members who was here you know during that time most of these people are dead now you know he a New Zealander you know he escaped from a prison of war camp in Europe apparently the first New Zealander to actually escape he came back over to UK he was in London the first time he heard an air raid siren and you know he was in uniform he was a soldier and as soon as he heard the air raid Simon, he ran for an underground station when he realized that him and his soldier mate were the only two running into the station. and everyone were going around their business as normal. And he felt so embarrassed that the two soldiers were the only ones showing any fear and everyone else and people at the bus stop reading their newspaper, people just walking, chatting to each other, women were doing their shopping and he thought, "Wow, these people are not afraid." And they were so impressed with that attitude.
- The soldier who refused at My LaiStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A documentary on an anniversary of the My Lai massacre traces the American soldiers ordered to kill every man, woman and child in the village. Though pardoned, they live with…
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There was a nice anecdote about that. This is a good one. Just about last year sometime there was it must have been the 25th anniversary of the ... must be about 40th or 50th anniversary or 50th anniversary of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. I remember that ... 40th or something, anniversary of this terrible event in the Vietnam War, because you know, I was growing up at this time, I was protesting against that war as a student. I remember that group of American soldiers were ordered to go into this village of My Lai to kill every man, woman and child. No one was an exception... And that is just evil, that's wrong. And they went into this village to kill and this documentary was tracing the soldiers who had participated in that event. And all those people even though they were given pardons by the American government. The very fact that's what they did caused huge psychological and social problems. You've gone in and killed, like, just a mother. You've shot a kid, five or six year old. Even though you were ordered to do that, That leaves huge scars and you pay for that. You can't have a relationship, you can't sort of have good health. You can't have happiness. But there was one soldier, there's always one or two who stand out. It was a black African soldier who refused. He refused the order to go in and kill. Now what he thought was women and children, they've got nothing to do with the war. He refused the order. He knew what would happen. He was put in military jail for 3 or 4 years for refusing to obey an order. Military jails in the United States, and that's 60, 70s were far worse than civilian jails. I think many of you know what civilian jails are like in United States. It's totally different than sort of jails here in Perth today. That was a very tough place, a very painful place to be for 3 or 4 years. And he knew what he was doing, by refusing the order he knew this was the consequence. But he had to do it and he endured those three or four years. But of all the people, he was the only person who had a life, who was happy and at peace with himself. When the interviewer asked him; so I was told, 'How come you did that? How come you refuse an order while all your fellows, your friends, your comrades went in there and killed? And you knew what was going to happen to you? Why did you do that?' He said, 'simply because I knew it was wrong. I just had to follow what my heart told me. And I did that; I had to.
- The Vietnam monk who blessed both armiesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: During the Vietnam War a monk receives government and communist soldiers alike for meditation and blessings; non-political goodness softens both sides.
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Vietnam during the Vietnam War and the government soldiers would come to his temple to meditate to listen to Dharma get blessings so at the Communists soldiers say to would come to his temple and receive blessings there's such a good monk he was respected by all his goodness was not political and they made both sides a little bit more tolerant and peaceful towards one another
- Train so you can shoot over their headsStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Ajahn Chah's disciple faces conscription; Chah says train hard on the firing range so you are a good enough shot to always shoot over their heads and never kill — a bad shot…
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Make sure when you go on the firing range, you train, train, train, train so you're a good shot." Said, "Why?" So that means you can always shoot over their heads. If you're really good shot, you'll never kill anybody