The Nature of Perception

0:00 Gather the information to see who the audience are and to tailor the talk to the audience. And many, many, many times I sometimes give a totally different talk that is advertised. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:17 I don't know, I haven't given a talk yet. And so when it's not planned, it's always getting what is necessary, what is needed from each one of you. And this is where I gather the information on how to give that talk, how to offer that talk. And that means it becomes something even I'm not sure what I'm going to say. Report an error in the passage at 0:17 Highlight the passage at 0:17

0:44 And it's about the dharma because I live the dharma and this is the only thing which really inspires me. And there are times when I think, what am I going to talk about this evening? And sometimes I even inspire myself, which is very beautiful. To be able to inspire oneself, let alone inspiring others. But the nature of perception is a very powerful subject. Report an error in the passage at 0:44 Highlight the passage at 0:44

1:08 It goes to what the Buddhism was always teaching. That it's not some fundamental beliefs which are outside of you, but the understanding of what's happening inside of you. And perception, how you interpret things, how you see things, how you understand things. That! It's very, very powerful. And many things which you'll experience in life will be negative. Are they really negative? Can we perceive things in a totally different way? Report an error in the passage at 1:08 Highlight the passage at 1:08

1:42 And this is one of those things I've been telling a few friends just before I came in for this talk. I just finished a rains retreat over in Perth. Report an error in the passage at 1:42 Highlight the passage at 1:42

1:58 I recognize that voice. Report an error in the passage at 1:58 Highlight the passage at 1:58

2:03 One of the things I have noticed this particular last year, there's a couple of monks who should have died. I was told they were going to die. One had a very bad accident. The other one just got very, very sick. And the third one, he's not so much a monastic, but he lives like a monastic. He's been an anagarica for a long time. Report an error in the passage at 2:03 Highlight the passage at 2:03

2:31 And we thought he was going to die too. None of them did. They're still very much alive. And I wondered why. How come those perceptions, even when they get checked out by doctors, why is it even then they can still survive? And that's why I love, as a Buddhist monk, being able to try and look after you, to treat you, to actually inspire you, to encourage you. Report an error in the passage at 2:31 Highlight the passage at 2:31

3:02 No matter what happens to you in life, it's amazing just how people can recover and how people not just recover, they become better human beings than they were before. So many times I've seen this. In my own eyes, I've come really close to death, even close to suicide, even just close to misery. And a lot of times it's a hard thing for me to say this, but it's true. Report an error in the passage at 3:02 Highlight the passage at 3:02

3:29 Sometimes they're not perceiving things in an accurate way. They're bending their perceptions unconsciously without much awareness of how they're bending their perceptions. Report an error in the passage at 3:29 Highlight the passage at 3:29

3:43 Have you ever noticed when you have arguments, everyone thinks they're right? Have you ever noticed if you try and argue with a doctor, it's not really worthwhile trying to argue with a doctor? I really respect doctors. There's many doctors. Report an error in the passage at 3:43 Highlight the passage at 3:43

4:03 Thank you very much for being who you are. But sometimes it's things which even doctors don't know. And so, some of the perceptions, the nature of perception, and how they can be used to actually to basically heal yourself. Report an error in the passage at 4:03 Highlight the passage at 4:03

4:23 And that's what I really love. And I can only say about personal experiences of this, because the personal experiences are some which obviously I know the most about. I know that I'm not exaggerating them. Many times as a young monk, especially over in Thailand, you got very sick. And sometimes even over in Australia, you sometimes get sick. Report an error in the passage at 4:23 Highlight the passage at 4:23

4:47 And one of those cases where I got kind of sick, it was an acute problem, and it was just to do with the indigestion. Report an error in the passage at 4:47 Highlight the passage at 4:47

5:06 There's one of the problems of being a bhikkhu, I'm sure you will understand this, that sometimes you eat food you don't know really what you're eating, and sometimes the food isn't, you know, you're allergic to it. I should let you know this, that I have got some allergies to food. Now one thing which I cannot eat is apples. Report an error in the passage at 5:06 Highlight the passage at 5:06

5:30 And never ate apples when I was a kid. I thought I just didn't like them. But it was not that. I tried to eat some later on, and it just made me feel a very bad tummy ache. And other things like ginger I cannot eat. If I do, I can eat it, but it just makes me feel sick afterwards. There's a lot of things. You know one of the other things which I cannot eat? It's really weird. Honey. Report an error in the passage at 5:30 Highlight the passage at 5:30

5:57 And I think one of the reasons I never took any honey because my family were poor and that was very expensive. Other stuff I can eat but not honey. So there's a lot of things which can make you sick which sometimes you think I'll just leave them alone. But sometimes when you're a monk sometimes they give you all sorts of concoctions for lunch. Report an error in the passage at 5:57 Highlight the passage at 5:57

6:25 You don't know what you're eating. And every now and again you eat something which really does make you sick. I remember I don't know what I was eating this day. And I'm not going to blame Sri Lankans. Thais are even worse. Any Thai people here? Okay. I shouldn't have said that before I found out you were here. But sometimes you add some special food for this, special food for that. Report an error in the passage at 6:25 Highlight the passage at 6:25

6:56 And just I'm sick. These days I'm much more careful with what I eat. And one of the reasons why was when I gave a talk in Malaysia once to about 3,000 people. And I was getting more and more sick. My tummy was really starting to churn. And then I asked people at the end of the talk, can I finish now and go back? Report an error in the passage at 6:56 Highlight the passage at 6:56

7:23 They said, no, please, one more question. I shouldn't have done this. Ajahn Brahm said, okay. So I gave one more answer to somebody's question. And then about halfway through the question, I said, I've got to go now. And I got out quickly without bowing. There was projectile vomiting on stage in front of 3,000 people on camera, videoed. Report an error in the passage at 7:23 Highlight the passage at 7:23

7:59 That was a wonderful thing I did as a... I had a very bad feeling in my tummy. And when you have... It was food poisoning. When you have food poisoning... How many doctors are there here? Report an error in the passage at 7:59 Highlight the passage at 7:59

8:34 Come on, don't be embarrassed. I just want it back. Oh, yeah. No need to be embarrassed. Your kindness is wonderful. But anyway, I had food poisoning. And so food poisoning means you start to have these convulsions in your tummy. The Report an error in the passage at 8:34 Highlight the passage at 8:34

8:57 stomach cramps. And you didn't have any choice. It was nature. Because it was very painful. And I was having these... Episode of food poisoning in my cave. In Australia, I live in a cave. Report an error in the passage at 8:57 Highlight the passage at 8:57

9:20 It's one of the most allowable and preferable places you could ever stay as a monk or as a nun. If you have a cave, wow. It's so quiet and peaceful and you can have a bit of peace all for yourself. No one can come in. The trouble is, no one can come in. Report an error in the passage at 9:20 Highlight the passage at 9:20

9:40 When you're very sick, that's a bit troubling. They can't even hear what I'm doing inside. They didn't know that I was groaning so loud. So I had a choice what to do. And for me, my choice was, don't call the doctor. Report an error in the passage at 9:40 Highlight the passage at 9:40

10:00 Surely all the meditation experience I've had, we can actually use the meditation to be able to overcome, or at least not so much overcome, But to tolerate and be with and go past or go through the food poisoning. I know I say this story a lot, but that's a wonderful story, totally true. And so I started being mindful of the stomach cramps. You just wait for a while and then it just comes out of nowhere. And it's also, I love telling a story like this simply because I've seen so many times when people come to a dharma talk And it's in the evening of a weekday. Many of you have been working so far. You're tired. And so often people get bored and get sloth and talk and all sorts of things. Report an error in the passage at 10:00 Highlight the passage at 10:00

10:56 But every time I go, people wake up and they pay attention. And of course I paid attention too. That was the trick. The mindfulness together with the kindness. What I coined the term kindfulness. Because when you're kindful, whatever you're aware of, And as I was staying with these contractions and spasms in my body, in my tummy, I didn't mind if anybody heard me groan because I was in my cave. Report an error in the passage at 10:56 Highlight the passage at 10:56

11:34 But what I did notice, the perception was just focusing just on the pain. And it's a weird thing if you focus With kindness, with softness on something very unpleasant, the pain gets a little bit less. That was my perception, noticing how the pain was decreasing and decreasing, only so slightly. But it was, that gave me the encouragement to continue on with this type of perception. And it only took half an hour. Report an error in the passage at 11:34 Highlight the passage at 11:34

12:14 Every spasm, every cry of pain. It got less, never more. It took just half an hour and then by the end of that half an hour all the pain, the spasms have gone totally. Report an error in the passage at 12:14 Highlight the passage at 12:14

12:34 I've had a lot of fun, and I say fun because what this does is teaching you how not to be afraid of pain and discomfort. To take that particular perception which we often have whenever we're sick or whenever we are having a physical pain we take away the perception of fear danger and it's wonderful just what happens we can relax when you relax things do ease off and even things like pain vanish sometimes i kind of used similes and a simile for this type of pain and the method to get beyond it was imagining that these parts of the body these muscles are contracting you know whenever there's an inflammation or infection somewhere i imagine like guitar strings now with guitar strings if you pull them and stretch them if you stretch the guitar string and something falls on it Report an error in the passage at 12:34 Highlight the passage at 12:34

13:46 It makes a very loud high-pitched sound. If you can loosen the tension on the guitar strings and something falls on it, you can hardly hear it. It's low-pitched. And if you totally relax the tension on the guitar strings, it doesn't make any sound at all when something hits it. That's my simile of how pain happens. If you're already very tense, afraid, frightened, If something hits it, it really makes a loud noise. Loosen the tension. Anything can hit it, and there's no noise at all. Report an error in the passage at 13:46 Highlight the passage at 13:46

14:26 And that was actually reminding me of how even my teacher in time, the great meditator Ajahn Chah, would change his perceptions to realize that sometimes there's so many other ways to get beyond things like pain. Report an error in the passage at 14:26 Highlight the passage at 14:26

14:45 I remember one of his things, he... Ajahn Brahm taught me, he once told me how he was, all the forest monks in those days all had, as it's over in Thailand, northeast Thailand, all had malarial fever. There's too many malaria mosquitoes around and they all carried the fever and there's not much medication. Report an error in the passage at 14:45 Highlight the passage at 14:45

15:12 So he got malaria like most other monks and when he had malaria, One day he told me he had, whenever he was really sick, low energy, malaria fever would come up and he'd get a very, very heavy fever. Report an error in the passage at 15:12 Highlight the passage at 15:12

15:30 What he did was actually to, instead of running away from it, being afraid of it, reacting to it, he said, I'm not going to move anywhere. I'm going to sit in my meditation right in the middle of this fever. And he even actually symbolized that. of like being in the middle of a forest fire really hot and he was right in the middle of it he could feel the fire getting hotter and hotter and hotter because he was like in the what we call these days the eye of the storm he just noticed the fire getting hotter and hotter and hotter and hotter until the fire exploded now Report an error in the passage at 15:30 Highlight the passage at 15:30

16:16 is the end of the malaria fever He never got malaria again. Sometimes, does that make sense to you? It's not something which people describe often because often they are just too afraid to follow a path like that. To be kind, to be gentle, but not to move. It's almost like calling the bluff of pain. So anyway, that's what he did. And how can that work? It's because, you know, I... Report an error in the passage at 16:16 Highlight the passage at 16:16

16:51 I thought after I emerged from that half an hour, you can't call it fighting pain. It's just understanding and knowing, being kind to it, and it gets less and less and less and less until it disappears. Report an error in the passage at 16:51 Highlight the passage at 16:51

17:06 It's the same with people get afraid of all sorts of things, especially over in the Far East, or the Middle East, or the Southeast, or any East. This is almost far east, southeast London. This kind of is east? Yes, that's the train station. That's how we came here, through East Croydon. This is more east than Croydon? South Croydon, okay. South London, anyway. Report an error in the passage at 17:06 Highlight the passage at 17:06

17:40 It's east enough. Report an error in the passage at 17:40 Highlight the passage at 17:40

17:44 So anyway, not this place, but many times people over in South Asia, Southeast Asia, were afraid of things like snakes. And spiders. And the reason I'm telling this story now is because I just came from my brother's this afternoon and he said he was going to tune in to this talk. So this is another snake story for you, brother. Report an error in the passage at 17:44 Highlight the passage at 17:44

18:17 These snakes, they can be very lethal. And there was this Singaporean monk over in Southeast Asia, very highly educated. It was just after I left Thailand to go to Australia. He went into our library in our monastery in Southeast Asia, in Thailand, and he just asked the librarian, where is the snake book? Report an error in the passage at 18:17 Highlight the passage at 18:17

18:49 And he said, it's just over here. He gave this monk a snake book, and the monk was looking through the different species of snake which were in our forest, and he said, oh my goodness. Report an error in the passage at 18:49 Highlight the passage at 18:49

19:02 That's the snake which has just bitten me, and it's deadly. This is a Singaporean monk saying this. He'd just been bitten by a snake, and he showed the other monks in the library at the time the two puncture wounds of the snake, and his ankle was already starting to swell. Report an error in the passage at 19:02 Highlight the passage at 19:02

19:24 What would you do? This monk said, please, get me a doctor. And so it's one of those times when a monk or a nun Or anybody is allowed to run, to go into the village to get the medical help. Now usually we don't run at all as monks. You know the reason we don't run? Because the faster we run, the more robes fall off. My robes fall off sometimes and I'm not really running, just walking fast. Report an error in the passage at 19:24 Highlight the passage at 19:24

20:04 These aren't meant to sort of be worn by people going fast. So anyhow... This monk did run, keeping his robes on as best he could, and he came back from the village with the local doctor, not an MD. He was the one who knew all about the herbal medicines. And he came to see this monk, and the monk's foot was quite expanded by now, and he put some herbs in his mouth, chewed them, and then spat them on the wound. Report an error in the passage at 20:04 Highlight the passage at 20:04

20:45 And rubbed them in and started doing some chanting. And as this witch doctor, a lay person, was doing this, imagine if that was you. The Singaporean, highly educated young monk looked at the more senior monks and asked them, can I have a proper doctor, please? Report an error in the passage at 20:45 Highlight the passage at 20:45

21:11 But as they were watching, as the chanting continued, the two puncture wounds where the fangs had gone in, Closed up and the swelling went down. And actually the wound totally healed. And he wasn't affected at all. The Singaporean monk is one of those things which are called unbelievable by many people. Report an error in the passage at 21:11 Highlight the passage at 21:11

21:40 But it happens. That's one of the lovely things about being a monk for such a long time. 51 years now. And also being a theoretical physicist at Cambridge. Report an error in the passage at 21:40 Highlight the passage at 21:40

21:56 I've got some cred, so I don't just believe things, you wait for the evidence. And it's just too many things you've seen with your own eyes, which are crazy, but they work. Report an error in the passage at 21:56 Highlight the passage at 21:56

22:09 Why is it that some people, if you had a snake bite, and you brought these guys in, which didn't actually inject you with anything, but did something else, far less intrusive, and far more effective, which would you choose? Report an error in the passage at 22:09 Highlight the passage at 22:09

22:30 Why is it our perceptions can sometimes kill us? We see only a part of the solution and it's not the best solution, it's dangerous. Why can't we use perception to see there are so many different options in this world, so many different ways of dealing with problems? Report an error in the passage at 22:30 Highlight the passage at 22:30

23:00 You know the one thing which I always notice with sickness? It's a power when we have a positive mind, a happy mind, joy, even laughter. That's one of the reasons why I often pepper my talks with happy stories. Report an error in the passage at 23:00 Highlight the passage at 23:00

23:21 Sometimes people call them miracles. They're not miracles. They're just noticing the power of more things in this world than we've ever known about, ever experienced. One of those talks, Over in Australia, there was this gentleman called George who was dying of lung cancer. And by this time, he was really sick. Report an error in the passage at 23:21 Highlight the passage at 23:21

23:48 On his last legs, doctors had given up and went into the hospice. Little George in the hospice. The first evening, the nurse said to him, George, what do you want to eat for dinner this evening? And that's when George replied, look, as well as the cancer, I have also got high cholesterol. I can't have anything oily. Report an error in the passage at 23:48 Highlight the passage at 23:48

24:19 Or I've also got diabetes. I can't have anything sweet. I've got hardened arteries. I can't have anything salty. And that's when the nurse said, George, be quiet. You're not going to die of a heart attack. You're not going to die of hardened arteries. You're not going to die of cholesterol problems. You're going to die in about three days of cancer. Report an error in the passage at 24:19 Highlight the passage at 24:19

24:46 So you can eat whatever you want. And George said, really? And so the nurse asked him, whatever food you want to eat, anything. Report an error in the passage at 24:46 Highlight the passage at 24:46

25:01 And so George asked for the The oiliest, greasiest, sweetest, syrupy, saltiest food he'd never been allowed to eat by his wife for years. Report an error in the passage at 25:01 Highlight the passage at 25:01

25:14 And I think the word in England is called pigging out. Why not? Yeah, he's going to die soon anyway. He's got cancer. But you know what happened? I was there. I was looking after him. And he didn't die. He went into remission after about three or four days of eating all his favorite foods. Report an error in the passage at 25:14 Highlight the passage at 25:14

25:40 He went into remission. He walked out of that hospice on his own two legs. He did actually get, the cancer came back afterwards. It's only a temporary fix. He had an extra six months of life. So, if you have a partner in this world or a mother or a father who tells you, you can't eat this, you can't eat that, it's going to kill you. Report an error in the passage at 25:40 Highlight the passage at 25:40

26:09 What actually kills you? Is it the chemicals in your blood? How is the perception, what you're worried about? We've had many cases. Report an error in the passage at 26:09 Highlight the passage at 26:09

26:26 I love when people tell me these stories, but also when you read about them in official magazines. In the indigenous communities over in Australia, in the indigenous communities of Australia, they've got this, almost like a ceremony, they call pointing the bone. And if you've upset some other influential indigenous people in Australia, the indigenous people will talk it over. Report an error in the passage at 26:26 Highlight the passage at 26:26

27:02 And if they agree that you've really done a bad thing, they'll get a bone and they'll point it at you. She's got her eyes closed, so she can't see. Report an error in the passage at 27:02 Highlight the passage at 27:02

27:16 It's all on camera, so I can't get away with it. You're pointing the bone at me. They're pointing a bone at you. The point is... Report an error in the passage at 27:16 Highlight the passage at 27:16

27:23 And a lot of times that sort of indigenous person would actually get sick and then die. They would think themselves to death. Report an error in the passage at 27:23 Highlight the passage at 27:23

27:35 How can you do that? I often thought if you can think yourself to death, why can't you think yourself to life? Why can't you use this in another way? And the story which, a weird story, true, I remember seeing this when I was a student. As a student over in Cambridge University, one of the clubs which I joined was the Psychic Research Society in Cambridge. Report an error in the passage at 27:35 Highlight the passage at 27:35

28:07 We used to investigate ghosts mainly, but anything which was weird. One of those weird things at the time was hypnosis. One of the experiments which I saw with my own eyes that students would volunteer for anything and We managed to hypnotize one of my friends, one of the students, and the hypnotist had a piece of wood with a four-inch nail on the end and convinced the student that that nail had been heated and heated and heated until it was red hot. Report an error in the passage at 28:07 Highlight the passage at 28:07

28:48 And then the experimenter touched the tip of the nail on the student's skin. Because the student had been conditioned to believe that that needle was red-hot, he screamed in pain. That I could understand. What I could never understand was how it was the place where the needle, or not the needle, sorry, the nail, touched the student's skin. Report an error in the passage at 28:48 Highlight the passage at 28:48

29:19 A blister came up. It was burnt, that part of his skin. And that nail... It was at room temperature. It wouldn't even make a baby scream. But nevertheless, because that student under hypnotist perceived that nail to be red hot, a boil came up, a burn came up on the skin. Report an error in the passage at 29:19 Highlight the passage at 29:19

29:53 That was something which I saw. And it took me years to kind of understand how can that work? Now how many of you in this temple have even heard? Since the time in the dharma school for kids here, the mind is the forerunner of all things. Just like the ox that's in front pulls the cart coming behind it, so the mind controls the body. Report an error in the passage at 29:53 Highlight the passage at 29:53

30:28 I read that, thought it was interesting, years and years ago, but never saw how powerful that teaching is. Your perceptions have a lot to do with The health of your body and the health of your mind. Report an error in the passage at 30:28 Highlight the passage at 30:28

30:48 You know that I'm not exaggerating here. Please, these personal stories, I'm saying them because they really shocked me and it's personal knowledge so I can trust that what I'm saying actually happened. And that was for one year. I was retired and most of the other monks were always complaining about sore tummies and not getting enough sleep. Report an error in the passage at 30:48 Highlight the passage at 30:48

31:14 Getting bitten by so many mosquitoes. And then they were all getting sick. And when there was so many... Often the case that I remember just... Even Ajahn Sumedho, who was the head of that monastery then. And then he would say, I had a very bad night. I was on the toilet most of the night with strong diarrhea. And then the next one would say, yeah, me too. Report an error in the passage at 31:14 Highlight the passage at 31:14

31:41 The next one would say, yeah, me too. I had diarrhea last night, didn't sleep much at all. The next one, yeah, me too. When it came to me, I was a young monk, so bottom of the line, I said, I didn't. I was being honest. I kind of wondered why. And yeah, I did have a strong body at the time, young. Then I decided to make a vow to see if it would work. I said, for the next 12 months, I will not get sick. Report an error in the passage at 31:41 Highlight the passage at 31:41

32:17 It's kind of arrogant and stupid, but I did it. I decided not to get sick, and it worked. Just like pointing a bone can make you sick, I decided to make the resolution not to get sick. I don't know if you've heard that before, but it's true. Report an error in the passage at 32:17 Highlight the passage at 32:17

32:40 If you believe that perception, the perception of sickness doesn't come up. It's weird, but it was very helpful for me. Copyright © 2020 Mooji Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved. No part of this recording may be reproduced If it were going to work, it's a beautiful thing to do. One of the cases I remember, there was this fellow over in Penang. Any Malaysian Penangis here this evening? Report an error in the passage at 32:40 Highlight the passage at 32:40

33:33 You? Yeah, great. I love Penangis. They're very good, fun people and also they're good meditators sometimes. And this particular lady, no, no, it's this guy. He came to see me and he said he was in big trouble. That he had this disease. I forget exactly how he called it, but it was very, very, very rare. Report an error in the passage at 33:33 Highlight the passage at 33:33

34:02 It was only that time the doctors who were the experts on this in Singapore said they'd only known two people who had this disease. Report an error in the passage at 34:02 Highlight the passage at 34:02

34:12 And what was happening was scrambling the neural pathways in their brain. And the only way to treat it... was actually to give them an operation, cut open their brain and to basically rearrange some parts of their brain and they were unable to give anaesthetic when this operation was done. So this guy said it was extremely painful. But he went through this because he was getting married and he thought it would be letting down the love of his life. Report an error in the passage at 34:12 Highlight the passage at 34:12

34:44 So he went through it, he survived and it worked. He got better. But then when he came to see me again, he said thank you. He came to see me again when I was visiting Penang to say the doctors didn't understand why, but the disease had returned. Report an error in the passage at 34:44 Highlight the passage at 34:44

35:04 He had the disease again. He knew what it would feel like to have the treatment. And he asked me to do some chanting for him, but I gave him some advice instead. And the most important thing which he asked for, he said, my wife is now pregnant. Report an error in the passage at 35:04 Highlight the passage at 35:04

35:21 And I feel as we're really letting her down, if I don't survive this illness, to look after her during the pregnancy and also to help look after our first child. So he went back down to Singapore and they did the same procedure before. They had to shave off all the hair on his head and put this big clamp over his brain. Report an error in the passage at 35:21 Highlight the passage at 35:21

35:45 And they gave him a CT scan beforehand, a CT scan of his brain. And you could see the sort of the scrambled part of his brain again. But then they told him, said there was some mistake in the CT scan. You're going to have to do it again. I love this little anecdote because I've heard it many times from patients. You go and see the experts and they can have a look inside your brain, you know, with an ET or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 35:45 Highlight the passage at 35:45

36:20 And the first time that they looked at it, To actually say it was a problem, it was very clear. But when he went to the hospital for the operation, they gave him another ET scan to see if it had progressed. And when they did, they asked him, I'm sorry, there's something wrong with the machine. We're going to have to do it again. And the second time they did it, there was nothing wrong with the machine at all. For some reason, they couldn't understand. Report an error in the passage at 36:20 Highlight the passage at 36:20

36:49 The brain had unscrambled itself again. He was free of any problems, diseases or injuries. So when he went home, that's when he came to see me and said, thank you, thank you, thank you, to avoiding this operation when it should be impossible. Report an error in the passage at 36:49 Highlight the passage at 36:49

37:10 I don't know if ever you heard stories like this, people who should be dead, people who should really, really be struggling with their health. And because they change their perceptions, the body has a chance to heal itself. This is not magic. This is not sort of psychic powers or whatever. This is just the nature of the body. Your mind has a huge influence over you. Our problem is we don't allow those perceptions of healing to really be known. Report an error in the passage at 37:10 Highlight the passage at 37:10

37:47 This is the nature of perception. We can use it to almost kill ourselves, or we can use it to heal ourselves. That's a very personal journey. But try and understand, how do you feel? Report an error in the passage at 37:47 Highlight the passage at 37:47

38:03 Are you afraid and scared because you've got too much influence from other people, or can you turn it around totally and get the impossible things happening? Report an error in the passage at 38:03 Highlight the passage at 38:03

38:15 One of the other things which I remember as a young monk in Thailand, one disease which I did get, which was actually none of the nurses or the doctors knew what I had at the time, because it was a heavy fever, and I had the... Report an error in the passage at 38:15 Highlight the passage at 38:15

38:35 Symptoms of typhus, but they tested it out. It wasn't typhus fever. When they actually learned what it was, they discovered it was scrub typhus. And all the locals had developed an immunity to this disease. It was only the Westerners who managed to be susceptible to getting the scrub typhus. We didn't have a natural immunity. And so when I got that fever, He took me into the hospital and just, you know, you're sweating like having these fevers and no one knew exactly what it was. So because they didn't know what it was, they decided to put as many antibiotics as possible into the syringe and they would inject me in the bottom twice a day. Report an error in the passage at 38:35 Highlight the passage at 38:35

39:28 And this was, I'm a Buddhist monk, okay? And even in northeast Thailand, they're very strict. They're not supposed to be allowed. To have a lady touch you. These days, they were much more smart than in those days. So anyway, nevertheless, they still had a nurse who would come with those old syringes. Report an error in the passage at 39:28 Highlight the passage at 39:28

39:51 Remember those old syringes? They had to even sharpen them sometimes. They were reusable. And so this nurse would come every morning and every afternoon. She never actually injected me. She stabbed me. Report an error in the passage at 39:51 Highlight the passage at 39:51

40:09 Because those needles were so blunt. I always thought that in Thailand, they use them in Bangkok first, and then after the big Bangkok hospitals. Then they go into the upcountry. And the last place they would use was in the east side, the northeast of Thailand. We were the rough ones. And the toughest of those rough ones were supposed to be the forest monks. So I'm sure we got those syringes, those needles. Report an error in the passage at 40:09 Highlight the passage at 40:09

40:39 After being so well used in other hospitals, because this was a very poor place, in the morning, one in the left cheek, one in the right cheek, and oh my goodness, after about a week, my poor bottom really ached. Report an error in the passage at 40:39 Highlight the passage at 40:39

40:56 And even though I tried to give loving kindness towards all beings, I found myself chanting, may all beings be happy and well, but not that nurse. She didn't deserve it. I was only about two or three years as a monk, young, still learning. But nevertheless, I had such a sore bottom. And then it was only after about five or six weeks, four or five weeks, that was when even Ajahn Chah came to see me. Report an error in the passage at 40:56 Highlight the passage at 40:56

41:27 A personal visit from a great monk. And I thought, wow. You know what he said to me? He said, Ajahn Brahm, I wasn't Ajahn yet, Brahm. Report an error in the passage at 41:27 Highlight the passage at 41:27

41:39 You'll either get better or you'll get worse. Or you'll die. And then he left. Report an error in the passage at 41:39 Highlight the passage at 41:39

41:49 I couldn't argue with that. He had a lot of wisdom but a terrible bedside manner. I just wanted some kindness. He just gave me dharma, real truth. At the time I rejected that because my perception was that that was not right. Report an error in the passage at 41:49 Highlight the passage at 41:49

42:10 So anyhow, later on you realise how correct that was. But how I overcome that fever. Nothing else was working. Have you ever suffered depression? Most of me, that's probably the closest I came to depression. Nothing was working. I was really sick and sore. The fever was continuing. Now I overcame it. That's not overcame it. It's the wrong word, overcame it. I never fought it. I escaped from it for a short while by going into a deep meditation. Report an error in the passage at 42:10 Highlight the passage at 42:10

42:48 I never thought this was possible. To have a deep meditation when you have a fever, when you're not in a good posture. I always remember looking at my posture after I emerged from the meditation and seeing my posture, my legs were all over the place. Have you ever gone to a hospital to visit someone with a fever who's really sick? Their arms and legs were all over the place. That was my meditation posture. Report an error in the passage at 42:48 Highlight the passage at 42:48

43:18 One arm this way, one arm that way, leg over here, leg over there. But nevertheless, he discovered, because I had to, that you could still let the body totally vanish in these beautiful bliss states. Report an error in the passage at 43:18 Highlight the passage at 43:18

43:34 And that was an amazing thing, that because you understood the nature of perception, you could change it and let go of seeing anything negative at all in what you were experiencing. Report an error in the passage at 43:34 Highlight the passage at 43:34

43:52 Not bother about it. Let it go. Renounce it. Give it up. And abandon it, all those physical feelings. And now once again, that's replaced by a lot of bliss and happiness. Report an error in the passage at 43:52 Highlight the passage at 43:52

44:10 And now, if you've been in hospital with a fever, no one knows what's been happening to you. They can't understand the reason why. It was only later, about six months later, did one of the doctors notice that this looks like scrub typhus and he doesn't care that... The big medics in Bangkok thought that it didn't exist in that part of Thailand. Only later we realized it's because of the immunity of most of the population, but some of the population, like the visiting Westerners, we were susceptible to it. Report an error in the passage at 44:10 Highlight the passage at 44:10

44:46 It's only found out much later. But at the time, it's amazing just how that fever was discarded just by the nature of the mind. Report an error in the passage at 44:46 Highlight the passage at 44:46

44:57 Understanding how it works and letting it go. Because those are personal experiences, the things you'll never doubt for the rest of your lives. So this was how, understood how the nature of perception can work so amazingly well. And thank you for whoever left that clock on. Because sometimes we can perceive that as creating a disturbance. Report an error in the passage at 44:57 Highlight the passage at 44:57

45:30 But I never feel that there's anything like disturbances in life. I just think that it's wonderful. Thank you for letting me know I've been talking too much. And on live stream too, yes. So thank you for changing perceptions. Report an error in the passage at 45:30 Highlight the passage at 45:30

45:49 I often ask you, Ajahn Brahm, how many times do you notice me get upset and angry? Never. How can that be done? Change the perception. Any words which you don't, Like or you think is like critical, you perceive them in another way. I remember just I was telling this story a little bit earlier. I never finished it. I gave mostly to my brother. I said that I gave this talk at a girls school over in Perth. Report an error in the passage at 45:49 Highlight the passage at 45:49

46:33 It was a Catholic girls school. And during the talk, they asked me one of the most difficult questions. You know the question they asked me? They said, Ajahn Brahm is a 14-year-old girl. You're a good meditator. Do girls still turn you on? Report an error in the passage at 46:33 Highlight the passage at 46:33

46:58 That's what they answered. How could you answer that question? Fortunately, one of the other girls in the class said, don't bother about that girl. She's such a naughty, always causes trouble in class. So I could escape very easily. But then I saw those girls the next day over walking down one of the big roads in the centre of Perth. Report an error in the passage at 46:58 Highlight the passage at 46:58

47:23 And they came up to me and they said, Oh, Ajahn Brahm, thank you for that talk you gave at our school yesterday. And I said, I'm amazed that you still remember me. Report an error in the passage at 47:23 Highlight the passage at 47:23

47:35 And they said, Oh, it's easy to remember you and your name. We'll never forget anybody called Ajahn Brahm. Report an error in the passage at 47:35 Highlight the passage at 47:35

47:46 And I said, there's an M on the end. Did I get upset? No. Honestly, I thought, thank you. That's a good little story to give in my next talk. Never get upset. These are all great little lessons you can make use of, you know, to inspire other people. What's the worst thing anybody's ever called you? Report an error in the passage at 47:46 Highlight the passage at 47:46

48:16 I have great fun with the nicknames people give me. The nickname you give me in Sri Lanka is a very polite one. The smiling white monk. Report an error in the passage at 48:16 Highlight the passage at 48:16

48:30 The nickname they give me in Indonesia, they call me Ajahn Donut. You know why they call me Donut? One is because I'm round. Report an error in the passage at 48:30 Highlight the passage at 48:30

48:48 You can't argue with that, it's true. The second one is because I'm sweet. You know the third one? Why they call me Donut? Because I'm holy. I'm a big hole in the middle. Report an error in the passage at 48:48 Highlight the passage at 48:48

49:06 So why do anybody want to get upset? You have a choice. That's what perception gives you. You can choose another way of looking at what they're talking about. I always say that sometimes it's a test when they say something really nasty to you. I mentioned this anecdote over in my last Friday night talk. Report an error in the passage at 49:06 Highlight the passage at 49:06

49:33 You know just the way that I live. I gave a Friday night talk in Perth. It was only a couple of days ago. I got straight to the airport on a plane and then came to London the next day. I always give another talk and then another talk. That's how I live. Just always talking or flying or resting or eating or having my photograph taken or something. Report an error in the passage at 49:33 Highlight the passage at 49:33

50:03 I'm enjoying my life. But in this particular case, please excuse the language, but I think you will understand it here. A lot of people never understood this over in Australia. I gave a presentation once at a mental health conference. And at that mental health conference, these two English ladies came to see me afterwards. Report an error in the passage at 50:03 Highlight the passage at 50:03

50:31 And they were what they called... Clients of the mental health system. And they said, they weren't Buddhists at all. They said, when we saw you going into the lecture theatre and standing at the lectern about to give us a talk, I thought, who the heck is he? What does he know? He's not a doctor or professor. And what they said, they said, we came here to apologise to you after the talk. Report an error in the passage at 50:31 Highlight the passage at 50:31

51:04 Because we thought, who is this wanker coming to teach us? It's a very rude word. Did I get upset even saying that someone called me wanker? Report an error in the passage at 51:04 Highlight the passage at 51:04

51:22 I think it's really funny. That's how I perceive these things. Nice little challenge and see the funny side of it. But then they gave this wonderful praise afterwards. We thought you just didn't know what you were talking about. But then when you started giving these... Stories about perceiving ourselves in a totally different way. And the story which I gave to them, one of my favourites, I said, you know, you are clients of the mental health system over here. Report an error in the passage at 51:22 Highlight the passage at 51:22

51:55 I don't know what problems the psychologists, psychiatrists see in you. But I always remember being a forest monk living amongst so many hundreds of trees. Every time, every time I see... a crooked or a bent tree which has been damaged by the storms which nature gives when I see that big branches have been torn off the leaf I'm glad they're there. Report an error in the passage at 51:55 Highlight the passage at 51:55

52:30 I know that in each one of those holes that's where the possums and the birds live. That's where they make their homes. I'm glad that there. Report an error in the passage at 52:30 Highlight the passage at 52:30

52:43 And my favorite trees are always those trees which are the most bent and damaged, where all the leaves are brown and they're not just perfectly placed. Those damaged trees are the ones I like the most. And every damaged tree belongs in the forest. Each one of you, I said to these clients of the mental health system, Number one, please never think or perceive you don't belong. Please understand you belong. Report an error in the passage at 52:43 Highlight the passage at 52:43

53:26 It's one for humanity. You know that for people who are suffering. You belong. Welcome. And number two, the ones who are the most injured, damaged, crooked, bent, twisted, you are the most beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 53:26 Highlight the passage at 53:26

53:46 I really mean that. Don't make these things up. You see them. That's why they're powerful. That's why they came out after us and said, even the bad words we said about you at first because you didn't know who you were, what you're going to speak. Once we hear you, thank you. So we cried and we laughed. That's one of the most beautiful compliments I've got. Report an error in the passage at 53:46 Highlight the passage at 53:46

54:14 When you hear something, it touches you and you cry, you laugh, and a lot of the problems are healed. Report an error in the passage at 54:14 Highlight the passage at 54:14

54:27 Okay, so I'm going to finish now and open up for any questions. Okay? Report an error in the passage at 54:27 Highlight the passage at 54:27

54:40 Okay, that's lucky. Report an error in the passage at 54:40 Highlight the passage at 54:40

54:46 So who's going to ask the first? Sorry? Okay, who's going to ask the first question? Report an error in the passage at 54:46 Highlight the passage at 54:46

55:14 There's a quick question. Report an error in the passage at 55:14 Highlight the passage at 55:14

55:20 It's not working. Report an error in the passage at 55:20 Highlight the passage at 55:20

55:25 Can you shout the question out? Report an error in the passage at 55:25 Highlight the passage at 55:25

55:32 Yeah. adjustment is okay. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 55:32 Highlight the passage at 55:32

· · · silence, 1 minute

55:47 Oh, Report an error in the passage at 55:47 Highlight the passage at 55:47

55:52 that's easy. Number one is a lot of time improve meditation by using changing your perception. I don't know how many people keep saying that meditation is difficult. If that's how you feel and that's how you're convinced, then meditation does become difficult. to lose perception in improving meditation. Report an error in the passage at 55:52 Highlight the passage at 55:52

56:15 Don't think that that's a truth somewhere. There are so many stories of people learning how to meditate and getting into such deep meditation quite fast. Don't ever think you need to have a great deal of knowledge of the dharma. Sometimes in the time of the Buddha, people just did basic dharma. You know, things like, you know, with time, with use, things get sort of suffering. You don't control them. You can't control them. Report an error in the passage at 56:15 Highlight the passage at 56:15

56:44 And there was Srila Pandaka, who was not wise enough to really understand too much, but he still had enough devotion to be able to just take a piece of cloth, keep rubbing it, and that was the cause for him to get fully enlightened. It's amazing different ways which people got to these deep states of meditation. And they're real. Over in Thailand, there was this novice. Report an error in the passage at 56:44 Highlight the passage at 56:44

57:14 He was so bored with listening to Ajahn Chah give a talk. Sometimes he gave a talk for hours and hours and hours. And it was really boring sometimes. Sometimes he was on the money and just really, I don't know if I should say on the money, but he was just really powerful and he gave some amazing talks. Report an error in the passage at 57:14 Highlight the passage at 57:14

57:34 Oftentimes it was just boring. And so anyway, this novice started thinking, when's he going to finish? When is Ajahn Chah going to finish? When is he going to finish? And then Ajahn Chah didn't finish. He kept on going. And this little novice thought, when's he going to stop? When's he going to stop? And then the little novice had a flash of insight. He changed the word from when is Ajahn Chah going to finish to when am I going to finish? Report an error in the passage at 57:34 Highlight the passage at 57:34

58:09 When am I going to stop? And then the little novice stopped. Report an error in the passage at 58:09 Highlight the passage at 58:09

58:16 When he opened his eyes again, it was mid-morning. All the monks had finished the talk hours before. It was the first time this little novice had got into a deep meditation, a jhāna. He'd been blissed out all night. He hadn't heard all these other monks do the final bit of chanting and pack all their things and move back to their huts to go to sleep. Report an error in the passage at 58:16 Highlight the passage at 58:16

58:41 Little novice missed all sleep that night. Little novice... Even just was too late to go on alms round. He had to fast that morning. He didn't mind at all. Because with these deep meditations you have so much bliss and happiness come up. Report an error in the passage at 58:41 Highlight the passage at 58:41

59:00 That's how the perception changes your ability to meditate. It's possible for each one of you. And I say that if you say you can't meditate, that's totally wrong. That type of perception is what stops you. Report an error in the passage at 59:00 Highlight the passage at 59:00

59:21 If you want to be honest with yourself, say, I haven't managed to press that right button yet. But yet, it keeps that perception of the possibility of success open. Report an error in the passage at 59:21 Highlight the passage at 59:21

59:34 And then you do it. It works. When that happens, become a very little happy Buddhist, or whatever you are, sitting there enjoying the bliss and the peace. And you've let go for a little while. And it's gorgeous. Report an error in the passage at 59:34 Highlight the passage at 59:34

59:54 That changes your perceptions. Make any sense? Report an error in the passage at 59:54 Highlight the passage at 59:54

1:00:03 Next one. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:03 Highlight the passage at 1:00:03

1:00:08 So there's one on the live stream. So what do you do if you lost more money than you have? Like when you did a bad thing that will take years to pay back. I feel sad to be in this position right now. Okay, if you're in that position. It doesn't really matter if you have to go to jail. I don't know why people As soon as I say jail, you perceive that as something negative. And there's this Thai monk. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:08 Highlight the passage at 1:00:08

1:00:42 He was number two, no, number three in line to be the head monk in Thailand, Chau Khun Thep Siddhimuni. He was a good meditator, and he had the right attitude. And when he faced trumped-up charges because somebody else wanted to be the head monk of Thailand, And so the only way to get rid of this very wonderful monk was to accuse him of being a communist. At that time, that was illegal. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:42 Highlight the passage at 1:00:42

1:01:14 So he never really fought it. Eventually he got convicted and sent to jail. And in jail, in Thailand, if you're a monk who goes to jail and you're kind of innocent, you have to take off your brown robes and wear white. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:14 Highlight the passage at 1:01:14

1:01:31 And he never fought it. it's in there. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31 Highlight the passage at 1:01:31

1:01:34 I remember reading his autobiography. He said one of the luckiest breaks in his life. He was in jail. He got plenty of food. He had people who still respected him. But the best thing which he had, he had all that free time. No one could ask him a question. Sometimes when I get so many questions, I kind of contemplate it. Can I confess to something I didn't do? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:34 Highlight the passage at 1:01:34

1:02:07 Instead of perceiving, Being in jail is something negative. Perceive it as a retreat, a two-year meditation retreat where no one can bother you. You've got your little cell. Your cell is like a monk's hut. Sometimes they call monks' hut cells or caves. And no one can actually disturb you. And he said he read a lot of books. He always put off. He did a lot of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:07 Highlight the passage at 1:02:07

1:02:38 He had a wonderful time. So he always perceives that going to jail for a couple of years to be a very, very fortunate, lucky break. So I can take Siddhimuni, if you can find a copy of his autobiography. It's wonderful. That's where we perceive things in a totally different way. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:38 Highlight the passage at 1:02:38

1:03:03 Yeah, go on. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:03 Highlight the passage at 1:03:03

1:03:16 Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:16 Highlight the passage at 1:03:16

1:03:21 Yes. Sri Lanka with someone? Yes. That's amazing. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:21 Highlight the passage at 1:03:21

1:03:29 Yeah, like, because obviously you always encourage people to practice the jhānas. Yeah. And I'm not going to say I've attained any, but, you know, hopefully I'm going to get something all down the line. But anyway, the thing, I remember going to the London Buddhist Bihari years ago for the Dharma classes there. Yeah. And there was a wonderful monk, and because he was... Report an error in the passage at 1:03:29 Highlight the passage at 1:03:29

1:03:58 He would tell us about his days as a novice in Sri Lanka and how when he was being taught to practice the jhānas, the head monk that he was training under would say in Sinhalese, which means don't miss the junction as in when you're practicing. And he said that. With the kind of sense of, there is a sense of danger if you get it wrong, you know. And, you know, you could end up sort of, well, you could end up lost in a sort of self-indulgent spiral of Jhāna bliss that leads you nowhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:58 Highlight the passage at 1:03:58

1:04:49 If it is Jhāna, it ought... Sorry? Just a quick question. Okay, for the live streaming. The question was, and briefly, is why is it that so many people are afraid of the jhānas? They always say that there's a danger there that you can get lost in jhanic bliss. That's not true. Because what it is, is that sometimes people want things so much they create a false sense of jhāna. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:49 Highlight the passage at 1:04:49

1:05:24 If you've got a decent teacher there, they can tell you pretty easily whether you are in a real jhāna. And afterwards, oh, it wasn't real at all. One of the best ways of knowing that is what I call, for want of a better word, the afterglow. When one emerges from these jhānas, if it's a real one, your bliss remains with you for quite a while. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:24 Highlight the passage at 1:05:24

1:05:50 And you know this is something which is amazing, which has happened to your mind. And you also realize that without those jhānas, there is no possibility. A penetrating deep truth. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:50 Highlight the passage at 1:05:50

1:06:07 Verse 372, I think, of the Dhammapada. I don't just tell funny stories. I do my own stuff as well. And there's a powerful statement which says there's no jhāna without wisdom. There's no wisdom without jhāna. In one who has wisdom and jhāna, you're in the presence of nibbāna. truth nati jananga panyasa panya nati ajaya to Report an error in the passage at 1:06:07 Highlight the passage at 1:06:07

1:06:31 It's one of my favorite sayings from the dharma part. It's powerful. And always, what's the cause of wisdom? Seeing things as they truly are. It is sammasamadhi, the four jhānas. In the Gopakamogalana Sutta, what type of meditation did the Buddha teach? And that's where Ananda replies, he only taught four types of jhāna. Sorry, four types of meditation. First, second, third, fourth jhāna. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:31 Highlight the passage at 1:06:31

1:07:01 And they. The, what is it, Pasadika Sutta, that's where the Buddha instructed, what was it, Kumara Kasapa, he said, if anybody ever asks you, do Buddhist monks and nuns, they indulge in pleasure. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:01 Highlight the passage at 1:07:01

1:07:25 You should ask them, what type of pleasure do you mean? If it's pleasures of the five senses, say no. We regard that as a danger. His pleasures of the sixth sense, the mind, you say yes. And I admit that. If I'm a happy monk, if I'm a smiling white monk, where does that smile come from? That smile comes not because I eat a lot and have lots of pleasures in the senses. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:25 Highlight the passage at 1:07:25

1:07:59 It comes because we indulge in the pleasure of the sixth sense, the mind, the deep meditations. That's what the Buddha said. It's because, you know, the four jhānas, they give you a beautiful sense of bliss and power. But is that just indulging? No, says the Buddha in the Pasadika Sutta Digha Nikaya. He says anybody who indulges in the four jhānas, there's only four consequences possible. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:59 Highlight the passage at 1:07:59

1:08:34 Not a crazy mind. Not sort of losing time. The four consequences of practicing jhāna are stream winning, once returning, non-returning or full enlightenment. That's what we're supposed to be doing. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:34 Highlight the passage at 1:08:34

1:08:51 So if you want to be enlightened, if you're really keen about it, serious about it, please learn the jhānas. From the jhānas you can see things as they truly are. What will stop you from being trapped for eons in a formless realm after you die? What would... Report an error in the passage at 1:08:51 Highlight the passage at 1:08:51

1:09:15 Being in a formless realm. The formless realms are just where the next stages of the immaterial attainments happen. But even you don't get trapped in there because what stops you is that you've seen from the deep meditation the five hindrances which stop seeing clearly are abandoned. Not just for a few minutes. This afterglow idea. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:15 Highlight the passage at 1:09:15

1:09:44 Your mind is really clear for days on end. And it's almost impossible that some deep states, deep attachments are not abandoned. It's impossible. Sometimes using really similes, because you have to find some similes to make sure that you can tell people about the understanding of deep meditation. That is where... Report an error in the passage at 1:09:44 Highlight the passage at 1:09:44

1:10:16 It's like a bomb goes off in your mind and so many things are destroyed. If you emerge from a jhāna or a few jhānas, you'll feel that you may be enlightened. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:16 Highlight the passage at 1:10:16

1:10:29 But you're not. Most likely, not fully enlightened. Because once all the dust settles, you can see what's left. Then you see there's a few buildings still remaining. Another jhāna and more of what you hold to be who you are. you may Report an error in the passage at 1:10:29 Highlight the passage at 1:10:29

1:10:56 go Report an error in the passage at 1:10:56 Highlight the passage at 1:10:56

1:11:16 to a beautiful realm for a while when you go back you don't start at the beginning again it's not like snakes and ladders afterwards. You die with such a pure mind. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:16 Highlight the passage at 1:11:16

1:11:25 We go straight back to square one. You have that tendency to be able to become enlightened. That's one of the reasons why, if you don't mind me saying, that after, what did the Bodhisattva Siddhartha Gautama do? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:25 Highlight the passage at 1:11:25

1:11:53 After he left home, he traveled for years. Trying to find solutions to these big problems of life. It was only much later he remembered the time as a seven-year-old kid. He was meditating under a rose apple tree while his father was doing a ceremony. And he was very bored. And then he closed his eyes and he entered the first jhāna. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:53 Highlight the passage at 1:11:53

1:12:23 And that's when he thought, you know, this is beautiful. What has beauty got to do with abandoning the world? Will it not make you more attached to the world? It was only much later when he'd left home, he remembered that experience because nothing else was working. In the Mahasachika Sutta, he thought, why am I afraid of the beautiful states of deep meditation I experienced as a seven-year-old? Report an error in the passage at 1:12:23 Highlight the passage at 1:12:23

1:12:55 And he said, I won't be afraid. Maybe that's going to lead to... To Bodhi, that's what he called it in the sutta, stages of enlightenment. He realized they would. So that's what he actually did next. Instead of being ascetic, he ate, drank, rested. And then when he sat meditation, he did the whole four jhānas. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:55 Highlight the passage at 1:12:55

1:13:20 And that made him our Buddha. He never gave that up. And that's what he always said was right meditation, samādhi. Of course, that depends on having practice, right, mindfulness, right, effort. I don't like that word, effort. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:20 Highlight the passage at 1:13:20

1:13:42 Instead, I say, right, what do I call it these days? Endeavor, yes. Effort is what you do, and it makes you tired. Instead of endeavor, you're working towards this. And all of the precepts, the virtue, and everything else about Making peace, being kind, being gentle. Enunciation, kindness and gentleness. It's the second factor of the Eightfold Path. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:42 Highlight the passage at 1:13:42

1:14:15 All of this that comes together. And don't be afraid. We know for a while, for a while, that the Vietnamese Buddhist community made a rule that no bhikkhu, no monk was allowed to teach jhāna to lay people. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:15 Highlight the passage at 1:14:15

1:14:41 What I'm doing here right now would have been illegal. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:41 Highlight the passage at 1:14:41

1:14:47 They said, why did you do that? They said, because it's too much trouble. That's what they said. But now, of course, the times have changed. And the Vietnamese Mahasangha, and the Mahasangha includes the Bhikkhunis as well over in Vietnam. Yes, teach. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:47 Highlight the passage at 1:14:47

1:15:11 And there's so many wonderful people. Achieving this chance, like people, they teach you, you've got a chance. Not teaching you seems to be one of the most meanest of things I could ever do. I refuse to do that. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:11 Highlight the passage at 1:15:11

1:15:37 Ajahn, there's another question on the live stream. Could I ask? I may go on over there. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:37 Highlight the passage at 1:15:37

1:15:46 Dear Venerable, I want to make a statement first before I ask the question. We are honoured that whenever you receive Report an error in the passage at 1:15:46 Highlight the passage at 1:15:46

1:16:10 global phenomenon in our opinion and it is very much appreciated that you always when you come here come to england you need to go into data Report an error in the passage at 1:16:10 Highlight the passage at 1:16:10

1:16:24 Um, and my question is, now, I am now 90 years old. So I am speaking with a new experience. I have come to a conclusion with the definition of the human being. If there is anything in the world which is pointless, purposeless, totally waste of time, is human existence. Do you agree with that? No. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:24 Highlight the passage at 1:16:24

1:17:08 I can see your point. Sometimes, why? What do we get out of living for 90 years? If it really is nothing, well done. Because nothing... That's where you start to question, what is this I which causes all the problem? And when that is seen for what it is, there's nothing there. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:08 Highlight the passage at 1:17:08

1:17:43 Then all those questions have, they just disappear. You don't make a self or an I out of anything. That's then the anattā idea. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:43 Highlight the passage at 1:17:43

1:17:56 Sometimes people find that so difficult to fathom. How can there be no one inside of here? You can see things happening. For my own sort of search for understanding of that, I never ever started to contemplate like who am I? Because that assumes you are something. You haven't found out who you are yet. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:56 Highlight the passage at 1:17:56

1:18:24 Instead I started to contemplate what do I take myself to be? And that was far more useful as a question. And I found there was two things which I always came back to. I am the one who does. I am the will. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:24 Highlight the passage at 1:18:24

1:18:44 There's something behind this will which I can identify with. The other one was I am the one that knows, that perceives. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:44 Highlight the passage at 1:18:44

1:18:54 And after doing lots of meditation you can see both of those are untrue. You are not a person who does things, who decides and chooses. That's what it seems like, it feels like. But after a while you go deeper in. Your perception starts to clear and get more profound. What is will? Will is not what you do. You've been conditioned to decide to do things. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:54 Highlight the passage at 1:18:54

1:19:27 And it's not your free will. It causes and affects. That's basically dependent origination. Why you do these things. And number two, we think that we are this receiver, which receives the data of the world. I am the one who knows. You're not. After a while, when you develop a few deep meditations, you find that the sense of knowing disappears. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:27 Highlight the passage at 1:19:27

1:19:59 You're still aware, but the idea of knowing vanishes as well. Sometimes that's hard to get your head around sometimes, but that's so true. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:59 Highlight the passage at 1:19:59

1:20:10 And those two things, if you aren't the person who does things, if you're not this being who knows things, who are you? Answer no one. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:10 Highlight the passage at 1:20:10

1:20:24 That's why in the suttas, the Buddha would always say that a person who is fully enlightened, how would they tell anybody? Anyone who says, I am enlightened, that's a dead giveaway, you're not. But how do people say, tell me? Report an error in the passage at 1:20:24 Highlight the passage at 1:20:24

1:20:45 And then they said, people come up to me and say, I don't think I'm better than anybody else, not worse, not the same. And the Buddha would turn around to Ananda and say, that's another enlightened one. Never better, never the same, never worse. I kind of like that, because that takes all the ego and the pride away, thinking that because you've meditated a long time, you're better than anybody else, or you're worse than anybody else, or the same as anybody else. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:45 Highlight the passage at 1:20:45

1:21:18 You stop judging. I mean, really stop judging. Yes, I am. I have been meditating for a long time now. This emptiness that I see, absolutely there is nothing. Yeah, there's nothing. And it's not just what you see that goes so deep inside of you that it just goes to every part of your existence. It's just not there anymore. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:18 Highlight the passage at 1:21:18

1:21:50 Freedom of last. If that's really true, it's amazing. Ask people to give you their worst criticism. And if they do, And you don't react. Great. The more I meditate, the more the emptiness arises. Yeah. Nothing there. It is totally meaningless and purposeless as a result of that. Yes. You know, sometime I had this little... I'm trying to get sort of examples so people can understand. I had this little box. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:50 Highlight the passage at 1:21:50

1:22:32 I call it my Nibbāna box. Do you remember seeing it? A little box. It just had one switch at the top. You turn the switch and the flap went up from the top of the box and the hand came out and turned the switch off and then went back again. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:32 Highlight the passage at 1:22:32

1:22:52 That's the Nibbāna box. Have you still got one of those? Okay. If ever you go to... Yeah. So the challenge... For the Sri Lankan community in Thames, Bodhiswihara. One of those machines lives at Anukampa Grove just outside of Oxford. Not that far. Oxford is really close by. So please go to Anukampa Grove, see the Nibbāna box and also just leave some food for poor old Ajahn Brahm. Report an error in the passage at 1:22:52 Highlight the passage at 1:22:52

1:23:34 Don't ever feed me. Look how flat I am. Report an error in the passage at 1:23:34 Highlight the passage at 1:23:34

1:23:44 It's an honor to have you in this temple. Thank you very much. Excellent. Excellent. I've got to be somewhere. Yeah, next question. Could we take one from the live? I think this is going to be helpful for many people. Yeah, take one from the live. The live stream, yeah. How do I assure my teenagers, teenagers anyway, that everything's going to be okay? Report an error in the passage at 1:23:44 Highlight the passage at 1:23:44

1:24:09 How to reassure those? A lot of times teenagers need similes which they can relate to. In other words, everything's going to be okay if you set up the causes for being okay, and the causes are so easy. I can only just go back to my being a teenager. One of the things as a teenager, I just never felt right about killing any animal. Report an error in the passage at 1:24:09 Highlight the passage at 1:24:09

1:24:44 And even as an 11 or 12 year old, I got a fishing rod. I always wanted to go fishing. And so as a kid, I had a fishing rod. But where can you go fishing in London? I said, you're born over in Acton. You can't put a line in the River Thames. There's no fish in it when I was young. It's polluted. But eventually, my father, my whole family went out to this lake where you paid, you know, 10... Report an error in the passage at 1:24:44 Highlight the passage at 1:24:44

1:25:14 Shillings or something, and he could fish. But my grandfather, I loved my grandfather, and he was going to teach me how to fish. So he set up the fishing rod, he cast the line, it got caught in a tree. This is a true story. It got caught in a tree, he yanked it, and he broke the rod. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:14 Highlight the passage at 1:25:14

1:25:35 I hated my grandfather for the next hour or two because it meant my fishing expedition was totally scuppered. But now when I look back upon it, what a wonderful grandfather that was. But for his not really knowing how to cast a line, I would have caught so many fish. I wouldn't have liked that at all. So I thanked him afterwards. But because of my good fortune, I never broke that rule. And then later on, stealing. Report an error in the passage at 1:25:35 Highlight the passage at 1:25:35

1:26:04 And my family were poor. And so, you know, if I didn't have to pay the fares on the bus, I wouldn't. Therefore, they should have asked me. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:04 Highlight the passage at 1:26:04

1:26:17 But I felt terrible after that, honestly. So I would always pay my fare, even if they never asked for it. I'd go up to them afterwards and say, you didn't ask me for the fare, here it is. And I felt so much happier that way. And then the third precept, you know what the third Buddhist precept is? Not misbehaving with sexuality. And honestly... Report an error in the passage at 1:26:17 Highlight the passage at 1:26:17

1:26:45 That's usually like if you've got a partner, just have one, not many. And as a teenager, look, honestly, ladies and boys, if you have two partners, the girls have two boyfriends, it's not worth it. It drives you mad and crazy. If you're a boy, there's no way I could afford a second girlfriend. I couldn't afford even one. Report an error in the passage at 1:26:45 Highlight the passage at 1:26:45

1:27:11 That was really tough. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:11 Highlight the passage at 1:27:11

1:27:15 So please don't mess around with sensuality. Sometimes people do it because they want it so much they don't realise the pain it's causing them. Not to lie, it's wonderful when people trust you, when you actually go up to them and say, look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that. If anybody says that to you, please forgive them. Don't shout at them and scold them. What's it like to be rejected as a teenager or as a young person? Report an error in the passage at 1:27:15 Highlight the passage at 1:27:15

1:27:51 It really hurts deeply. Most young men, young women, they just want to be liked. They want to realize there's nothing much wrong with them. They may not have made it yet in this world, but they know they will. Honestly, I was spending just yesterday with my family members, 10 years old, 7 years old, 8 years old, and 6 years old, my nieces and nephews. Report an error in the passage at 1:27:51 Highlight the passage at 1:27:51

1:28:19 That's either grandnieces and grandnephews. You know what they call me, of course? What's my title? Monkle, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:19 Highlight the passage at 1:28:19

1:28:35 That gives a sense of warmth there. Not attachment, but warmth. You know, you'd always do anything to try and help them, serve them, and make them feel that they belong, that they're good enough. Report an error in the passage at 1:28:35 Highlight the passage at 1:28:35

1:28:50 And the last one, such an obvious one. With teenagers today, why do some teenagers take drugs or alcohol? If you want to know why you shouldn't take alcohol, if you have a cat or a dog, put alcohol out for them instead of water. Will they drink it? Report an error in the passage at 1:28:50 Highlight the passage at 1:28:50

1:29:11 No way. So if you drink alcohol, you're worse than a dog. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:11 Highlight the passage at 1:29:11

1:29:20 That's being a bit hard, but why not, yeah. You know that's probably so. Sometimes, I got this problem the first time I went over to Australia. They said, I have to take alcohol because it's pressure from my peers. You know, everyone else takes some alcohol. So I have to. He said, no, you don't. I said, okay, I'll try it. And so the next time there was a party, you know, the guys come with the drinks and they said, you know, have a drink. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:20 Highlight the passage at 1:29:20

1:29:52 They said, no, I'm not. I'm a Buddhist. A Buddhist, the friend said. A Buddhist is a really great religion. It's all about letting go. Come on, let go, have a drink. Report an error in the passage at 1:29:52 Highlight the passage at 1:29:52

1:30:06 It didn't work. So then they tried something else. And at first I scolded them. I was the fool on this one. They said the next party they went to, when a man with a drink tray came along, and they said, no, I can't take an alcohol because it's doctor's orders. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:06 Highlight the passage at 1:30:06

1:30:28 If you heard that statement, it's doctor's orders, of course you wouldn't even argue with them. You care about people's physical health. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:28 Highlight the passage at 1:30:28

1:30:37 So he said it worked. And I looked at him and said, what are you talking about? You can't keep one precept by breaking another. Yeah, you're keeping that fifth precept, not taking an alcohol, but you're lying. There's nothing wrong with you. I know you're in good health. And that's when he scolded me. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:37 Highlight the passage at 1:30:37

1:30:55 He said, Ajahn Brahm, you know the sutras. How many times has a Buddha compared himself to being a doctor? It is the doctor's orders. The doctor Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 1:30:55 Highlight the passage at 1:30:55

1:31:09 I give in. That was a wonderful little response. Why? Report an error in the passage at 1:31:09 Highlight the passage at 1:31:09

1:31:20 You know that I was a happy student as well as a happy monk. And I never took any alcohol, never took drugs, not actually when I became a real Buddhist. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:20 Highlight the passage at 1:31:20

1:31:34 And you know what I thought, this is to the teenagers, I thought I won't be invited to any parties anymore if I don't drink alcohol. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:34 Highlight the passage at 1:31:34

1:31:44 I was invited to more parties than I ever thought possible. You know why? Because they always wanted somebody sober to drive them home. That was me. I was a designated driver because I did take alcohol. There's many advantages. That's one of the reasons why. For teenagers, look, don't just follow your peers, you know, the crowd. Just be an original. Report an error in the passage at 1:31:44 Highlight the passage at 1:31:44

1:32:13 Stand up for what you know works. This is something I've personally seen, not just in my own life, in other people's lives as well. Just how doing little things like being virtuous, helping one another, being kind to one another, keeping precepts, how that makes you a happier people. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:13 Highlight the passage at 1:32:13

1:32:34 I'm not just doing this because I want to show off Buddhism. I just want you to be happy. It's tough being a teenager. It pressures on you from all angles. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:34 Highlight the passage at 1:32:34

1:32:48 As a girl, you've got to be pretty. As a daughter or a son, you have to be smart. As so many other things. Your teachers give you stress and pressure all the time. Your friends give you stress. Your parents even. They've got the best will in the world. But don't always tell them to pass the exams. Passing exams doesn't make you successful in life. It's only part of success. Report an error in the passage at 1:32:48 Highlight the passage at 1:32:48

1:33:16 Much more than that. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:16 Highlight the passage at 1:33:16

1:33:20 I don't know, am I going too far? Anyway, that's my advice, teenagers. Have a wonderful life, enjoy yourself, and be confident. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:20 Highlight the passage at 1:33:20

1:33:35 Okay, next question. Okay, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:33:35 Highlight the passage at 1:33:35

1:33:44 Okay, Nadia in front has asked one already, so if anybody doesn't have another question. You've had one as well. Okay, yeah. Will you both get angry? No! Report an error in the passage at 1:33:44 Highlight the passage at 1:33:44

1:34:11 It's not mine. Okay, next question. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:11 Highlight the passage at 1:34:11

1:34:22 Yeah. Oh, good. but i have a question because um i recently lost my partner very suddenly and i have been struggling a lot with Grief because our relationship was complicated. So the topic of perception has come at a very timely time, effectively. And I'm just trying to reframe our relationship from when he was alive and trying to reconcile it with letting go of him in death as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:34:22 Highlight the passage at 1:34:22

1:35:05 So I just wondered how best to do that with the circumstances. Excellent. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:05 Highlight the passage at 1:35:05

1:35:16 First of all, I often tell the story of my own father's death. I was only 16 at the time. When he died, I never felt sad. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:16 Highlight the passage at 1:35:16

1:35:29 I've never cried after my father passed away. And that was when I was only 16. How many years now? 50, 55 years. More than that. Anyway, a long time. 59 years, yeah. in right now. Excellent. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:29 Highlight the passage at 1:35:29

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:35:45 Instead of perceiving the loss, that was so outweighed by the gain. Why is it when somebody passes away, we always tend to be negative? What have we lost? What have you gained by being the daughter of that man for such a long time? I don't mean like money. I'm talking about all the good advice he would have given you and all the love which he would have shared with you. Report an error in the passage at 1:35:45 Highlight the passage at 1:35:45

1:36:17 It was my own father who coined the term, son, the door of my heart will always be open to you no matter what you do in your life. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:17 Highlight the passage at 1:36:17

1:36:28 That meant so much to me. It was the first expression of unconditional love. The unconditional part of it. Nor may all beings be happy. Nor may all beings be well. There's more than that. No matter what you've done. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:28 Highlight the passage at 1:36:28

1:36:47 No matter who you are, no matter what other people in the world think of you, you're my son, and this door of my heart will always be open for you. Even right now, that has a power that's unconditional, the same as your dad. Your dad went through a lot of difficulty himself. Report an error in the passage at 1:36:47 Highlight the passage at 1:36:47

1:37:10 He tried his best. He would always love you. So please see the beautiful things which he's shared with you in this life. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:10 Highlight the passage at 1:37:10

1:37:22 Cultivate them, keep them. Any of the unpleasant things which he did to you, please forgive them. To hate any bad things which he did for you or to you. Sometimes people do that. There are some things which abuse their kids. Please have that wonderful power to say, I forgive. And number two, have that beautiful... Report an error in the passage at 1:37:22 Highlight the passage at 1:37:22

1:37:54 A remembrance of all the good memories you shared with your father over those years. And then, you know, I never feel sad about my father's passing away. Report an error in the passage at 1:37:54 Highlight the passage at 1:37:54

1:38:06 I just, 16 years, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. I wouldn't have missed that for the world. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:06 Highlight the passage at 1:38:06

1:38:17 And even if your father has been very cruel to you, this is what my own father said. To me, when I kept on asking him about my grandfather, my paternal grandfather, I said, why didn't you ever talk about him? And he was my grandfather, your dad. I never met him, never seen him. Why didn't you ever talk about him? And I pressed my dad so many times, eventually he told me. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:17 Highlight the passage at 1:38:17

1:38:46 He said, your grandfather was a bastard, he said. Please excuse the language. This is what my father said to me. He said he was very poor, unemployed in Liverpool. He's a plumber, going through the depression years. And when he would have any money, he would go to the pub and get drunk. And when he came home, he would take off his belt and he'd whip any kid he saw. He was drunk. Report an error in the passage at 1:38:46 Highlight the passage at 1:38:46

1:39:18 And my dad said he was often on the end of that belt. And the way it hurt... He'd done nothing wrong. What hurt even more was when he had to witness his mother, my grandfather's wife, being beaten for no reason whatsoever. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:18 Highlight the passage at 1:39:18

1:39:42 Domestic violence to everybody because my grandfather was desperate and had no job, no hope. That's why that happened. But then afterwards... He said, you know, the door of my heart is open no matter what. That forgiveness, that's how my father practiced. Report an error in the passage at 1:39:42 Highlight the passage at 1:39:42

1:40:11 Often, just being with my brother, discussing this, sometimes, you know, my brother and I would fight, young kids growing up, and sometimes my father would come into our bedroom, which we shared, with a slipper to come spank us. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:11 Highlight the passage at 1:40:11

1:40:34 He could never do it. He'd come into the room with a slipper and he'd put it down and go back. Because that was a vow he made. His vow was that if I survived these whippings from my own father, I will never, never, ever hurt any children which I make. And he never could. Experiences like that, how to deal with domestic violence, forgive it, learn how much it hurts. Report an error in the passage at 1:40:34 Highlight the passage at 1:40:34

1:41:08 That's an easy one to remember. And also, just to let it go. You don't have to repeat it anymore. How much does it hurt? A huge amount. It's not worth it. Sorry? Report an error in the passage at 1:41:08 Highlight the passage at 1:41:08

1:41:29 A few words about Anukampa. Oh yeah. The reason I'm here, as usual, is to support bhikkhunis in England. Please don't give too much money to the Anukampa Bhikkhuni project because if it's all paid off and the debt is gone and they're well supported, I don't need to come back again. Report an error in the passage at 1:41:29 Highlight the passage at 1:41:29

1:41:59 But we're not there yet. So please support this temple as well because a good temple will be coming here for such a long time and you're always welcoming me. But also the bhikkhunis. This year, if you haven't heard, I went to go and see... Report an error in the passage at 1:41:59 Highlight the passage at 1:41:59

1:42:49 So when we mentioned that, then shortly afterwards, the case was brought up in the Supreme Court in Sri Lanka. And then the top lawyers there, they debated it and they decided that it is unconstitutional to not treat bhikkhunis the same way they treat bhikkhus. And it is illegal. It's against the... The Human Rights Convention, which Sri Lanka signed up to actually to do that. So they voted never to do that again. I know apparently that one nun still has her documents or they can't put down on there that she's a bhikkhuni. Report an error in the passage at 1:42:49 Highlight the passage at 1:42:49

1:43:36 That is someone who's breaking the law there. That's illegal. And when we actually have equity, this is such a much nicer country, a richer country, a more peaceful country. How on earth can you say that a monk is better than a nun or a nun is better than a monk? Honestly, the Buddha never said that. Report an error in the passage at 1:43:36 Highlight the passage at 1:43:36

1:44:03 And if Sri Lanka is devoted to the teachings of the Buddha, please, never let that happen again. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:03 Highlight the passage at 1:44:03

1:44:14 If you're a woman and you want to live a monastic life, go for it. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:14 Highlight the passage at 1:44:14

1:44:22 That's right, when are you becoming or wearing brown? When? Saturday? Wow! It's only, it's Monday today, isn't it? Ajahn is the first time in Yucca history, as far as we know, that a woman is taking novice ordination with the possibility to train towards the full bhikkhuni ordination. So, until now, that's never been a pathway. So this is the historic first. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:22 Highlight the passage at 1:44:22

1:44:55 Yeah, isn't it? Are you going to? You two are going to have statues made of you. Thanks. We'll make one of you first, Ajahn. We'll use all the material to make your statue. There'll be more material, more kindness, more gratitude. Honestly, it's living an exciting time in UK. Report an error in the passage at 1:44:55 Highlight the passage at 1:44:55

1:45:21 It's not a small thing. It was hard enough for me to see opportunities for men. Who wanted to live the monastic life, to live the monastic life fully supported. And now to see that's available for women. Not just women. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:21 Highlight the passage at 1:45:21

1:45:40 LGBTQ... Members of the LGBTQIA plus community. Yay! Who are men and women, mostly. And some are gender non-binary and transgender. Imagine what it must feel like. Because just how you were born means you can't... Report an error in the passage at 1:45:40 Highlight the passage at 1:45:40

1:45:59 That's wrong. Imagine when everybody in UK has that opportunity and takes that opportunity. They feel so proud that, you know, the pathway which you choose is a pathway which is inclusive. It doesn't neglect anybody. Report an error in the passage at 1:45:59 Highlight the passage at 1:45:59

1:46:26 That makes me sort of feel, yeah, okay, I can keep on going on a few years longer to make sure that this is... Report an error in the passage at 1:46:26 Highlight the passage at 1:46:26

1:46:37 So please make it happen. And please, I also challenge Aya Chanda to let everybody know any problems which are occurring, and let everybody help solve those problems. You know how hard it is by doing it alone? Yeah. It's impossible. That's why, you know, I travel all this way. Yeah. About what others do as well. Yeah. There's so many people in the audience there would be so happy to help if they only knew what they needed to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:46:37 Highlight the passage at 1:46:37

1:47:12 Yeah. So I just want to thank everybody, actually. Of course, first of all, our teacher, Ajahn Brahm, for coming all this way in the Venerable Bhikkhu Saṅgha here at Thames Buddhist Bihara and everybody who supports the spread of the Dhamma. It's not about Bhikkhus or Bhikkhunis. It's about spreading the Dhamma to all beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:12 Highlight the passage at 1:47:12

1:47:31 And many of our supporters are here now, ex-trustees, current trustees, people who really helped us get going and brought us to where we are today. And one of the things that's really beautiful about our community is that although it takes a lot longer to establish than it would take for a monks community, because basically there's only one non and that's very lonely and very difficult without a saṅgha for support. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:31 Highlight the passage at 1:47:31

1:47:59 people who do support us are so loyal and so dedicated and it gives the whole community a different quality. It really feels like a family. It's intimate, it's deep, it's authentic, it's real. And I think my aim is that we can bring our whole self in a way like... ourselves as we are right now to the path so of course we can talk about non-self we can talk about everything being conditioned and empty and all the rest but we live in these bodies we live you know in our gender we live with our particular cultural background our particular skin color etc and to create a place which is inclusive is my aspiration to not replicate those systems of you know patriarchal systems that leave other people out and I think Thank you very much for that. Report an error in the passage at 1:47:59 Highlight the passage at 1:47:59

1:49:18 that oh and if uh do you want to say Report an error in the passage at 1:49:18 Highlight the passage at 1:49:18

1:49:27 So you're free to let go over there. There's a donation buckets and there's multiple ways for which you to practice your generosity and to support Venerable Ajahn Brahm. And they're growing in the Saṅgha. Yes. You Report an error in the passage at 1:49:27 Highlight the passage at 1:49:27

1:49:51 can find information about where we are and how to get involved, how to donate. food, which we need. We don't have a lot of dharma offerings in the way that the Bhikkhu Saṅgha does, maybe because it's unfamiliar to offer to nuns, but people who do come find it worthwhile. So hopefully you can come and join in for lunch. Report an error in the passage at 1:49:51 Highlight the passage at 1:49:51

1:50:16 Excellent. Okay. Would you like to say something? Report an error in the passage at 1:50:16 Highlight the passage at 1:50:16

1:50:50 believe that we all have it. Wonderful evening today. Our most venerable Ajahn Brahm gave a very useful Dharma talk sharing useful and meaningful his personal stories and other stories. Report an error in the passage at 1:50:50 Highlight the passage at 1:50:50

1:51:15 Let's bless him together. May the blessings May these blessings help Bante to attain supreme bliss of nirvāṇa and also may these blessings help Bante to have strength to do this. great service for many many years and also i thank our Rikuni Chanda and other friends who helped to have this wonderful evening today and also i must remember our Rishani Nona she organized this event today and all the Friends, devotees who gathered here, may you all be well, happy and in peace. May the Triple Gem be with you all. Report an error in the passage at 1:51:15 Highlight the passage at 1:51:15

1:52:34 in your son's name. Report an error in the passage at 1:52:34 Highlight the passage at 1:52:34