Guided Meditation

0:00 Recording is working, not the live stream. That's good enough, 50%. Actually, it's working now. Now I'm disappointed. That's why, you know that sometimes I told people that 70 % is my definition of good enough. Because you can't get things absolutely perfect in life. That's why 70%, if you get 70 % in an exam, do you pass? Is that true you pass at 70 %? Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:44 50 % you pass. That's even better. 50 % is good enough. And so I like that idea, 70 % or you say 50 % is good enough. Because sometimes you look at yourself, your meditation, your work, Your house, you know, if you own it or not, the bank owns it. You say, well, I own half of it. The bank owns the other half. Report an error in the passage at 0:44 Highlight the passage at 0:44

1:14 That's fair enough. Is it? What do you say? You're very lucky. I don't own anything of my small house, my cave. The Buddhist Society of Western Australia owns it. I don't own anything. Isn't that wonderful? But I still look after it. it and I still lock the door and keep other people out Report an error in the passage at 1:14 Highlight the passage at 1:14

1:43 you know i don't own it but i enjoy it trying to have peace you know with owning little okay i should have said at the beginning if anybody's come to the introduction to meditation that is the room on my right Thank you for being here. And it's nice to know how easy The meditation can be, again, when you make peace, be kind and be gentle. Is that hard to do? Report an error in the passage at 1:43 Highlight the passage at 1:43

2:20 To make peace? Make peace is not quite what the Buddha said. I did mention in Bodhinyana, the last talk I gave to the monks, or the one before one of them, but the make peace, as the Buddha said, it's like renunciation. Report an error in the passage at 2:20 Highlight the passage at 2:20

2:40 Don't want anything for yourself. Just to be, see how free one can be. How many things do you own? Report an error in the passage at 2:40 Highlight the passage at 2:40

2:55 You know, honestly, I don't own much at all. And that's really true. Sometimes when you go overseas and people say, how much are you bringing into the country? Nothing. I'm surprised that they let me in to these foreign countries. I don't have any assets, I'm being honest there. But when I get to the country and land, there's always a lot of people to make sure they look after me. Report an error in the passage at 2:55 Highlight the passage at 2:55

3:26 My assets, all the friends which you've made over so many years, not my money, but the kindness of others. And that kindness of others is always one of the biggest assets. How many people are kind to you and happy to see you? When you get back to the home or the area where you live, if you made people really love to see you again and are kind to see you again, to me that's an example of wealth. Report an error in the passage at 3:26 Highlight the passage at 3:26

4:02 Not wealth in terms of dollars, but wealth in the amount of kindness you've shown to others and how that kindness has come into your own heart and your practice. And your meditation gets more and more peaceful and more and more gentle. Why does it get peaceful? Why is that kindness and gentleness making peace? Report an error in the passage at 4:02 Highlight the passage at 4:02

4:26 One of the reasons is because when you make peace through kindness, you know you've got nothing you need to think about, nothing you need to worry about. Report an error in the passage at 4:26 Highlight the passage at 4:26

4:40 I know sometimes, can I be honest with you? Sometimes people criticize me at Bodhinyana Monastery for being too soft, being too kind. And I say, no, I make my own rules there, and I'll always be more kind than others expect. Yeah, they may do wrong things, but the kindness is allowing them to get enough mindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 4:40 Highlight the passage at 4:40

5:15 And enough awareness, they know they've been doing silly things, and so they stop doing it. If you use fear, fear of being caught, or fear of being punished, that doesn't work. Report an error in the passage at 5:15 Highlight the passage at 5:15

5:33 And I've been doing that for so many years now. The first time I took over as the head monk of Bodhinyana Monastery, that time the Anagarika all in white misbehaved. He came to see me, said he hadn't slept all night. And so I said, please, you know, learn your mistake. Forgive yourself and just carry on. And he said, that's not good enough. He was one of those people who thought if you do something wrong, you need to be punished. Report an error in the passage at 5:33 Highlight the passage at 5:33

6:10 And he said, if you don't punish me, you're the boss, the abbot. If you don't punish me, I'll do the same thing again. Report an error in the passage at 6:10 Highlight the passage at 6:10

6:21 So I decided I had to invent a Buddhist punishment. And I'd just been reading the history book about Australia. When it was first founded, they had this terrible, disgusting, brutal punishment. 50 strokes of the cat. You know what that means, don't you? Like a whipping. So I said to this Adegarika, if that's what you really want, I will administer force you to take 50 strokes of the cat. And I always remember that because he thought, he actually thought I was really going to whip him. Report an error in the passage at 6:21 Highlight the passage at 6:21

7:09 Then I explained what 50 strokes of the cat meant in Buddhism. At that time in Bodhinyana Monastery, we had two cats. One of them was Kit Kat, the other one we called Mit Kat. Two little cats. So take one on your lap. Stroke it once, twice, three times, and up to 50 times. And that's a punishment of 50 strokes of the cat. Report an error in the passage at 7:09 Highlight the passage at 7:09

7:42 Learn some kindness, some compassion. That's what this young man didn't have. Enough kindness and compassion to be able to grow. Report an error in the passage at 7:42 Highlight the passage at 7:42

7:55 And it's wonderful to seeing similar advice. given by the Buddha in the suttas and the Vinaya. As long as you don't hide what you've done, you let somebody know and take the advice, they call that growth in the spiritual path, not punishment. Report an error in the passage at 7:55 Highlight the passage at 7:55

8:18 So I never act out of fear. We act out of kindness, make peace, be kind, be gentle. So every time your meditation... It goes in a way you never expected. Don't ever think your meditation was wrong. Always feel your meditation was different. You have something more to learn. And I don't mean that as a punishment to learn so you can be better in the future. Report an error in the passage at 8:18 Highlight the passage at 8:18

8:53 And that came from my first meditation teacher. He was wise enough to tell me there's no such thing as a bad meditation. A bad meditation, that concept does not exist. You're adding something which is not there. It's a meditation, it followed cause and effect, and it was different than you expected. So you learn. Report an error in the passage at 8:53 Highlight the passage at 8:53

9:22 And as you learn, you find out you know the reasons why it wasn't what you expected. Someone asked me about these things called nimittas in the mind. These beautiful lights which appear. And they said, yes, they had some lights appear in their mind. It's a very deep state of meditation. But they said they were on the edge of their mind, not in the center. What should they do? You know what the answer is? Nothing. Report an error in the passage at 9:22 Highlight the passage at 9:22

9:56 That's always my answer. So you don't need to actually ask the questions. You know what my answer is going to be? Nothing. You do nothing. Report an error in the passage at 9:56 Highlight the passage at 9:56

10:07 And I kind of liked the idea of a simile. It's like the nimitta is just checking you out. Are you ready to have this beautiful light settle in the center of your mind? Report an error in the passage at 10:07 Highlight the passage at 10:07

10:21 And if you are relaxed enough, at peace enough, then it just comes. It may start at the edge, just checking you out. It comes and settles all by itself right in the middle. And then you go deeper into these meditations. Report an error in the passage at 10:21 Highlight the passage at 10:21

10:37 But it's not something which is wrong. It is something which you have to learn, to be a little bit more still, a little bit more peaceful, and the nimitta comes right in the center. Or sometimes people feel, oh, they're too sleepy, sloth and torpor is too much. I learned the answer to that, again, through realizing that when I was in Northeast Thailand, I wasn't sleeping enough. Report an error in the passage at 10:37 Highlight the passage at 10:37

11:08 The climate wasn't good for me. It was really hot all the time. And just meditating in the jungles, it was just really just almost like the air was pressing on you. And so after a while, when I ate better, slept a little bit more, only another half an hour more, then I had no sloth and torpor at all. Report an error in the passage at 11:08 Highlight the passage at 11:08

11:31 Meditation was easy. And if any time, because I hadn't slept well, If that was ever the course, what I would do is just allow myself to be sleepy. Report an error in the passage at 11:31 Highlight the passage at 11:31

11:52 Let it be. Make peace, be kind, be gentle. When I made peace, be kind, be gentle, the sloth and torpor only lasted a short time. Then my back straightened up, my mind became clear. clear automatically. Automatically, it's like my brain would just say, can I just have a break for five minutes? I gave it that five minutes, however long it wanted, I didn't count the minutes. Report an error in the passage at 11:52 Highlight the passage at 11:52

12:22 And then the body became straight, the head became nice and erect, and my mind became really clear. That's how I battled, not battled, almost like called a truce, you know, with sloth and torpor. And sloth and torpor just vanished. Same as restlessness. Okay, mind, if you want to be restless, you can. They never wanted to be restless. Report an error in the passage at 12:22 Highlight the passage at 12:22

12:52 It's like the simile, if you've got a boss who's always kind to you, always say, if you need to take a break, fine. Then you don't want to take a break. Report an error in the passage at 12:52 Highlight the passage at 12:52

13:04 That's my human resources advice to any big company. Be kind to your workers. Then your workers will be kind to you. So there's a few people here. I'm the boss too. Elle. Report an error in the passage at 13:04 Highlight the passage at 13:04

13:25 She's one of our admin assistants. Am I kind to you? Wow, look at that. She's in deep meditation. That means I'm not kind at all. I disturb you. I'm sorry. Okay, take a nick at the back. Am I a kind boss? Or really a control freak? Report an error in the passage at 13:25 Highlight the passage at 13:25

13:49 Okay, thank you. Report an error in the passage at 13:49 Highlight the passage at 13:49

13:54 Was Aurora down there? Oh, she's hiding, that's why. Am I a kind boss? She's only saying that because if I really am a bad boss, I'll sack her. Report an error in the passage at 13:54 Highlight the passage at 13:54

14:08 Is that true? No. No way. And you get so much more out of workers and so much more fun, smiling, good energies when you are that kind. So anyway, that's how you improve your meditation. Report an error in the passage at 14:08 Highlight the passage at 14:08

14:27 May peace, be kind, be gentle. So if you have any trouble in the meditation, just open your eyes and you can read it right in front. Okay, so let's get into the meditation now. I'll be kind enough to stop speaking, except just a bit of guidance. Report an error in the passage at 14:27 Highlight the passage at 14:27

14:49 So if you close your eyes and just check your posture. My Report an error in the passage at 14:49 Highlight the passage at 14:49

15:14 eyes closed. I can feel the state of my body and the state of my mind. I don't need to look at it anymore. I know whether I'm in a good posture by how it feels. And straight away, I know that the toes on my right foot are being squashed between my left leg. I Report an error in the passage at 15:14 Highlight the passage at 15:14

15:47 know that that's no problem for the first five minutes, but usually that will cause an ache or a pain after 10 or 15 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 15:47 Highlight the passage at 15:47

15:59 So I adjust my posture. Report an error in the passage at 15:59 Highlight the passage at 15:59

16:14 When I adjust my posture, I check it really carefully. I like just getting to know my toes and how they feel. I'm Report an error in the passage at 16:14 Highlight the passage at 16:14

16:31 aware of them. Report an error in the passage at 16:31 Highlight the passage at 16:31

16:38 And honestly, I love doing this. I find a sense of delight in caring for my own body. I relax my toes. I relax the balls of my feet. Report an error in the passage at 16:38 Highlight the passage at 16:38

16:59 The instep between the balls of my feet and my heels. Sometimes I don't like saying soul. Report an error in the passage at 16:59 Highlight the passage at 16:59

17:12 And then the heels of my feet, just check them. They Report an error in the passage at 17:12 Highlight the passage at 17:12

17:20 really feel at ease. I don't care if you're a female, male, old, young, transgender or whatever. Feelings in these parts of your body are pretty similar for all people here. Report an error in the passage at 17:20 Highlight the passage at 17:20

17:40 You know which parts of your body are very sensitive, easy to feel, and which parts you haven't really got to know yet. When you do get to know them, you can improve the relationship you have with the ankles and the rest of the body. Report an error in the passage at 17:40 Highlight the passage at 17:40

18:04 You can be far more caring of them. That's why we have this beautiful kindfulness. Report an error in the passage at 18:04 Highlight the passage at 18:04

18:17 Kindness together with mindfulness. So Report an error in the passage at 18:17 Highlight the passage at 18:17

· · · silence, 1 minute

18:54 I'm relaxing my feet part by part and my ankles. I'm kind to your ankles. I care about you. I'm trying to relax you to the max. And Report an error in the passage at 18:54 Highlight the passage at 18:54

19:16 I go up my legs, my calves and the skin of my lower legs. I Report an error in the passage at 19:16 Highlight the passage at 19:16

19:32 do go on a walk in the mornings. I call it arms round. About an hour, a bit less. And sometimes I notice, if I do this meditation straight after the alms round, I feel the tiredness of these old legs. But by now, it's all been relaxed to the max. So I go up to my knees, above my calves and my legs. Report an error in the passage at 19:32 Highlight the passage at 19:32

20:06 As I go to those knees, they're in a really good state today. No ache, no pain. Report an error in the passage at 20:06 Highlight the passage at 20:06

20:18 It's hard to find similes, but sometimes it's like you've been soaking your legs in a bath and the water stays warm and the whole legs relax so deeply. Report an error in the passage at 20:18 Highlight the passage at 20:18

20:41 They're more pleasurable than normal. I don't mean essential pleasure. I just see the light of relaxation. There's nothing to attend to in my legs. They're all at peace. And Report an error in the passage at 20:41 Highlight the passage at 20:41

21:03 they return my kindness with the fact that I ask for anything for them. They're satisfied. They're at peace. I make sure if there's anything, legs, which you need, please let me know. Report an error in the passage at 21:03 Highlight the passage at 21:03

21:26 Then I go to those buttocks. When Report an error in the passage at 21:26 Highlight the passage at 21:26

21:32 I first look at those buttocks, yeah, they do ache a bit. Because of the pressure of the body being transferred onto the cushion and into the floor, supporting me. Report an error in the passage at 21:32 Highlight the passage at 21:32

21:49 I just make sure, I call it just making sure that feeling in the buttocks is even. So not all concentrated on one point, but spread out over a larger area. And I know that feeling can disappear so easily when it doesn't change. And go to my waist. Report an error in the passage at 21:49 Highlight the passage at 21:49

22:18 And I know that I do manufacture a position for my waist. I noticed that years ago when I did have an accident to my spine. Now I know just how to put it and just it feels really good. Go up my spine making sure everything is nice and at ease. Report an error in the passage at 22:18 Highlight the passage at 22:18

22:46 And the solution if it's not at ease I just pause and give it kindness. That kindness is really, really powerful. That's when you have this mindfulness scanning your back and when you feel a discomfort anywhere, give that area kindness, real big kindness. And Report an error in the passage at 22:46 Highlight the passage at 22:46

23:20 you find it just, the pain vanishing. And as I said many times over the last few days, just like going to sit, going playing soccer in the street. When I was a young boy and falling over, hurting my knee, and blood was coming out, and I was running to my mother, Mommy, I've hurt my knee. And she would bend down and kiss it better, her mouth full of germs on her son's open wound. Report an error in the passage at 23:20 Highlight the passage at 23:20

24:06 It just, it happened once and every time. It's just like expected. It's the best painkiller, kindness. And it always worked for me. Report an error in the passage at 24:06 Highlight the passage at 24:06

24:24 I learned that from my mother. Report an error in the passage at 24:24 Highlight the passage at 24:24

24:31 So if I find anything in my back which is a bit tight, tense, I can't kiss it better, but I do the metaphorical kiss it better pause, give it so much kindness, and allow it to relax to the max. And the pain, or the tumor, Report an error in the passage at 24:31 Highlight the passage at 24:31

24:57 If it's caused by an incipient cancer, it vanishes. And Report an error in the passage at 24:57 Highlight the passage at 24:57

25:08 I go to the bottom of my body again and scan up my body, scan up through my digestive tract. If I notice any aches or pains or tightness anywhere, I just relax that to the max with kindness. Report an error in the passage at 25:08 Highlight the passage at 25:08

25:36 That's how I heal. My body, if there's any injuries, bruising, tightness, I just open out to everything. So the kindness is just so strong. I get up to my stomach and give that a huge amount of kindness. And that kind of relaxes. It opens up my Report an error in the passage at 25:36 Highlight the passage at 25:36

26:12 whole body in that area. It's kind of open. I'm not holding it tight. I'm not constricting it. I'm bringing it to a state of peace, so I have no worries anywhere in my digestive tract or stomach. Report an error in the passage at 26:12 Highlight the passage at 26:12

26:39 I go up to my lungs, my heart region, and I love saying this. On Tuesday, I gave my annual talk at the Cancer Research Association, now called Solaris. Report an error in the passage at 26:39 Highlight the passage at 26:39

26:58 I've been going there for over 30 years, teaching how I avoid things like a cancer. I see anything which is abnormally tight, like an underlying ache, I'm mindful of it. I'm not afraid. You go into it, not with thought, not the usual investigation, which is usually taken over with fear. Report an error in the passage at 26:58 Highlight the passage at 26:58

27:36 Go really into it with kindness and relaxing it all. I Report an error in the passage at 27:36 Highlight the passage at 27:36

27:48 go to my heart region. Report an error in the passage at 27:48 Highlight the passage at 27:48

27:53 Today, apparently, is Valentine's Day. I prefer having a peaceful heart than an excited heart. So I bring so much peace to that region of my body where my heart is. So much kindness. And Report an error in the passage at 27:53 Highlight the passage at 27:53

28:21 that's not causing me any problems. Go up to my shoulders, relax those. Report an error in the passage at 28:21 Highlight the passage at 28:21

28:32 Allow my attention to go down each arm, past my elbows, forearms, wrists, when I get to my fingers. I don't know why I do this. Sometimes I should learn to do better. But my fingers, when I get to them in this scanning my body, beginning of meditation, are always in the wrong place. place they are now. So I'll just move them. Report an error in the passage at 28:32 Highlight the passage at 28:32

29:09 They're in a much, much better place now for my body. Right hand over the left hand, thumb slightly touching. Report an error in the passage at 29:09 Highlight the passage at 29:09

29:21 And I'm aware of their response when I've moved them. It is like each finger and the two thumbs. Thank you for paying attention to us. Thank you for giving us... A bit of extra kindness. I Report an error in the passage at 29:21 Highlight the passage at 29:21

29:48 know from now on and to the end of the meditation, my fingers will be so happy with me. They won't cause me any trouble. Report an error in the passage at 29:48 Highlight the passage at 29:48

30:00 So I can let them be. They go up to my neck. Check that out. There's still a slight irritation from that coughing. It's very, very light. Report an error in the passage at 30:00 Highlight the passage at 30:00

30:21 They go up to the top of my respiratory tract. I do notice a little bit of congestion in my nose. I think that was related to that coughing. Report an error in the passage at 30:21 Highlight the passage at 30:21

30:39 So I put my attention on my nose, give it a big heap of kindness. I trust my body to look after itself. And Report an error in the passage at 30:39 Highlight the passage at 30:39

30:55 I go to my face, around my eyes, my mouth and my nose. I can feel the sensations in that area of my head. I relax them all. Report an error in the passage at 30:55 Highlight the passage at 30:55

31:12 My eyes keep closed but not screwed down tightly. My mouth, when I'm not speaking, is open enough to do some of the breathing because my nose is a bit blocked, not too much. And Report an error in the passage at 31:12 Highlight the passage at 31:12

31:38 the whole of my face, you can feel it relaxing more and more and more. And Report an error in the passage at 31:38 Highlight the passage at 31:38

31:47 I include the feelings in the rest of my body. Having examined the parts of the body one by one, it's like I now join everything together. My whole body has been relaxed. My whole body feels at peace. I'm not doing this with any force at all. Report an error in the passage at 31:47 Highlight the passage at 31:47

32:19 Just kindness. Report an error in the passage at 32:19 Highlight the passage at 32:19

32:25 Kindness relaxes things. Report an error in the passage at 32:25 Highlight the passage at 32:25

32:44 Pausing now. When I relax like this, it starts to feel very... Very pleasant. I Report an error in the passage at 32:44 Highlight the passage at 32:44

33:01 indulge in that pleasure of relaxation until Report an error in the passage at 33:01 Highlight the passage at 33:01

33:12 I feel this beautiful sense of happiness, joy. The Buddha would call it pīti sukha. And Report an error in the passage at 33:12 Highlight the passage at 33:12

33:26 that's going to be very, very useful when I start relaxing my mind. When Report an error in the passage at 33:26 Highlight the passage at 33:26

33:39 whatever you are aware of is joyful. The awareness becomes almost automatic. It takes no effort. Report an error in the passage at 33:39 Highlight the passage at 33:39

33:54 Making peace, being kind, being gentle is Report an error in the passage at 33:54 Highlight the passage at 33:54

34:00 an easy thing to do. And Report an error in the passage at 34:00 Highlight the passage at 34:00

34:07 I feel that peace now. Report an error in the passage at 34:07 Highlight the passage at 34:07

34:15 And if that peace is not very clear to me, it's always because that I haven't let go of past and future. And Report an error in the passage at 34:15 Highlight the passage at 34:15

34:30 last week I gave that simile. The two heavy loads you've been carrying, the past and the future, I'm not saying to drop the past and the future totally, but right now, drop them. Report an error in the passage at 34:30 Highlight the passage at 34:30

34:48 Let them go on the floor, move your hands away from them, so you're not carrying anything in this meditation, except the initial or the inherent weight of the hands and the fingers, nothing else. Report an error in the passage at 34:48 Highlight the passage at 34:48

35:08 You put the past and the future down. You Report an error in the passage at 35:08 Highlight the passage at 35:08

35:14 can deal with them later if you want to. But right now, it's like the past and the future don't exist for you. You are perfectly in this present moment. And Report an error in the passage at 35:14 Highlight the passage at 35:14

35:33 even here, there's always I can't think in the present moment. You can know, but you don't assess what just happened in the past. Report an error in the passage at 35:33 Highlight the passage at 35:33

35:47 You don't try and predict what will happen in the future. You just stay right now. So there's no I should do this or I'm doing something wrong. If you notice something wrong, you have to compare it to what you heard before in the present moment. All my knowledge, the knowledge which you know in words, vanishes and the future doesn't exist. Report an error in the passage at 35:47 Highlight the passage at 35:47

36:24 It's what you make right now that Report an error in the passage at 36:24 Highlight the passage at 36:24

36:31 feels so free. Report an error in the passage at 36:31 Highlight the passage at 36:31

36:36 Fear the past and the future and enjoying the present moment. I'm Report an error in the passage at 36:36 Highlight the passage at 36:36

36:49 not going to say anymore until the end of the meditation. Allow you to enjoy. See what happens with the rest of the meditation. Report an error in the passage at 36:49 Highlight the passage at 36:49

· · · silence, 14 minutes

50:42 Getting close to the end of the meditation. Do not open your eyes yet. A couple of minutes. But notice how you feel. Report an error in the passage at 50:42 Highlight the passage at 50:42

51:00 That's how you think it feels, and how it actually feels. If Report an error in the passage at 51:00 Highlight the passage at 51:00

51:30 you can discover why many people say peace is one of the highest happinesses, and Report an error in the passage at 51:30 Highlight the passage at 51:30

· · · silence, 1 minute

52:47 when it feels right, please open your eyes. I will ring the gong to assist. Any Report an error in the passage at 52:47 Highlight the passage at 52:47

· · · silence, 1 minute

53:58 questions? Oh, I was, okay, well done. Thank Report an error in the passage at 53:58 Highlight the passage at 53:58

54:12 you. Report an error in the passage at 54:12 Highlight the passage at 54:12

54:16 One question. I'm from Germany. Dear Ajahn Brahm, since I am severely ill, I constantly think of death. How can I stop that? I want happy thoughts. Why do people feel that death is an unhappy state if Report an error in the passage at 54:16 Highlight the passage at 54:16

54:44 you've done very well in your life and done many, many good, wonderful things? Then you look at death in a totally different way. Freedom. Look as a monk. Report an error in the passage at 54:44 Highlight the passage at 54:44

55:04 I know people tell me off for having a weird idea of how death is. If I'm a monk, I've taught so much. I've done lots and lots of good karma. Report an error in the passage at 55:04 Highlight the passage at 55:04

55:17 So I'm not afraid of death. And even if a person has passed away, they can still come to temples and listen to good talks. Report an error in the passage at 55:17 Highlight the passage at 55:17

55:30 I often say that in the existence of heavenly beings. If you were a heavenly being, where would you come on a Saturday afternoon? I Report an error in the passage at 55:30 Highlight the passage at 55:30

55:47 hope to hear. So heavenly beings can listen to dharma talks. Report an error in the passage at 55:47 Highlight the passage at 55:47

55:56 Heavenly beings can listen to dharma and they can gain stages of enlightenment as heavenly beings. So sometimes. If I, honestly I think like this, I know this is true, that if I was not fully enlightened, and if I died, I could come back, it wouldn't disturb anybody, make sure that everything runs smoothly here, and listen to some great dharma. Report an error in the passage at 55:56 Highlight the passage at 55:56

56:38 So you look at death, not in the negative way, which we've been taught to look at death, because it's in a totally different way. Report an error in the passage at 56:38 Highlight the passage at 56:38

56:50 A state of peace, not absolute peace yet, still some more to learn. But still, you never feel anything is harmful or hurtful to you. Report an error in the passage at 56:50 Highlight the passage at 56:50

57:05 So if you are severely ill and you constantly think of death, let that happen. And if you don't fight it, and if you are thinking about death, you're just thinking about the death. death of your body, just five senses. There's another sense that you're not even contemplating, that sixth sense, the mind. Report an error in the passage at 57:05 Highlight the passage at 57:05

57:34 and that sense of the mind, the physical death which you're worried about. How many of you want to know the answer to things like what happens to you when you die? You have the opportunity to find out. Report an error in the passage at 57:34 Highlight the passage at 57:34

57:57 Not just find out. Find out all the other things which are going on in this world, which some people, unless you have deep meditation and can contact your previous lives, you don't know about. Report an error in the passage at 57:57 Highlight the passage at 57:57

58:11 I always put the positive twist on anything which happens in life, even with death. So what I advise you to do, if you are very worried about death, when it happens, come over here to Perth. Okay, this is a question from Germany. But one of the great things that when you do die is you're not confined to your body. Report an error in the passage at 58:11 Highlight the passage at 58:11

58:40 So what people sometimes say is, well, out of the body experiences, of course those are free for you then. Find out what's really going on. Wouldn't that be wonderful? And there's something else I've always noticed. That sometimes... If you haven't made enough good karma in your life, sometimes you can tell one of our treasurers or admin officer what the lottery number is going to be next week. Report an error in the passage at 58:40 Highlight the passage at 58:40

59:16 Apparently, these heavenly beings can do that. I don't know if you have heard this true story. There's a Tibetan monastery on Kampasik Road. That's one of the closest Buddhist monasteries to Giji Ganap. But it's on the edge of those hills. Some of you may have been to visit it. And they were looking at many pieces of land. Report an error in the passage at 59:16 Highlight the passage at 59:16

59:49 And then one of the main sponsors, you know, they could not afford anything really big. One of the main sponsors had the insight to buy a lottery ticket. And it won. And he told the other people. Trying to get funds for this place. Buy it. They'd won quite a lot of money on the state lottery. Report an error in the passage at 59:49 Highlight the passage at 59:49

1:00:23 We never had to do that here. The heavenly beings help us in so many other ways. With donations and stuff. I love the way that... Honestly, if we have a project, and it's a beautiful project, I do ask the devas to help. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:23 Highlight the passage at 1:00:23

1:00:46 We never have any problem. You've heard me tell all those stories. Even like Giti Ganap, Dhammasara. I remember telling Ajahn Chaitamala when he came to visit recently. And we both giggled about it. We went, that piece of land was up for auction. And I asked our treasurer, how much do we have in our accounts? Report an error in the passage at 1:00:46 Highlight the passage at 1:00:46

1:01:21 He said, well, look, I've added it all up, and the very, very most, and the way it's stretching it, we'd have to take loans and borrow from this and borrow from that, but we could bid up to 600,000 Aussie dollars. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:21 Highlight the passage at 1:01:21

1:01:38 And I thought, what happens if it's more than that? We just can't do it. So I went there an hour earlier before the auction with Ajahn Chaitamala, and we did a really lot of chanting. When he did it, we meant it. And then when the auction came, there was good old Eddie Fernando, who was our person doing the bidding for us, and he got up to 600,000. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:38 Highlight the passage at 1:01:38

1:02:12 He bidded 600,000, and then someone else bid 625. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:12 Highlight the passage at 1:02:12

1:02:21 We'd come so close, we lost. And then Eddie, good old Eddie. He broke all the things which he was told to do and put his hand up for 6.50. And our poor old treasurer was having a heart attack. It's okay for people to do the bidding, but if you can't afford it, what are you going to do? And I was standing next to him. He said, Ajahn Brahm, just do something. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:21 Highlight the passage at 1:02:21

1:02:52 We can't afford this. I said, shut up. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:52 Highlight the passage at 1:02:52

1:02:59 We'll find a way, which we always did. So it passed at 6.50. And that was actually the lowest part which the auctioneer, the lowest amount the auctioneer would accept from the owners. Nothing less than 650. And we just got it. I just remember that time. I forgot about how we were going to afford it. The fact that we got that property. And I remember coming back here, I forget what day, and telling it to all of the Buddhists on a Friday night. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:59 Highlight the passage at 1:02:59

1:03:37 And they all started clapping. And of course we got there. We raised a bit more funds here and a bit more funds there. Because it was happening, it was real. And I always think those are heavenly beings helping us. So these are the things that are heavenly beings. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:37 Highlight the passage at 1:03:37

1:04:02 So if any of the person in Germany who was dying, Dying. Great. Great. If you're going to have to die, we're going to die sometimes. Please see if you can help make sure there's like a good monastery over there. Or you can go and help out our monastery over in England. Or go and help out our monasteries over here. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:02 Highlight the passage at 1:04:02

1:04:31 Come and be a heavenly being in Australia. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:31 Highlight the passage at 1:04:31

1:04:38 Why not? So anyway, I look at life and death in a totally different way than most other people. So, and also, if you do die, this person in Germany, please let me know. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:38 Highlight the passage at 1:04:38

1:05:01 It's not that hard. There was this one lady, told these really weird stories. She was a Sri Lankan. She had a very, very bad disease, a bad cancer. She went over to Singapore to be treated. And her sister, Who was there with her, looking after her, called me up during the rains retreat. Well, you know, you usually go and retreat yourself, you don't answer calls. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:01 Highlight the passage at 1:05:01

1:05:34 She said, would you mind speaking with her? So on the telephone, at a certain time every day for three days in a row, I spoke to her, gave her some advice on dying. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:34 Highlight the passage at 1:05:34

1:05:48 And those three days... You know, we had a nice conversation. Not really a conversation. I did all the talking. She couldn't speak. On the fourth day, she never called. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:48 Highlight the passage at 1:05:48

1:06:02 And I realized she'd died. On the fifth day, the sister called and said, I'd like you to know two things. First, my sister died yesterday. I said, yeah, I know that. And he said, but also, just about eight hours after she passed away, Report an error in the passage at 1:06:02 Highlight the passage at 1:06:02

1:06:22 She sent me an email. And the email was, thank you for looking after me and please thank Ajahn Brahm for his advice. I have to tell you that. And that was eight hours after she was confirmed dead. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:22 Highlight the passage at 1:06:22

1:06:45 That's what they told me. I've got no reason to doubt it. So Report an error in the passage at 1:06:45 Highlight the passage at 1:06:45

1:06:56 that's how it works. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:56 Highlight the passage at 1:06:56

1:07:00 So please try that. What you do... when you get to those last few breaths make a determination I must send an Okay? Report an error in the passage at 1:07:00 Highlight the passage at 1:07:00

1:07:20 Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:20 Highlight the passage at 1:07:20

1:07:25 I can't make up a story like that. No one will believe me. That happened. Any questions from the floor here? Those people who are still alive. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:25 Highlight the passage at 1:07:25

1:07:43 Okay? Okay. Then let's just bow three times and then we can all finish off this class. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:43 Highlight the passage at 1:07:43