Friday Night Guided Meditation

0:07 You know, really strange phenomena. I never saw this at all in Thailand. I never saw it in Sri Lanka. I've never done it myself. A lot of times, people rub their hands at the end of a meditation. You don't need to do that if you don't want to. Report an error in the passage at 0:07 Highlight the passage at 0:07

0:31 Have you ever seen me rubbing my hands? Some of these little things which people do, I always thought were strange. As you know, some people, they light incense. When they light incense, they just put a number of incense in their hands and they shake it before they put it into the incense pot. Report an error in the passage at 0:31 Highlight the passage at 0:31

1:00 I always wondered, where did that tradition come from? And then I remembered over many years, noticing that when, especially in Asia, that when... People in Asia go to the temple for the first time. It's usually your grandmother takes you. And it's the way the grandmother can actually share some good ideas of what the rituals are in Buddhist temples. Report an error in the passage at 1:00 Highlight the passage at 1:00

1:32 And the grandma always puts lots of incense in her hand and shakes it. The reason she shakes it is because she's got Parkinson's. She's old. Report an error in the passage at 1:32 Highlight the passage at 1:32

1:50 And the kids who haven't got Parkinson's, they do it as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:50 Highlight the passage at 1:50

1:57 But that's the many weird things which happen. But you find out. Why is it that people don't bring their shoes into the hall? They always leave them outside. One of those reasons is because you saw that, remember, when one of those presidents, George Bush or something, sometimes people didn't like what he was doing and threw the shoes at him. Report an error in the passage at 1:57 Highlight the passage at 1:57

2:23 So we make sure that people keep their shoes outside. If I tell a very, very bad joke, you don't throw it at me. Report an error in the passage at 2:23 Highlight the passage at 2:23

2:35 But some of those, I often mention, why do people bow? I've told this story so many times, you've heard it many times, but it's a great little understanding. Report an error in the passage at 2:35 Highlight the passage at 2:35

2:49 Some people think, bowing? What are you bowing to a Buddha for? That's like, almost like banned in some religions. I'm never bowing to a Buddha, I'm bowing to what it means to me. And to me it means like virtue. Report an error in the passage at 2:49 Highlight the passage at 2:49

3:07 It's the first thing I bow to when I lower my head. I lower my head to virtue because I respect virtue so much. Every time, look, even you being in here, when you close your eyes and start meditating, you don't know what's going to happen. You trust everybody. You trust everybody so much. And no one ever lets you down. No one's ever been attacked. Report an error in the passage at 3:07 Highlight the passage at 3:07

3:37 And I've seen this even today. I went to a dharma this morning in a Thai restaurant over in Ellenbrook. They're very nice. I'm giving them a free advert. Sukhothai in Ellenbrook. And anyway... Just I noticed, you know, what the Thai people do. They go off and just get some food or do something and they leave their handbags, their wallets just lying on the floor. Report an error in the passage at 3:37 Highlight the passage at 3:37

4:11 And I don't know if you've ever seen that. They're not at all afraid. Report an error in the passage at 4:11 Highlight the passage at 4:11

4:19 You see, because things are watching over you. And that's just proved it. Report an error in the passage at 4:19 Highlight the passage at 4:19

4:33 So they have a wonderful faith that people who come here are good people and care for you. And makes it difficult sometimes with some of the rules of the rituals which we have here. Like sometimes, I just actually, I see one person's, you know, just laying on the floor, not really laying on the floor, they've got their head propped up. Report an error in the passage at 4:33 Highlight the passage at 4:33

4:58 I can't, I'm just looking to see where your feet are pointing. Because you know there's this ritual. You shouldn't point your feet at the Buddha statue. But, you know, in some of these temples, whichever way you point the feet, it's always pointing to a Buddha statue somewhere because there's so many Buddha statues around. Report an error in the passage at 4:58 Highlight the passage at 4:58

5:19 You can't avoid it. It is the feeling of respect is important. These other things are not. And I still remember that time. When we started the meditation class and there was a lady who laid down and fell asleep and started snoring quite loudly. And some of the idiots tried to wake her up. They said, you're pointing your feet at the Buddha statue. Report an error in the passage at 5:19 Highlight the passage at 5:19

5:55 You're making a noise. Be quiet. People are meditating in here. Oh my goodness. Because that was a lady. Who was suffering from domestic abuse. She talked to me about it. You can't really tell everything about everybody who comes here to others. When she came in here, it was her first time in weeks. She felt safe. I don't know if you can appreciate that. Report an error in the passage at 5:55 Highlight the passage at 5:55

6:26 If you've ever been so afraid, even afraid to go to sleep because your partner might abuse you, that does happen. And she found a little place here. She'd go fast asleep. And I told the other people, if that ever happens again, don't wake her up. Give her a pillow and a blanket, she's called. That's some of the understanding and the kindness. And if it's kind of strange, you can try this. Report an error in the passage at 6:26 Highlight the passage at 6:26

7:01 If that ever happens, if you get upset and say they shouldn't be doing that, Let just getting upset spoil your meditation. You don't need to be upset. If instead of getting upset you can be at peace and understand that person probably needs a little bit of sleep, or they need just to be who they are, let them be, then your meditation gets much deeper as well. Report an error in the passage at 7:01 Highlight the passage at 7:01

7:30 That kindness is an important ingredient in any spirituality. And sometimes I make it so important, even though I'm a senior monk, even though I work very hard. I recently came back from Sri Lanka. I'm working hard there. You should have seen the hotel or the resort where I gave the retreat. And people would say, oh my goodness, Ajahn Brahm, that looks very beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 7:30 Highlight the passage at 7:30

8:07 That's like a resort. Did you go on holiday? No. Did you go shopping? No. Well, what are you doing in this beautiful place? Just meditating. And sometimes if you saw the view from my window, gorgeous seascape, pointing southwards to the, I suppose you might say, if you go south far enough and where my... Report an error in the passage at 8:07 Highlight the passage at 8:07

8:41 My room was situated. You'd end up in Australia. I looked very hard, but I just couldn't see Perth. A bit too far away. But nevertheless, it's what is actually beauty anyway. Why do we need windows? A lot of times I told people, just close the curtains. Because I enjoy looking inwards rather than outwards. And that inwards journey, looking inside. Report an error in the passage at 8:41 Highlight the passage at 8:41

9:12 When you know how to relax or be at peace, there's more happiness and joy you see inside with your eyes closed than you can ever see on a beautiful seascape on a sunny day. Report an error in the passage at 9:12 Highlight the passage at 9:12

9:28 You start to see your own beauty. This is one of the difficulties which people have. They're always looking for satisfaction, for fulfillment outside of themselves, rather than looking inside. And see you're more than good enough. Okay, I tell this story every time I come here. But nevertheless, it's a very good story. The story of the most beautiful tree in the forest. Report an error in the passage at 9:28 Highlight the passage at 9:28

9:55 Which is the most beautiful tree in the forest? Honestly, I've lived in a forest. I continue to live in a forest all my life. The most beautiful trees are the ones which are the twisted ones. And all bent. And when, as any... Branch is torn off that tree. You say, oh my goodness, what's happened? That must be really injured. That was a nice tree before the branch was torn off. Report an error in the passage at 9:55 Highlight the passage at 9:55

10:22 I say, no. The place where the branch was torn off, there's a hole there now. It's amazing the animals which live in that hole. Report an error in the passage at 10:22 Highlight the passage at 10:22

10:33 One of my favorites are the ring-tailed possums. And sometimes if you're walking meditation outside at nighttime, they come and visit. Report an error in the passage at 10:33 Highlight the passage at 10:33

10:45 And they're such a beautiful little animal. They're not at all scared of the monks because they've never known predators all their life. They've been safe. So it's common that the little babies ride on their backs. So cute. They're not at all afraid of you. You just look at them, they look at you. And it's one of the delights of living in a forest. And these are the natural holes in the forest woods. Report an error in the passage at 10:45 Highlight the passage at 10:45

11:14 Where they can find some refuge. Or the cockatoos. The white-tailed cockatoos, the red-tailed cockatoos. They're supposed to be endangered species. You know, they're not endangered in a monastery. None of you either. That kindness is something which is protective of everybody who actually lives in a piece of nature like that. Report an error in the passage at 11:14 Highlight the passage at 11:14

11:40 And it also protects you as well. I don't know why people are always just so judgmental of themselves. Are you a good person? You know, sometimes people come up to me and I look at them. And they say, no, I feel really depressed. I'm hopeless. I'm a waste of time. And I look at them and I say, do you trust me? Do you trust me? Report an error in the passage at 11:40 Highlight the passage at 11:40

12:09 And I look at you and say, no, you're not a waste of time. You're a beautiful, very fantastic person. And hopefully they trust me. And if they don't, first of all, I'll keep looking at you. I won't let you go until you agree with me. It's beautiful when you do that. You get other people to know that they're more than good enough in this world. Yeah, they may see all the holes in their trunk and all the damage on their bark, but all those damaged people, number one, you belong. Report an error in the passage at 12:09 Highlight the passage at 12:09

12:45 That's what it's like when you feel that there's something wrong with you. You don't fit in. You do belong. You certainly belong in here. How many people have we banned from coming into this talk on a Friday evening? I know some people say we should ban them. No way. You can ban me if you like. You can ban somebody else and I'll go too. Report an error in the passage at 12:45 Highlight the passage at 12:45

13:14 Let everybody just hear the dharma. Even sometimes. Oh, yeah, people say they're allergic to animals. You know, sometimes, you know, we've had little cats, and I shouldn't say this, cats and dogs in this hall. They're clean. You know, sometimes, sometimes a friend said, we've got this extra cat, and we want to find someone who can look after it. Report an error in the passage at 13:14 Highlight the passage at 13:14

13:42 You know what I did? I said, I could bring it in on a Friday night. And I let it just walk around. And when people started meditating, the cat walked around and the cat chose someone. It sat on its lap and it had a hole for life. Report an error in the passage at 13:42 Highlight the passage at 13:42

14:05 Let the cat choose. Other people were quite disappointed. Why didn't it choose me? But that was a wonderful... Don't do this, otherwise I get into trouble. We'll have lots and lots of baby cats, kittens coming here on a Friday night, running around. Report an error in the passage at 14:05 Highlight the passage at 14:05

14:25 There's a wonderful way of just getting a little kitten to be adopted. And how can you not? This is the little life there. Just kind of like innocent, nice, kind. And you get so much happiness out of having little animals like that around. So, this is why... What are the rules and regulations all about? Why do we have these rules and regulations? Why do we bow to the Buddha? Why do we take our shoes off? Report an error in the passage at 14:25 Highlight the passage at 14:25

14:54 Why do we sit this way and not another way? What about the monks and the nuns? How many rules do we have? Huge number of rules. This is one of the interesting things. Ajahn Brahm, you've been a monk so long. Do you worry about those rules? No. Report an error in the passage at 14:54 Highlight the passage at 14:54

15:14 I often say these days, you only need to keep two rules, two precepts. What about all the other precepts? Just keep two precepts. And the first precept is never do anything which will hurt or harm another living being, even an ant. Report an error in the passage at 15:14 Highlight the passage at 15:14

15:38 You haven't seen, maybe people who have been Buddhists a long time, you've seen an ant there. I can't do this, Google. They put a little cup over it and a card underneath to take it out, to free it. They would never kill it. Or even a little mouse. Because a mouse, it was the last animal I was responsible for killing. My mother just lost her husband, my dad. Report an error in the passage at 15:38 Highlight the passage at 15:38

16:07 And there's a mouse in the little apartment. And my mother was terrified of mice. And so I thought I should look after my mum. My father's already dead. So I caught that mouse. And I regret it to this day. Because I set the trap. The trap went off. I heard it. I felt so terrible. You've taken the life of this little mouse. Report an error in the passage at 16:07 Highlight the passage at 16:07

16:36 And when I looked at it in the trap, I couldn't help but stroking the mouse. It was still warm. But now it's soon cooled off. It had died. And it's such a beautiful... Clean, perfect little mouse. And I was responsible. And I would never want to do that ever again. So these days, there's lots of mice around. Report an error in the passage at 16:36 Highlight the passage at 16:36

17:03 And sometimes... Remember the last time I saw this mouse? Over here. I shouldn't say this. In the kitchen. Report an error in the passage at 17:03 Highlight the passage at 17:03

17:18 It was running around. And I never told the caretaker. Because they'd be almost forced. To try and catch that mouse. I just told the mouse to be careful. Report an error in the passage at 17:18 Highlight the passage at 17:18

17:33 That's actually one of those stories. Someone else sent me a nice story. But this is another story. Of how. How a. What is it called? A mousetrap. How a mousetrap killed a cow. Can mousetraps kill cows? Oh yes. So one day. There was this. Report an error in the passage at 17:33 Highlight the passage at 17:33

18:02 Mice, and they'd run around the kitchen. They'd only clean up. They weren't bad or unhealthy. And they were just in the evening time. When everyone had gone to bed, they'd scuttle around. Any crumbs or anything they would eat up, they would actually help, you know, clean the floor for the farmer's wife. Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

18:20 And any time they heard that the farmer was going to have a big party or something, that's when they would... warn all the chickens the pig and the cow look lay low they may want to have pork sausages for One day, one day. so just lay low or pretend to be sick they looked after their friends and that's what friends should be do to one another look after them but then one day one day One of the mice was looking through a hole in the wall. And what did you think that mice saw? There was a big parcel from the post office. Report an error in the passage at 18:20 Highlight the passage at 18:20

19:05 And as they opened that parcel, this little mouse almost just stopped breathing. Because in that parcel, it was a mouse trap! Report an error in the passage at 19:05 Highlight the passage at 19:05

19:17 And so he told all his friends, the other mice, look, there was a mousetrap and the farmer's wife has got a mousetrap now. We're dead, we're toast, we haven't got long to live. Report an error in the passage at 19:17 Highlight the passage at 19:17

19:29 Because those mice traps are very cunning. They put something the mice really like and you can't really see that it's a big bar that will come over their heads and break their necks if they touch something. Report an error in the passage at 19:29 Highlight the passage at 19:29

19:47 So those poor mouse realized they were in big danger. So they went to see their friends. First of all, you know, they saw their friend, was it Mrs. Chicken? Mrs. Chicken, look, they've got a mousetrap and we're going to die. Can you help us? And Mrs. Chicken said, mousetrap can't harm a chicken, so I can't help you. It's not my problem, it's your problem. Report an error in the passage at 19:47 Highlight the passage at 19:47

20:19 Has ever that happened to you? You know, you help others, but they won't help you. It's not just a mice's problem, it's everybody's problem. And I'll say, why? So the chicken wouldn't help them, so they went to see the pig, and the pig just went oink, oink. Report an error in the passage at 20:19 Highlight the passage at 20:19

20:41 I don't know how chickens sound, so I'm not going to try and interpret a chicken. Oink, oink, oink. Which meant, again, it's not my problem either, a mousetrap can't hurt a pig. So then I went to see Mrs. Cow. Mrs. Cow used to be very smart and very helpful, but today Mrs. Cow said a mousetrap has never ever, in the history of the world, never ever killed a cow. Report an error in the passage at 20:41 Highlight the passage at 20:41

21:14 How can it? so that The cow said, not my problem either. But he said, I'll ruminate on it. That's what cows do, isn't it? Okay, it's a bad joke, I know, but nevertheless. So the cow ruminated on it, but none of them, none of them would help their friends, the mice. So the mice were so worried. And then one day one of the mice had to go and eat something, so went out onto the kitchen floor in the middle of the night. Report an error in the passage at 21:14 Highlight the passage at 21:14

21:51 And as I was walking on the kitchen floor, bang! I stepped on the mousetrap. And this was not funny. That poor mouse broke its neck. And the other mice came out. And the other mice saw their friend, their relation, dead. Report an error in the passage at 21:51 Highlight the passage at 21:51

22:17 And so those mice, they put their hands over each other to grieve. Have you ever seen mice just holding one another for comfort? And crying their eyes out. I haven't, but I'm sure it must have happened. And then they heard that the farmer's wife had been woken up. Heard that crack. And so when the farmer's wife woke up, she came down to check. She turned on electric lights. Report an error in the passage at 22:17 Highlight the passage at 22:17

22:53 And she saw this whole group of mice crying and grieving. She'd never ever seen anything like that. Like that in her life before. It was such a shock that she fainted. And when she fainted, she did hit her head on the floor, was unconscious. And when the farmer came, the mice ran away. But the farmer saw his wife unconscious. So he put her to bed. Report an error in the passage at 22:53 Highlight the passage at 22:53

23:28 And once he put her to bed in the morning, he called a doctor. And the doctor, when he came all that distance to the farmhouse, the farmer didn't have anything to pay him with. So what do you think he did? He slaughtered a couple of chickens and gave them to the doctor as payment. So that's the first way that the mouse trap killed a couple of chickens. But that poor wife just got more and more sick. Report an error in the passage at 23:28 Highlight the passage at 23:28

24:03 And soon... He had to bring up a specialist. When the specialist, he needed to stay there for a few days. So how can I feed the specialist doctor? How many of you are doctors here? Don't put your hands up. How expensive are doctors? So anyway, so I had to feed and look after the doctor. So the farmer just slaughtered the pig to give sausages to the pig. Report an error in the passage at 24:03 Highlight the passage at 24:03

24:39 And then, no, sorry, give sausages to the pig. You weren't paying attention, were you? Give sausages to the doctor. And then the wife got sicker and sicker and sicker and eventually she died. And so at the funeral service, all the friends and relations of the farmer and the farmer's wife had to come for the funeral ceremony. Report an error in the passage at 24:39 Highlight the passage at 24:39

25:10 Have you been to funeral ceremonies? Even if you come here for a funeral ceremony, we always need to feed you. So he had to feed all the farmer's wife's relations. And the only thing he had left to feed the farmer's wife's family at the funeral service was the cow. Report an error in the passage at 25:10 Highlight the passage at 25:10

25:34 Roast beef. I don't know what else you can make with a cow. Hamburgers. And that's how the cow... Ended the life. So you can see that's how even a mousetrap can kill a couple of chickens, a pig and a cow. Why? Because they never help one another. It doesn't matter what status you are. Please care and help one another. Report an error in the passage at 25:34 Highlight the passage at 25:34

26:13 Do you need any water? Okay. Report an error in the passage at 26:13 Highlight the passage at 26:13

26:23 We should always help one another. That's why it's difficult because sometimes, you know, people just, they respect me over much and they're always taking photographs of me. Even in Sri Lanka too. So why are you taking a photograph of me? I'm old and I'm fat. I'm not a film star. Would you like to take a photograph of a famous person like a film star? Report an error in the passage at 26:23 Highlight the passage at 26:23

26:56 Who's a famous film star now? I know watch movies. Who is well known now? I do know that one of our members some years ago, she was our vice president. And that's Judy. She's passed away now. But anyway, she decided to go off to India to see or to Nepal to see if she can get an interview with the Dalai Lama. Report an error in the passage at 26:56 Highlight the passage at 26:56

27:26 So she went there. And she said she was the vice president of the Buddhist Society of West Australia. And because of that, they thought, oh, this must be an important Buddhist. So the Daya Lama secretary gave her priority for an interview. You see, this is what happens if you volunteer for our committee. Report an error in the passage at 27:26 Highlight the passage at 27:26

27:49 We're so well known now over the world that you can ask for an interview. And so anyway... She still had to wait for a couple of days. And in the morning, in the morning, she went to meditate. And as she was sitting down there meditating, someone disturbed her. Someone came and sat next to her. And so she just opened her eyes. Never do this. Never do this. If someone wants to sit next to you, they may be noisy, but let them be. Report an error in the passage at 27:49 Highlight the passage at 27:49

28:20 She opened her eyes and took a peek. Richard Gere. She was sitting next to Richard Gere. oh. Oh! And that was the end of her meditation. I don't know why people just take some people as somehow more attractive than others. But it can be useful. I remember one of those early retreats which I gave over in the North Perth Retreat Centre. That's before we had our own. Report an error in the passage at 28:20 Highlight the passage at 28:20

28:58 And I couldn't... Are there any Thai people here this evening? Any Thais from Thailand? Oh good. There was more Thai people came on this retreat than I'd ever seen before. Young boys. Report an error in the passage at 28:58 Highlight the passage at 28:58

29:16 I couldn't understand. Why are so many young Thais coming on my meditation retreat? And I had to ask one of them and they let out that on that retreat was this top Thai film actress. Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:34 She'd come on my retreat in Australia. Because she thought she'd escape, you know, all these other people who really liked her, sort of harassing her. But it didn't work. Somebody found out that a lot of Thai boys got tickets to come to Perth so they could come on my retreat. Not to get enlightened, but quite the opposite. Report an error in the passage at 29:34 Highlight the passage at 29:34

30:00 The famous film star. Anyway, so... All this idea of fame and fortune and stuff, it really sucks. You don't really need it and it just creates too much problems for you. So anyhow, when we have a monastery like this, it's wonderful that there's no preference in a really good monastery. Even who sits in front, who sits behind, who gets the first... Report an error in the passage at 30:00 Highlight the passage at 30:00

30:36 I remember Ajahn Chah, sometimes some very wealthy, famous, powerful people would come and visit him. But in the monastery, they were treated no better, no worse than the villagers. Report an error in the passage at 30:36 Highlight the passage at 30:36

30:49 You know, being a monk is like you're part of people's life. Even this morning, you saw this, you can say that somebody offered me, had a baby, and he was just born, I think, was it six? Six months. And so they offered him to me. So they presented it. Can we offer you our baby? Report an error in the passage at 30:49 Highlight the passage at 30:49

31:19 It's a Thai tradition. You offer them your baby and then you accept them and it's like you're their kind of godfather. Like monk father. But that's been done many times and I always get a bit tense when they offer me the baby because I've got to make sure they're going to take it back. Report an error in the passage at 31:19 Highlight the passage at 31:19

31:44 Sorry, but that's up here. And also, I have to make sure that I offer it before they poo. If they poo, okay, they've got nappies and clothes on, but they can still, the smell might last a long time in your robe. Report an error in the passage at 31:44 Highlight the passage at 31:44

32:03 Anyway, so I received a baby today. Do I have to declare that to the treasurer? There's a conflict of interest. Report an error in the passage at 32:03 Highlight the passage at 32:03

32:17 This is a kind of like a monk's life. It's kind of weird. But nevertheless, I love telling the stories of being a monk because that means that you can also enjoy it. And also, going to a place like Sri Lanka, the main reason I went there, it's great to be able to teach a retreat because the people who go on the retreat there are mostly monks and nuns. Report an error in the passage at 32:17 Highlight the passage at 32:17

32:43 A few lay people, but they're like the helpers and they sit at the back. It's nice to be able to give a talk to those who are going to teach, to help them to be able to teach deep meditations and how to teach and keep people interested. That's one of the reasons why over here you tell many funny stories. Why do I do that? Report an error in the passage at 32:43 Highlight the passage at 32:43

33:12 Because a lot of times it keeps people hanging out for the next funny story. Is that a good idea? I think these days people told me it's called info entertainment, like dharma delights. Do you agree with that? Because it also was important to realize that religion or spirituality, why the heck do people keep making it just like something you have to endure? Report an error in the passage at 33:12 Highlight the passage at 33:12

33:49 That's why I'm always very pleased when younger people come. To the temple. And how do you get younger people to come to say things which they can relate to? Older people which you can enjoy, which you can have fun with. Like one of those little stories I told to the young kid who came, just was talking to him just earlier on. I was just saying that, okay, you have a family there. Report an error in the passage at 33:49 Highlight the passage at 33:49

34:20 Who's the most important person in the family? Is it, you know, the person who does all the work? You know, your daddy who pays all the bills? That's, I call that, that's the thumb in the hand. You know, the tough one. Or is it the person who's the smart person in the family? The one who just goes to college and gets good degrees? Report an error in the passage at 34:20 Highlight the passage at 34:20

34:52 And uses their wisdom rather than their muscle to be able to make a living. Like, you know, the wise person, the index finger, always pointing things out to people. Or is it like in Australia, the big guys, are they the most important? The ones who are football stars, really tall, very big, and sometimes very mean. Report an error in the passage at 34:52 Highlight the passage at 34:52

35:13 That's the most powerful finger, is it? Or is it, is it, is it the finger of love? I see a few people over here I give marriage blessings for. Even yesterday I gave a marriage vow renewal. Report an error in the passage at 35:13 Highlight the passage at 35:13

35:35 When I give marriage vows renewal, I have to tell the funny stories about marriage. You know what marriage is? It starts with two hearts. It's like a pack of cards. It starts with two hearts and then it moves to diamonds. The engagement ring. And then the next stage is the clubs. Report an error in the passage at 35:35 Highlight the passage at 35:35

36:09 Don't go that far, please. Report an error in the passage at 36:09 Highlight the passage at 36:09

36:16 Even what I said to those today, because someone's already leaving. I didn't mean that, by the way. Report an error in the passage at 36:16 Highlight the passage at 36:16

36:27 What is this? I said to someone today, they wanted one of the new books, which has just come out, they wanted inscribed for their fiancé. So I inscribed it with the story of the marriage being like the three rings of marriage. You know the three rings of marriage, don't you? Report an error in the passage at 36:27 Highlight the passage at 36:27

36:57 What's the three rings of marriage in Russia? The first ring of marriage is? engagement ring, the second ring of marriages. Report an error in the passage at 36:57 Highlight the passage at 36:57

37:06 What's the third ring of marriage? No! The cabbing. Report an error in the passage at 37:06 Highlight the passage at 37:06

37:18 Who told you it was suffering? Me. Report an error in the passage at 37:18 Highlight the passage at 37:18

37:25 So it's nice when you change things a little bit and make things a little bit more interesting so that other people, they're expecting one thing, they hear another thing. You have a choice. Are you going to make it suffering or caring? So you've got a choice. Why do we call it sort of even, why is caring more important? Report an error in the passage at 37:25 Highlight the passage at 37:25

37:49 Because what suffering is, is curing. You want to cure somebody. How many people have had boyfriends you'd really want to cure of their bad habits? Report an error in the passage at 37:49 Highlight the passage at 37:49

38:00 How many have got girlfriends you want to cure? I'm not talking about cure them physically. them so they don't spend so much whatever anyhow i better be careful what i'm saying Report an error in the passage at 38:00 Highlight the passage at 38:00

38:20 but i do like that difference between caring and curing just one letter caring works curing shows you have some negativity and even i i don't know why i've never had cancer i've never been really sick for you know all my life but nevertheless Always, every year, I just was affirming or confirming the Solaris Cancer Care. It used to be just a cancer care group over in Cottesloe. Report an error in the passage at 38:20 Highlight the passage at 38:20

38:56 I've been going there over 35 years, 36 years, I think now. It's a long time to go to these places. And I always get invited every year. And even what really delighted me... It was because it was in the electorate of the Premier at that time, Colin Barnett, that he decided to do something good. He had the influence, so he raised the money to expand the centre. About four or five million or something the government spent on that. Report an error in the passage at 38:56 Highlight the passage at 38:56

39:30 It was a beautiful resource. I remember that especially because I was invited to the opening. Two VIPs. Well, to be honest with you, one VIP, the Premier, and one VIM. Report an error in the passage at 39:30 Highlight the passage at 39:30

39:51 Very important, Mark. But I always remember that because you know how we do ceremonies here. You always have the holy water and I try and soak everybody. And it's like blessing people. And so I did ask, you know, he had bodyguards at Colin Barnett. So I asked two of the security, the bodyguards, look, you know, I'm going to do a blessing soon. I'm also one of the invited senior guests here. Report an error in the passage at 39:51 Highlight the passage at 39:51

40:26 So would you mind if I bless the Premier by giving him a good soaking? Report an error in the passage at 40:26 Highlight the passage at 40:26

40:35 I'm sorry, but I can't resist it. So I even gave him a good soaking. And I think he lost the next election. That was his good fortune. Report an error in the passage at 40:35 Highlight the passage at 40:35

40:50 You don't want a person to have to carry on being a politician all his life and people say bad things about you. Isn't it nice that now he can retire and take it easy? Report an error in the passage at 40:50 Highlight the passage at 40:50

41:03 So if any of you want a good blessing, I don't know what job you're doing, so I'll bless you and afterwards you lose your job and you'll thank me. Oh, thank you, Ajahn Brahm. Life is no much more peaceful now. Are you into that? You want to keep on working? Oh my goodness. You always get well fed. You can always become a nun. Report an error in the passage at 41:03 Highlight the passage at 41:03

41:31 It's a very good livelihood. No stress. Relax to the max. Always well fed. Report an error in the passage at 41:31 Highlight the passage at 41:31

41:42 Because I thought that we were going to be raising some money on that shaving your head for a nun's monastery in Sri Lanka soon. Are we? What day is that going to be again? Report an error in the passage at 41:42 Highlight the passage at 41:42

41:57 15th of November. That's a long time. So anyway, if you lose your job between now and November, sometimes I wonder. I'd like to support as much as I can, but you know, I'm already bald. So can we have another way of raising funds so I can join in? Grow your hair. Report an error in the passage at 41:57 Highlight the passage at 41:57

42:35 Then we can raise funds. See how much hair I can grow. And then we get like how much for each inch I grow. Report an error in the passage at 42:35 Highlight the passage at 42:35

42:47 No, we don't want to go there, do we? So anyhow, always encourage whatever you do, if it's a fundraiser or if it's meditation or listen to a talk, inviting your friends to come here, whatever you do, please make it fun. And then that becomes not a fundraiser, but a fundraiser. Just one word and it changes the whole idea of what we're doing. Report an error in the passage at 42:47 Highlight the passage at 42:47

43:19 Fun, happiness, goodness, kindness. And that's actually how we usually run our society here. And sometimes even I wonder how can we still survive when you've got One of the people who's running this, you know, my official position is a spiritual director. That's the official. Report an error in the passage at 43:19 Highlight the passage at 43:19

43:47 Some years ago, one of the presidents here called it as it is. He was a Sri Lankan. That was Dharmakoti. I really respected him when he said, Ajahn Brahm, you're not the spiritual director, you're a monk. You are the spiritual dictator. Report an error in the passage at 43:47 Highlight the passage at 43:47

44:06 I really appreciated that. So it's nice having fun with what we're doing. And please allow others to share fun with you. Even, even, you know, over in Indonesia, that's where I went to. Any Indonesians here this evening? Oh, yeah. I married you two as well, didn't I, a few days ago. How's it going? Good, excellent. You have to say that. Report an error in the passage at 44:06 Highlight the passage at 44:06

44:43 Sometimes you think, I'm a monk, I've never been married. That's not true. I've married so many women. Report an error in the passage at 44:43 Highlight the passage at 44:43

44:53 Oh, come on, have some fun. Anyway, what was I saying? Oh yeah, fun. Oh yeah, fundraisers. We used to have a fun fair. What is a fun fair? Every Friday night. Report an error in the passage at 44:53 Highlight the passage at 44:53

45:08 It's not just for joy and happiness. One of the things which I did over in Sri Lanka, I'll go back to Indonesia in a moment, they had a seminar, all these big professors and researchers into the nature of meditation and health. Report an error in the passage at 45:08 Highlight the passage at 45:08

45:28 Now I know many universities study how the mind can interact with with modern health problems, but this was taking it a little bit deeper because they had lots of people who meditated in Sri Lanka and just, you know, asked many of them to come on board and do some research. And now years of meditation, what does it do to you? Report an error in the passage at 45:28 Highlight the passage at 45:28

45:55 I've been a monk for such a long time. I've seen amazing things happen for people's health. Even the monks which live over in California. They told me that, like everybody, they had to have some sort of health plan. And when they filled out for their health insurance, that a lot of times the monks had to authorize a little letter or a little signature that their disciples meditated regularly. Report an error in the passage at 45:55 Highlight the passage at 45:55

46:36 And when you're meditating, you've got it proved you were meditating in California, you've got this huge reduction in the amount of money you had to pay for your health insurance. And the reason was because people who meditate keep healthy, all for free. No medications, no pills, no surgery, no, what's it called, ECT. Report an error in the passage at 46:36 Highlight the passage at 46:36

47:05 Is that right? Or EEG or whatever. If you want a body scan, you do it yourself. Look at your mind, scan it up and down. I taught you how to do that. You know it works. That's the interesting thing. I know it works. I've seen it happen so many times. But the problem is they say, okay, where is the evidence? Here. They don't believe that. Report an error in the passage at 47:05 Highlight the passage at 47:05

47:34 So you have to have... Graphs and reports and examinations and proofs and all sorts of stuff. That's what they're doing in Sri Lanka and many other parts of the world. It's amazing that's happening. And there's one of the stories they wanted me to give. And that was that story which I've shared to many, many people, maybe you haven't heard it, about when I was a student. Report an error in the passage at 47:34 Highlight the passage at 47:34

48:03 Actually, at Cambridge. And lots of really smart people here. They have cred. And, you know, one of those people has cred. You brought him here to Perth some years ago. He doesn't usually go anywhere these days, but because he was my friend, you know, from university, he came straight away. It's a good time to hang out together and catch up on old times. But I remember when he came to Perth, Report an error in the passage at 48:03 Highlight the passage at 48:03

48:33 I was the first one. I didn't meet him in the airport. He came on a midnight flight with his wife. I was the first to meet him at the motel which we booked for him. So I just sat down next to him. He was having breakfast. I just had a cup of tea. And then I said to him, his name was Bernard, Bernard Carr. Report an error in the passage at 48:33 Highlight the passage at 48:33

48:53 Looking him up on the internet, if you wish. Professor Bernard Carr, Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at Queen Mary College in London University. A close associate of Stephen Hawkins. And I sat next to him and said, Bernard, we were students together at Cambridge. I'm sure that some of the senior people here in Perth on our Buddhist Society of WA will ask you, what was Ajahn Brahm like as a student? Report an error in the passage at 48:53 Highlight the passage at 48:53

49:31 What was he really like? What naughty things did he do? And I said, now listen, your wife is still in your room. If you tell on me, I'll tell on you. So we had a gentleman's agreement. We won't say anything about the sort of things we did as students. Not the embarrassing ones. Report an error in the passage at 49:31 Highlight the passage at 49:31

49:57 And so I remember that, you know, I was asked. Yes, right. I was asked, Ajahn Brahm, now, you have one of your friends. For life friends who grew up with you in Cambridge. Now, what sort of things did he get up to? And I looked at him and he remembered our pact. He says, I'm sorry, I can't tell you. I didn't get up to much mischief. At least that's my story. But anyhow, just students growing up. Report an error in the passage at 49:57 Highlight the passage at 49:57

50:30 One of the things which he did do, he was also the president of the London... A society for psychic research. We did all this stuff like investigating ghosts. I don't know why people are afraid of ghosts. Look, if you have a ghost anywhere close by, how about asking them for an interview? An exclusive. Report an error in the passage at 50:30 Highlight the passage at 50:30

50:57 Look, I mean, there's so many interesting parts of being a ghost. Now, if you're a ghost... You know, say you're a male ghost. Can you fall in love with a female ghost? Or do you live the rest of your life? Sorry, the rest of your death? Report an error in the passage at 50:57 Highlight the passage at 50:57

51:16 And what do ghosts do during the daytime? Because they usually only come out at nighttime. So what do you actually get up to? And what do you like doing? You know, if there's like a movie you like, I'm sure as a ghost you can just go in without paying and just watch your favorite movie. What else do you like doing? Wouldn't it be nice to have an interview, a personal, private interview, an exclusive, like how a ghost lives? Report an error in the passage at 51:16 Highlight the passage at 51:16

51:50 What type of clothes does a ghost wear? That's an interesting one, because I told this story. There was this builder who used to come to our monastery. And one day he said one of his friends who lived in Kalgoorlie had a bad cancer, was going to die soon. So he actually brought the builder, he actually paid for the air ticket for the builder to come to Perth, took him to Bodhinyana Monastery so I could teach him a little bit of meditation, a good attitude when a person dies. Report an error in the passage at 51:50 Highlight the passage at 51:50

52:25 A very nice guy. First time he'd ever seen a Buddhist monk. So anyhow, a few weeks later he died, this builder. And his friend came up to me and said, look, something weird happened. Just a day or two after he died, his friend was woken up in the middle of the night and he blamed his wife. Stop poking me in the ribs at night time. His wife, he looked at her, she was fast asleep. So she turned around, he turned around and saw he was his builder's ghost. Report an error in the passage at 52:25 Highlight the passage at 52:25

53:05 The guy from Kalgoorlie. So it was really weird, because being from Kalgoorlie, which is always really hot climate down there, or up there, or wherever it is, the west somewhere, it was the east, sorry. Report an error in the passage at 53:05 Highlight the passage at 53:05

53:22 I'll get it right eventually. Report an error in the passage at 53:22 Highlight the passage at 53:22

53:26 he said so He said, the builder, even when the builder came to see me, he just was wearing like a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, you know, sandals. He never liked dressing up. You don't need to. The builder, you know, you don't need to dress up. But he said the ghost of this builder, he was wearing a suit and a bow tie, a polka dot bow tie and a nice shirt and good shoes as well. Report an error in the passage at 53:26 Highlight the passage at 53:26

53:57 And he said that was really weird. He recognized his face. That's my builder who just died. But looking at him, he was never dressed like that. So he asked me, what's going on? So I said, look, you are his best friend. Why don't you ring his wife tomorrow morning or something? And just ask the wife, how are you doing? Is everything okay? Is there any problems after losing your husband? Report an error in the passage at 53:57 Highlight the passage at 53:57

54:29 And then during the conversation, just ask, oh, just by the way, what was he wearing in the coffin? Because it was a clothes coffin. Report an error in the passage at 54:29 Highlight the passage at 54:29

54:41 And so he did that, and he told me the result. He said, the wife said, oh, it's really strange you ask that question. Yes, he had a suit which I bought for him, and he refused to wear it. Those people who are married, you know what husbands are like. I refused to wear that suit, but I dressed him in the coffin. He had no choice. So I thought, well, he's going to wear this suit. Report an error in the passage at 54:41 Highlight the passage at 54:41

55:07 He's got no choice now. What else was he wearing? Oh, he had, I don't know, a nice white shirt and a bow tie. What was a bow tie like? Polka dot. He kind of was really surprised because whatever you dress, you know, your partner in as they die, if they do sort of come and see people. That's how they look. Report an error in the passage at 55:07 Highlight the passage at 55:07

55:35 So if you want to get your own back on your wife... No, if I shouldn't say that, should I? There's no such thing as revenge. But anyway, I'll finish. It's nine o 'clock. I'll finish with one story which is associated with this. This very rich man passed away. But before he passed away, he told his wife, Look, this is my last wish which you have to comply with. Please... Report an error in the passage at 55:35 Highlight the passage at 55:35

56:05 Put me in the coffin naked. I don't want any clothes at all. And this is his last wish. She had no choice. Okay, if that's what you want. So she put him in the coffin naked and obviously a closed coffin. And a few days later, he came into her bedroom as a ghost, totally naked. Report an error in the passage at 56:05 Highlight the passage at 56:05

56:29 And he said, Oh, wife, have you still got those old gardening trousers I used to have and the old jumper? Yeah, why do you want them? I thought the reason why you wanted to be naked when you were cremated, because you know where you're going to go. You're going to go down there and it's really hot down there. Report an error in the passage at 56:29 Highlight the passage at 56:29

56:49 You don't need any clothes. He said, yes, but do you know there's so many rich people down in hell, they've installed air conditioning. Report an error in the passage at 56:49 Highlight the passage at 56:49

57:07 Okay, that's it. Enough for this evening. Thank you for listening. Sada, sada, sada. Report an error in the passage at 57:07 Highlight the passage at 57:07

57:17 For those of you who are any Malaysians here, that was a little story I told Dr. Casey Damananda. And he thought that was so funny. He told all his disciples as well. Remember? The chief priest in Malaysia. Anyway. Okay, have we got any stories or any questions or complaints? I'm sure we must have some complaints today. Report an error in the passage at 57:17 Highlight the passage at 57:17

57:46 They're going to ask soon. Oh, yes, we have. Where? Oh, yes. Okay. Let's have a question over there. Bill, over there. Report an error in the passage at 57:46 Highlight the passage at 57:46

58:09 I'd just like to ask, so it's a little bit of context for this, but what you said about Lao Tzu I found really insightful, and I was wondering if you had any insight on the origin of where. Report an error in the passage at 58:09 Highlight the passage at 58:09

58:27 The tendency to objectify people comes from. I've noticed this as well that like a very funny one is that a lot of young men sometimes will say that they can't talk to women but when they're talking about women the category is that they're not talking about that they can't talk to their grandmother or their mother or their sister. Report an error in the passage at 58:27 Highlight the passage at 58:27

58:45 It's this specific objectification and I'm just wondering if you believe that that comes from desire or Some kind of need to categorize or where the origin point of that is? The origin comes when you go to school. Man, woman, dog, cat. Report an error in the passage at 58:45 Highlight the passage at 58:45

59:04 You want to objectify. Good person, bad person. Prisoner. Some of those terrorists sort of, was it someone who helps? That's why sometimes those categories, that's what imprisons you. We should always try and... Test the boundaries of those categories as much as you possibly can. Like even me. I'm a monk. An abbot. Report an error in the passage at 59:04 Highlight the passage at 59:04

59:36 You can categorize me like that if you wish. But that puts me in a prison. So that's why I like sort of challenging those boundaries. And still keeping my rules. I have a lot of fun with that. Remember that story of that Sri Lankan... Oh no, I should... Go back to the beginning of the story. I was working in the monastery, mixing concrete. I love doing that. Some exercise and it's useful. And when I finished helping with the concrete pour in the morning, then I was going back to my room where there's a shower to clean up because I was really dirty. Report an error in the passage at 59:36 Highlight the passage at 59:36

1:00:13 And then I heard what I thought was an ice cream truck. I really did. Honestly, I thought it was an ice cream truck coming into the monastery. And I was really wondering, you know, why is it coming into the monastery? So I went up to, and I found it wasn't an ice cream truck. It was a Sri Lankan lady, obviously very high class, in a sari. And she had so much jewelry on her. Everything was clinging, clanging, clonging. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:13 Highlight the passage at 1:00:13

1:00:43 And I really thought it was an ice cream truck. So, you know, when I came up to her, I asked her, how is she, can I help her? And she said she was looking for Ajahn Brahm. And so straight away, I was smart enough to say, oh, I think you'll probably find him in the Dhana Sala where we have our meal in about 15 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:43 Highlight the passage at 1:00:43

1:01:06 Oh, thank you very much. And I quickly went to have a shower and then... Put some clean robes on instead of the work clothes. I went down to see her. And honestly, you know, we talked for about a quarter of an hour, 20 minutes. And after she said, oh, you're a very good monk. I see why, you know, you're so well known in Sri Lanka. Your monastery is also very peaceful and very beautiful. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:06 Highlight the passage at 1:01:06

1:01:33 But on the way here, I saw one of your monks and he was very badly dressed. And I said, I'll talk to him about it later, man. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:33 Highlight the passage at 1:01:33

1:01:46 I can't lie. If I say something, I have to keep my promises. And I did talk to myself afterwards. But the point was, he didn't recognize me. I was so badly dressed at that time and really dirty. And that's really nice fun to actually break those categories. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:46 Highlight the passage at 1:01:46

1:02:09 So who are you? If you can be a bit more challenging, you can be many different people even in one day. You know, being like... An abbot or a big spiritual teacher sitting up here. Oh, I can't do that all day. Otherwise, you'll be asking me questions at 10 o 'clock, 11 o 'clock, 12 o 'clock, midnight, and goodness knows what. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:09 Highlight the passage at 1:02:09

1:02:38 So, there comes a time, just after, actually it should be about 9.15, after I say, okay, I'm no longer the teacher tonight. I'll just be a little monk. Maybe I should get, I thought, you know, get a wig and a false beard. But, you know, still you can't hide as a monk. All monks have to have a bald head. Maybe that's one of the reasons why you have to have a bald head and no beard. So people can always recognise you. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:38 Highlight the passage at 1:02:38

1:03:10 Is that why? I don't know anyway. I'm just imagining and maybe wishing. But, you know, sometimes I enjoy what I'm doing. But it's nice to have a rest and not always be looked upon as... Always the same person. Not categorized. Makes sense. Yeah, I have a particular connection to that. When it was Vesak Day, you actually asked me specifically what it was like to be a lesbian and a Buddhist. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:10 Highlight the passage at 1:03:10

1:03:45 And that's something I had a really hard time answering because I've seen how that label can very much become a prison and how any identity really can. So when you asked me, like, There is a context that sometimes practicing as a woman, you know, that's certain issues with certain relations. But from my perspective, it was kind of like why I don't think it really makes much of a difference because it's following the dharma like everyone else. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:45 Highlight the passage at 1:03:45

1:04:12 Really good. I'm just thinking like when it comes to this need to categorize that people feel, sorry, where do you believe that kind of compulsion to create that category comes from? Yeah, it's the point of starting a conversation, but not a sort of an ultimate truth or anything. That's one of the reasons why, you know, that that was one of the reasons why that when I used to teach in jails, you know, why do we categorize that this is a rapist, or this is a murderer, or this is a pedophile even. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:12 Highlight the passage at 1:04:12

1:04:54 Imagine when a person has made a big mistake and they've learned from it. I never ever want to do it again. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:54 Highlight the passage at 1:04:54

1:05:05 That's one of the reasons why that wonderful comment someone gave me when I was a member of the prison officer, been a prison officer for life. I think you know the story. He gave me this beautiful comment. He said, all the people who went to your class never go back into jail again. They have freedom. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:05 Highlight the passage at 1:05:05

1:05:30 One of the worst things we can do to somebody. That's why they keep reoffending, why it ruins their life. You say you're a criminal. They did a stupid mistake. It doesn't make them a criminal. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:30 Highlight the passage at 1:05:30

1:05:45 That's why many times in jail you saw some very rough people like that. The German version of opening the door of your heart is the coup de vente, the cow that cried. And it's a really moving story. Especially that I was right involved in it. This big sort of Irish, Northern Irish guy. He'd been in prison for so many years. He had scars all over him. It was really big. And he said, he kept on swearing as he was telling me this. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:45 Highlight the passage at 1:05:45

1:06:26 Not because he was trying to offend me, but just to say this is true. It's God's own effing truth, he said. He kept on saying that. And he said that he was first stabbed when he was, I think, seven or eight years of age in this very poor part of Northern Ireland. And a kid asked for his dinner money, a bigger kid. And this little kid said no. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:26 Highlight the passage at 1:06:26

1:06:58 And the bigger kid never asked again, just got out a knife and stabbed him in the arm. He was that young. And so he ran out of the school. His father was unemployed. And he said, Daddy, Daddy, I've been stabbed. And all the blood was running down his arm. And Daddy never even put a band-aid or washed the wound. Daddy took out another knife from the kitchen, gave it to his son and told him, stab him back. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:58 Highlight the passage at 1:06:58

1:07:28 He said, that's the way I grew up. He had many scars on him. And he was... The head slaughterer at Karnat prison farm. It's such a dumb thing to do. And you get some of the people who lived in violence and been brought up in violence and done violence and were lucky to survive. And you get them to be the people who slaughter cows and anything else which the prison service needed. And he was the head slaughterer. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:28 Highlight the passage at 1:07:28

1:08:02 And he told me what happened. Just whatever animal was needed, they'd be forced into the slaughterhouse. Big metal stainless steel railings wide at the entrance, narrowing down so that only one animal at a time could go past him. He was on a platform high and had an electric gun. One shot to stun. In other words, to keep the animal still. And the second shot. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:02 Highlight the passage at 1:08:02

1:08:36 They all knew what was going on. They made their noise, tried to escape as they possibly could. And until I remember him saying, please, I'm going over time, but this is such an amazing story. He said this one animal, a cow, came in. And the first time he'd ever seen this, he said, this cow just was looking down at the ground and walked in without needing to be pushed. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:36 Highlight the passage at 1:08:36

1:09:09 And when it positioned itself into place, looked up and looked at this prisoner who was about to kill it. And they kept eye contact. He was being stared at by this cow. And he'd never seen anything like that before. So he couldn't pull the trigger to stun the cow. Didn't need to stun it. It was perfectly still. And as he was watching this cow, in one of the cow's eyes, saw water. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:09 Highlight the passage at 1:09:09

1:09:43 Water get bigger and bigger over the cow's lower lid until the lid could not hold any more water and it dripped out of the cow's eyelid and down its cheek. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:43 Highlight the passage at 1:09:43

1:10:01 And that really confused him so much, didn't know what to do. And then saw the same happen to the second eye of the cow until that too was crying. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:01 Highlight the passage at 1:10:01

1:10:14 And that's when he swore and said, that cow ain't dying. And that's when he gave up being the head slaughterer. He said, I'm a vegetarian now. I'm a vegetarian now. And that's Deku Devante, the cow that cried. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:14 Highlight the passage at 1:10:14

1:10:32 And the publishers over in Germany, they realized that's such a beautiful story. They wanted to put that in as the title of the book, Deku Devante. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:32 Highlight the passage at 1:10:32

1:10:49 He was a very dangerous man before. Now... It's the safest person you could ever be with. Why do we keep categorizing? I totally agree with you there. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:49 Highlight the passage at 1:10:49

1:11:09 Thank you very much. If you have any suggestions on how we can challenge these categories, I see that you like to employ a lot of humor and joy, and I think that's something that's very inspiring. So if you've got anything on there. There is some ones over in the computer. Can I try answering these first? Report an error in the passage at 1:11:09 Highlight the passage at 1:11:09

1:11:34 Yeah. Thank you, Ajahn. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:34 Highlight the passage at 1:11:34

1:11:45 The pages disappeared. That's quite funny. Yeah, that's true. Oh, no. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:45 Highlight the passage at 1:11:45

1:11:57 Okay. Why all people during deep sleep are not able to have jhānas or parinirvana? All people have it, but don't remember when they wake. Now, if you have any of those deep meditations or parinirvana, you remember everything. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:57 Highlight the passage at 1:11:57

1:12:19 Your mind is very clear. To have a jhāna or deep insight, your mind has to have some clarity. In other words, you're not sleeping at all. You kind of wake up. I remember telling many stories of that. On one retreat, oh my goodness, most people are going anyway. Now, on one retreat, the first time I just combined mettā meditation with breath meditation, and the two, when they went together, were very powerful. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:19 Highlight the passage at 1:12:19

1:12:47 And that night, I remember just, i didn't really want to sleep but i lay down and fell asleep but i remember pretty soon having this lucid dream and the lucid dream i was going through a thai cemetery and in that cemetery one of the little sticks it was uh had a name of Ajahn Tate and because i knew him and respected him enormously as soon as i looked at that it no just Burst into this beautiful light which became a lovely nimitta. But at that point, you know, you had a huge amount of energy. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:47 Highlight the passage at 1:12:47

1:13:26 That was the end of that sleep. You hadn't slept more than an hour maybe. And then you just sat up and enjoyed a lovely meditation. When you're in deep sleep, that's not good enough to have these wonderful experiences. If you have like even nimitta experiences, this is pre-jhānas or jhānas. You can't sleep, you're fully aware. Okay, next question quickly. Does, dear Ajahn Brahm, what is kindness and how do you apply it to your body? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:26 Highlight the passage at 1:13:26

1:13:57 You experiment. Try this, try that, try that and see what works. What really relaxes you? What can actually get you to know something and relax it to the max with that kindness? Report an error in the passage at 1:13:57 Highlight the passage at 1:13:57

1:14:11 So this is up to you to find. Words can't really define it. How should we practice mindfulness from day to day? Don't practice it from day to day. Just practice it now. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:11 Highlight the passage at 1:14:11

1:14:26 You understand what I mean, don't you? Now is the only time you have. Forget about tomorrow or the next day. I identify as a Christian and Buddhist. A Chris Buddhist. That's why Ajahn Chah, he coined that term on 25th of December. He said, happy Chris Buddha must stay. You know, trying to sort of combine things. Why not? Report an error in the passage at 1:14:26 Highlight the passage at 1:14:26

1:14:53 When I say Buddhist, I mean practices associated with looking inward. Meditation. My Christian family sometimes gave me difficulty about this. Could you please share some advice? Look, just become a really good person. And if you're a really good person, this is what the meditation does for you. There was this lady, this is so many years ago now. She was a teacher of old school and primary school. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:53 Highlight the passage at 1:14:53

1:15:19 And she was also a member of our Armadale Meditation Group. And she would introduce quiet time. First of all, she was wise enough not to call it meditation. Give it a different name. Again, marketing. Give it a name, quiet time. So she introduced quiet time in Rolling Stone Primary School at the beginning of the school year. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:19 Highlight the passage at 1:15:19

1:15:40 She was teaching year sixes. And most of those kids came from very strong Christian families. And it worked. The kids really got into it. And she told me that, actually she didn't tell me, she invited me to teach at the school as well. The principal was very happy to meet me because he told me, look, many of the children's parents were coming to me to complain. Report an error in the passage at 1:15:40 Highlight the passage at 1:15:40

1:16:06 You're allowing teachers to teach Buddhism in our school to our kids. He said, no, it's quiet time. That's Buddhism. Look, said the principal, the kids' results are really going up. The evidence supports that your kids who are attending this particular class are doing so well. Not only that, they were noticing the emotional benefits. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:06 Highlight the passage at 1:16:06

1:16:31 Because apparently whenever there was any problems between the kids, year sixes, puberty time, or just before puberty, or I don't know, a long time I've been a monk, but that sort of problems which that has in their social life, if there's any problems arise, any argument, one of the kids will put their hand up, Miss, can we have quiet time now? Report an error in the passage at 1:16:31 Highlight the passage at 1:16:31

1:16:56 And they'd all just be quiet for five minutes. And all the problems in the school and that particular class disappeared almost immediately. And said that's what they were doing. And the principal said, look, you know, I've seen that. It works. All the results are right there. So I'm not going to stop this at all. Report an error in the passage at 1:16:56 Highlight the passage at 1:16:56

1:17:18 This is brilliant stuff. And you should go and have a look and see what's going on. I remember going to that school to give a talk. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:18 Highlight the passage at 1:17:18

1:17:29 The thing was they gave me the grade one and grade two first time to give a talk to. I think two classes, 60 kids in each class, or 50 maybe. And how do you teach grade one and grade two at primary school? That was a challenge. So I remember what I did. I only tell the time so I get it right and it works. I asked the kids, okay, all sitting together, how many of you, Do not like rice pudding. Do not like rice pudding. And you know what the kids do when they don't know what to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:17:29 Highlight the passage at 1:17:29

1:18:09 So they look at each other and they look around. And about two or three kids put their hand up. They didn't like rice pudding. And then the other kids looking at them also put their hands up. And just after about two or three minutes, all the kids in that room, about 90 of them, All put their hands up. They did not like rice pudding. Okay, put your hands down, kids. Now, please put your hands up. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:09 Highlight the passage at 1:18:09

1:18:40 How many of you have ever eaten rice pudding? Report an error in the passage at 1:18:40 Highlight the passage at 1:18:40

1:18:46 Only about 10 kids put their hand up. And all the other... The kids were smart. They got it straight away. They burst out laughing. So did all the parents who were watching me and all the kids as well. Report an error in the passage at 1:18:46 Highlight the passage at 1:18:46

1:19:02 I said, that is what wisdom is and what delusion is. A very fundamental idea in Buddhism. You say we don't like it, meditation or Buddhism, have you ever practiced it yet? I got the message across very clear. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:02 Highlight the passage at 1:19:02

1:19:25 Okay, so Christian and Buddhist experiments, see what you can find which is suitable for you. Okay, I think that's, you know, Eddie, you haven't said anything yet. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:25 Highlight the passage at 1:19:25

1:19:39 Okay, Eddie says it's okay. No, because people, look, I go overseas and sometimes, you know, if you don't say anything, Eddie, they wonder, they think you may be sick or something. Report an error in the passage at 1:19:39 Highlight the passage at 1:19:39

1:19:55 You know, you're part of the... Ajahn Brahm, in tonight's talk, it's good that you bring it up, you know, that people hold the joysticks and they shake their hands. And you also talk about the bowing. Yeah. And I suppose you can include kneeling too, isn't it? Yeah. Ajahn Brahm, don't you think these are acts of humbling ourselves, you know? Report an error in the passage at 1:19:55 Highlight the passage at 1:19:55

1:20:22 You lower your ego and then you respect, you know, like a figurehead, you know? And the sincerity evokes the response. You feel good. These are unknown to us acts of healing too, you know? Oh, yeah. You know, that's a feeling, but you have to make sure you don't take it too far. Yeah. Too much bowing. Oh, of course. And then you get a sore head. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:22 Highlight the passage at 1:20:22

1:20:50 But I do this, you know. Yeah. And then it's good that you bring this out. Normally we don't think about this, you know. Exactly. You know, they're humbling yourself, you know. Excellent. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thank you. Okay, you're welcome. Thank you, Eddie. So for all the listeners, Eddie is still alive and well. Report an error in the passage at 1:20:50 Highlight the passage at 1:20:50

1:21:09 Excellent. So let's pay respects to the virtue, peace and compassion or kindness, caring. Report an error in the passage at 1:21:09 Highlight the passage at 1:21:09

1:21:34 Sambha, Sambhada, Bhagavad, Buddha, Bhagavantam, Abhiva, Demi. Swakato Bhagavata Dhammo Dhamma Report an error in the passage at 1:21:34 Highlight the passage at 1:21:34

1:21:54 [chanting]