Happiness in All Circumstances

0:00 It's nice to see you all. Many faces I can remember. Regulars and those coming for maybe the first or second time or whatever. Report an error in the passage at 0:00

0:15 As many of you know, I've just returned from the UK. I was teaching a couple of retreats and many public talks as well. And I enjoy them. I enjoy them because that's my job. And I'm very successful at that meditation. Report an error in the passage at 0:15

0:36 That keeps me going, keeps me alive. It's weird. I like pushing the box, sometimes they say, or pushing the envelope, whatever you call it, because sometimes you do ridiculous things. Report an error in the passage at 0:36

0:54 You know, the flight coming back from London, 24 hours or something, a long time anyway, not quite sure how long, because they keep changing the clocks wherever you go. Report an error in the passage at 0:54

1:08 And I should be totally jet lagged. And even, it's an eight hour time difference between UK and Perth right now. So I don't know what time it is. But nevertheless, I use the meditation to let go of time and be free of time. Report an error in the passage at 1:08

1:30 I don't know if you understand this, but so many of us are in the prison of time. There's only an hour to go. I've got to be somewhere in 10 minutes. And time tortures you. Sometimes as a monk, I say, well, I'll try and get there when I can. And you're not afraid of being late or being early. As somebody once said, just a talk in the evening will not start without me. Report an error in the passage at 1:30

2:07 So don't worry about being early or being late. Report an error in the passage at 2:07

2:13 And if I am late, there's always a reason for it, of course. You can't always be on time. You do your very best to be on time, but sometimes you kind of fail. And I like that, when you ever fail or things don't turn out as you wish, because this is our world. Happy people are not always those who get what they want. Report an error in the passage at 2:13

2:43 Happy people are those who can do with whatever happens. They can always make something out of it. I remember in the UK, not this time, this time I've got a bit smarter, somebody insisted on taking me to a talk in a car. Nobody actually drives me to the venue. But of course there are things in Europe called traffic jams. Report an error in the passage at 2:43

3:12 And they're much worse than Perth. So if there's ever any delays in Perth, that's kind of nothing to what I grow up with. But these days, instead of going in cars, you go in underground, in the trains. They are far more peaceful and also quite cheap as well. You have these things called oyster cards. I've got one in my bag. I haven't taken it out yet. So even as a monk, just tap it on. Report an error in the passage at 3:12

3:43 And tap it off afterwards and you can go wherever you wish. Especially to go to a venue. It's been a pretty long time. So because of that, when I was late once, really late for an hour or two, I just had a wonderful topic for my talk. Being late. What is being late? Why are people so worried about what happens if they're late? It happens to everybody. Report an error in the passage at 3:43

4:15 So because of that, sometimes when I'm late, I say, it was a wonderful advantage that I was late tonight. I don't have to talk so much. Report an error in the passage at 4:15

4:26 I can have a bit more of a peaceful time. And it's also, I can tell shorter jokes. You know one of the funny stories which I learned over in UK? Report an error in the passage at 4:26

4:40 Why is it, why is it that communists Drink herbal tea. Report an error in the passage at 4:40

4:53 Why do communists drink herbal tea? Because they're not allowed proper tea. Report an error in the passage at 4:53

5:09 If you want to leave now, please go. The worst is yet to come. Report an error in the passage at 5:09

5:18 That's an original? Have you not heard that before? Oh, great. It's nice sort of laughing at oneself and laughing at life. But what that means is you can always check whatever you experience. You've got a choice. You can groan at it, you can be negative about it, or you can laugh. Which would you prefer to do? Report an error in the passage at 5:18

5:48 As you know that I'm a great sort of advocate of laughing therapy, I do notice how much it helps. Sometimes life can feel so negative and sometimes... They think that, Ajahn Brahm, all you do is tell jokes, you don't teach any dhamma. And I say, well, what do you expect? I'm a monk, I don't have any money. You always get no sense from me. Report an error in the passage at 5:48

6:23 I told you it's going to get worse. Report an error in the passage at 6:23

6:29 But nevertheless, so the happiness which you can find anywhere, anything. I always remember just years and years and years ago, the secretary of our Buddhist Society of Western Australia, this is a warning to you. They were having an operation, you know, to take out their womb. What's that called again? A hysterectomy. And anyway, they said, it's important, it's a very tough operation for a woman to endure. Report an error in the passage at 6:29

7:06 It means there's no chance of babies anymore. And anyway, the secretary years and years and years ago, who had a hysterectomy, She felt so threatened by the operation, she said, Ajahn Brahm, she rang up, she said, Ajahn Brahm, can you come and visit please? I'm really handling this very badly, but please, when you come to the hospital, please, please, please, don't tell any jokes. Report an error in the passage at 7:06

7:36 Because the incision on your tummy over there is really sort of vertical, and if you laugh, it really hurts. Report an error in the passage at 7:36

7:49 I did try my best but I failed miserably. But overall she really enjoyed having someone who makes her look at a different part of life and can actually enjoy no matter what happens to you in this life. And seeing the fun in it was actually very helpful. It's just like the time once when I went to one of the funeral services for someone And look, I couldn't help, but I know the character of the person who passed away. And so I started telling a funny story. Report an error in the passage at 7:49

8:32 And I do remember at that time, the funeral directors, they always stand in the back, making sure nothing goes wrong. When I started telling the joke, and they realized I was telling a funny story, they couldn't shout out and say no. They couldn't turn off the PA system. All they did was go... Well, Report an error in the passage at 8:32

9:03 I think you've known me a long time by now. That just encouraged me. Report an error in the passage at 9:03

9:14 I'm going to tell it so you know it's going to happen. That particular story, it was a good story. It had a very wonderful message after it. It's about this couple. Report an error in the passage at 9:14

9:28 Have you ever noticed that people who have been together for years, and when they get old together, they've been living in the same house, married, doing everything together for such a long time, when one of them died, the other one died about three or four days later. Report an error in the passage at 9:28

9:47 So they died almost at the same time. So they had the funeral just one after the other, very quickly. And after they died, They appeared in this other realm. They were met by an angel. And the angel came up to them and said, because of your good karma, I've come to show you your eternal reward. Report an error in the passage at 9:47

10:16 Please don't get philosophical about this. And your eternal reward is to show them this beautiful mansion on the cliffs. Like a three or four million dollar cost mansion. He said, this is your dwelling for the rest of eternity. If you wish to change it, just let me know. We can change it for you. But this is yours. And the man said immediately, this is a very wealthy mansion. Someone like me cannot afford the council rates. Report an error in the passage at 10:16

10:57 You know, if you've got a big house, it costs a lot just to give money to the council to do nothing. And so... The angel said, sir, up in heaven we don't have councils. They don't even get up here. So he said, this is all for free. And he took them inside the mansion. And the mansion was so amazingly designed. Report an error in the passage at 10:57

11:28 State of the art architecture, state of the art internal design. Councils. Report an error in the passage at 11:28

11:35 He took them into the lounges and had chandeliers everywhere made of gold and diamonds. They took them into the recreational relaxation room and there was this huge TV screen. It was so big. It was actually almost like bigger than a cricket pitch. And he said, because this is heaven, I don't know what sport you like. Report an error in the passage at 11:35

12:05 Say it's like soccer or say it's like AFL. Whichever your team is, you will find they'll always be losing to the last minute and then they'll have a great recovery and by the final whistle they'll kick the winning goal. You always win. It's heaven. You've done good karma. Make sure whatever you see, your team always wins. Report an error in the passage at 12:05

12:32 And then he took them into the washroom. Even the washroom was just ridiculously expensive. It had a golden toilet seat. Very hard to sit on but very expensive. So don't encourage me. Report an error in the passage at 12:32

12:58 And then you see that button you actually press for the toilet to flush it? That is a solid 30 carat diamond. So press it. expensive. Report an error in the passage at 12:58

13:11 And when he pressed it, water never came out. Chanel No. 5 came out. Report an error in the passage at 13:11

13:23 Now this is a Buddhist society, I'm telling this story. Imagine doing this at a funeral parlor. Report an error in the passage at 13:23

13:36 And he said, now, I'm going to take you down. Straight away the fellow said, look, this is such expensive stuff here. I won't be able to afford the insurance. What are you talking about insurance? Up in heaven, we don't allow. allow burglars or thieves, this is all for free. Report an error in the passage at 13:36

13:57 Okay, and if anyone does come in and borrows one of your gold toilets, we can always get you a platinum one or whatever you want. And then took them down to the garage. And in the garage, a triple garage, there were three vehicles in there. The first vehicle was a stretch limo. Report an error in the passage at 13:57

14:24 Really a big stretch limo. So big it had a tennis court in the back. Inside. Report an error in the passage at 14:24

14:35 And the second vehicle was one of these all-terrain vehicles. It can go anywhere. You don't need roads with one of these vehicles. So it is so powerful, it can even go up waterfalls. Not down waterfalls, up. Report an error in the passage at 14:35

14:52 And the last vehicle was a Lamborghini. Special edition. Revved up super fast with the sunroof. He said, we always knew you liked fast cars. And this man said, what's the point of a fast car these days? Too many policemen and speed cameras. And the angel rolled his eyes one last time and said, listen, sir, you don't need sort of policemen up in heaven. Report an error in the passage at 14:52

15:28 Number one, you know, you're already dead. It doesn't matter if you crash. And he opened the door, opened the shutter for the garage and on the opposite side of the road was this immaculate 18 hole golf course. And the angel said that this golf course was designed by Tiger Woods himself. Report an error in the passage at 15:28

16:02 Apparently when he had a bust up with his first wife, He crashed a car and had an outer body experience and that's when we caught him and we made sure we designed the golf course before he came back to life again. So it was designed by Tiger Woods. And the fellow said, oh yeah, it must be a beautiful golf course but I won't be able to afford the annual premium. Report an error in the passage at 16:02

16:35 You've got to pay to join golf clubs. The angel also said, it's a special golf course, so whenever you get the ball on the green, whichever way you put it, it always curls around and goes into the hole every time. It's a heavenly golf course. And so straight away he said, it's all very good, but I don't think I can afford it. Report an error in the passage at 16:35

17:03 He said, it's for free. You're not a life member, you're a death member. Report an error in the passage at 17:03

17:11 Amen. As soon as the angel left, the man got very angry at his wife. Really angry. Started cursing at her and shouting at her. And the poor wife, why are you so angry at me? You've got this beautiful house, a great mansion with wonderful views over the ocean. You've got a beautiful TV screen. Your team will always win. I know how hopeless they are, but up in heaven they always win. Report an error in the passage at 17:11

17:44 You've got the Lamborghini car, you can go as fast as you like, and even if you crash, you're still alive. Or you're still dead anyway, it doesn't make any difference. And you've got the golf course. Why are you so angry? This was actually the story I told, the first joke I told at a funeral service. Report an error in the passage at 17:44

18:05 And the funeral directors were really going white. What are the family going to say about me? And I said this. The reason why the guy got angry, he said, because wife, because if it wasn't for all that health food you made me eat over the last three years, I could have been up here a long time ago. Report an error in the passage at 18:05

18:34 You see the logic in that? So, if your partner wants health food, don't give it to him. Report an error in the passage at 18:34

18:49 He'll only get angry at you once he knows what you're delaying. And of course, the family loved that story, simply because Just let nature be nature and don't try and control things. We don't know why. Why don't we like to die? Report an error in the passage at 18:49

19:09 Do you want to keep on paying taxes in that little house or flat you have and keep on having to work hard to save money and watching, if you do watch any sports on TV, why is it your team always tends to lose? Report an error in the passage at 19:09

19:23 Honestly, this is an honest omission, I always tell people, when I was a young man, I don't like to watch soccer. But my team always tended to lose. I don't know why, but that was one of the reasons I became a monk. Report an error in the passage at 19:23

19:44 It's true. Too much suffering. Report an error in the passage at 19:44

19:52 So because of that, you tend to laugh at your past and your history. And when you laugh at it, you can be friends with it. Report an error in the passage at 19:52

20:03 Do you laugh with your friends? Or have arguments with them? If you know how to laugh with your friends, Then you don't worry about them. When you don't worry about them, you can let them go and have some peace in this world. Can you? Anyway, that's one kind of philosophy which we have, is learning how to find peace no matter what happens. That's one of the reasons why wherever I go in the world, I always tend to have a lot of fun. Report an error in the passage at 20:03

20:36 A lot of fun which means that, you know, you can find a place here, a place there to stay at night. People I've known for so many, many, many years. And when you've known them for so many years, you know their families. It's like, I've mentioned this to many of you. Many of you, I never look at you as friends or as disciples. It's like family. And I mean that. I relax and you relax too. Report an error in the passage at 20:36

21:04 And we can have a lot of joy and happiness. And that joy and happiness is a result of meditation or dharma. You find the reasons why do we suffer so much? Why? You can make a lot of happiness in this world, even in the company which you work for. Report an error in the passage at 21:04

21:28 Do you think that adding laughter to whatever company you work for will help you? That's one of the reasons why, even as a monk, the one company... Which I thought I would join, even as a monk. Honestly, I'm being truthful. I once gave this talk over in Melbourne, in the Buddhist Society of Victoria, many years ago. Report an error in the passage at 21:28

22:00 And after giving the talk, this young man, he was Sri Lankan, he came up to me and he said, I am a Sri Lankan, I'm a Buddhist. But he said, what I really noticed about your talk was whenever you told a funny story, number one, it was original. Number two, your timing was perfect. He said, you really have a lot of talent as a stand-up, or rather, not a stand-up comedian, a sit-down comedian. Report an error in the passage at 22:00

22:38 He was actually appearing on TV. And he was... One of the performers of the Melbourne Comedy Club. He said, I can get you a job there. Report an error in the passage at 22:38

22:52 He really did offer me a job. Report an error in the passage at 22:52

22:57 I didn't think about it, but I'm not very good at thinking. So I said, no, I'll keep my day job as a monk. Sometimes you kind of wonder, why is it that even as a monk, a senior monk, why is it that you still have this wonderful sense of zest for life and see the funny side of life? When you see the funny side of life, that's when you feel free of life. You can laugh at it and you can laugh at yourself and all the stupid things which I do in my life. Report an error in the passage at 22:57

23:32 It's funny. And when you have joy, especially with kids as well, many children, they know all my funny stories. They were there when I told them. But nevertheless, I remember this person showing me their artwork. I used to be a... Sorry, a school teacher for one year. And I remember this kid, he had a homework. The art he was supposed to draw was like a country scene. Report an error in the passage at 23:32

24:04 And he was very lazy. So he just handed in a blank sheet of paper. And the teacher was about to sort of punish him for that. He said, no, no, this is my artwork. What's it called? He said, cow eating grass. Report an error in the passage at 24:04

24:25 Where's the grass? Cow's eaten it, sir. Report an error in the passage at 24:25

24:37 Sorry. Where's the cow? It's gone in the next field to get some more. Report an error in the passage at 24:37

24:46 Please, I'm sorry, I laugh at my own jokes. I entertain myself. What we're doing there is we're adding a different way of looking at life. Report an error in the passage at 24:46

24:59 We are actually, all these funny stories, always changing one's perceptions. And it's that perception which is what causes us. Report an error in the passage at 24:59

25:12 Misery, if we don't know how, to amend our perceptions. That's one of the reasons why when I came back from my trip overseas to Europe, again, the aircraft landed at about 3 o 'clock, time we got back to the monastery about 4, and they said, I know that someone's supposed to give the talk tonight to the monks. Report an error in the passage at 25:12

25:35 I said, well, I haven't given one for a while. So I said, I'll do it. They said, no, you can't. You're jet-lagged. You're tired. He'd been on an aircraft for about 24 hours. He said, no, I'm going to do it. You know why I do these things? I love not just talking or thinking outside the box, but practicing outside the box. Report an error in the passage at 25:35

25:57 So I love just doing things I'm not supposed to do. I'm a monk, okay. Many things I will never do because I'm a good monk. But things like doing things which people don't expect. Why not? So I got up there and people were quite surprised. I was going to give the talk last Wednesday night at Bodhinyana Monastery. So I got up there and started speaking. And most people thought it was a very nice talk. Report an error in the passage at 25:57

26:24 Honestly, was that a good talk? Yeah. She's one of my disciples. You've got to answer like that. Otherwise, when I get into the room, no, Report an error in the passage at 26:24

26:41 I never heard another book. But it really inspired me. You know whenever you... You hear a lovely talk. I remember one of these Thai forest monks years ago who came to visit Perth. He gave a talk and it was one of the first talks I'd heard for years because wherever I am I usually give the talk. I was hearing a talk and it was a beautiful talk. And he looked at me, he was a Thai monk, and he said to me afterwards, he said, you must have liked my talk, how do you know? Report an error in the passage at 26:41

27:12 There's tears coming down my face. When you get inspired. You do really enjoy. It's beautiful, those tears of happiness. Sometimes people think that monks always have to be like robots. Report an error in the passage at 27:12

27:28 Never laugh, never cry, just be like an automaton. Is that the sort of monk who can relate to you? And of course not. You get many, many more people who come and listen to you if you can relate to them. Say things which they know, but take them deeper so they can be free of all sorts of difficulties. And that's usually just changing one's perception. Report an error in the passage at 27:28

28:01 I told this story, this is a serious story, but this is why one of the things which I did when I was a student, not just join the Buddhist Society over in Cambridge at that time, but we listened to many talks by these famous people. Report an error in the passage at 28:01

28:18 They sent me to sleep. I remember one of the feds at that time, I invited him to one of the conferences we held here in Perth, a Buddhist conference some years ago in the convention center. And that was this fellow called Bernard Carr. Actually, he did come on our conference here. Bernard Carr, professor of theoretical physics and associate of Stephen Hawking's. Report an error in the passage at 28:18

28:50 As soon as he came here and landed, I made sure I met him first of all. And I met him, he came with his wife, and just I wanted to have a private talk with him. And so I said, look, we were students together before. You know many bad things which I did when I was a student. And I know many bad things which you did as well. If you tell on me, I will tell your wife. Report an error in the passage at 28:50

29:28 And so he agreed. They weren't bad people, just students messing around. But nevertheless, I remember at the time, I think it was Rachel, she was one of our ex-presidents, I think she was the MC. And she asked that question in question time. He never asked anything about his work on other things. He's a Buddhist, you know, as a professor, an associate of Stephen Hawking's. Report an error in the passage at 29:28

29:55 And someone asked him, you know, Okay, what was Ajahn Brahm really like when you knew him as a student? Report an error in the passage at 29:55

30:08 He looked at me, I looked at him. I never needed to say anything. He was warned. So he said, no, no, I'm here to talk about Buddhism and science, not about Ajahn Brahm. Report an error in the passage at 30:08

30:26 Were you there when that happened? Any of you? You were there? Okay, yeah. It wasn't a bad reputation, but nevertheless, it's nice you don't know about it. Report an error in the passage at 30:26

30:42 But anyhow, It was wonderful that, you know, you have one of the people who was a top physicist. And one of the other things we used to do was the psychic research society. Report an error in the passage at 30:42

30:58 Ghosts, psychic phenomena, all sorts of weird stuff. And I know that sometimes people come to a Buddhist society, really want to know, what does a monk really do? Which he never shows you. Even the other monk who was with me, In those early years here, Ajahn Chakra, this boy, I was sitting next to Ajahn Chakra, came right up to him and said to him, I don't know, about nine or ten years of age, how many inches? Report an error in the passage at 30:58

31:35 What do you mean, how many inches? How many inches? What are you talking about? How many inches can you levitate? Report an error in the passage at 31:35

31:47 Can I levitate? Of course you bet. I get an aircraft and we levitate up in the sky. Report an error in the passage at 31:47

31:59 Would you like to see levitation? You know one of the reasons why we never demonstrate levitation or anything to anybody is because what happened to me the first time I went accepting the invitation to teach in prisons. Report an error in the passage at 31:59

32:21 This was in Bunbury Jail many, many years ago where this fellow gave a call and said, I'm being honest, you would not believe How many months it took me to make this call. He was a prisoner. And I had to make calls, especially, it was so difficult for him. And he said, I want to invite you to teach in our jail. That's why I told you how difficult it is even to make the call. So as soon as he mentioned that and I believed him, it was true. Report an error in the passage at 32:21

32:56 I said, yeah, I'm coming. So they made arrangements. I went into Bunbury Jail. and they had a They called it a muster, a population of about 110 prisoners inside the jail that evening. And when I went there, about 105 turned up for my talk. Report an error in the passage at 32:56

33:20 That was kind of so amazing, so pleasing. I never ever thought that people in jail really wanted to learn meditation. So that's why I decided to give it everything I've got. You know, really take it seriously. And I was only about five minutes into my explanation of meditation when one of the prisoners put his hand up. Report an error in the passage at 33:20

33:47 He actually stood up and said, is it okay if I ask a question? And this was somebody about six foot six. He had big, white, blonde, curly hair. And he could see the scars on his body. Report an error in the passage at 33:47

34:09 Honestly, he later became a really good friend. I liked him a lot. He trusted me, I trusted him. And he said, he could see all the scars. He was the leader of one of the gangs in the jail. And that's when he asked me, and of course I said, yes, you can ask a question. When anyone that big and tough asks a little monk, I always say, yes, please ask. He said, is it really true? Report an error in the passage at 34:09

34:37 Is it really true? That through meditation you can learn how to fly over walls. Report an error in the passage at 34:37

34:49 And that's actually what he said. I'll never forget that. And of course you have to be honest. He said it takes many, many, many, many, many, many years of practice to be able to do tricks like that. Not many people can do that. So next week when I went for the second talk, only three people turned up. And that is true. Report an error in the passage at 34:49

35:17 What that did for me, I kind of loved the honesty and the frankness of those people in prisons. Weirdly, I respected them. I liked going there and that's why I went there again and again and again and again and again for many years. I had a very good response. Many people who were in prisons before, I never said they were criminals. I've never seen a criminal in my life. I've seen people who've done crimes. Report an error in the passage at 35:17

35:47 Never a criminal. There's a huge difference there. A criminal is like they're tainted forever. You have to be afraid of them. Someone who's done a crime can get past that crime. And a lot of the reason they can get past that crime is you don't look at them as a person who did that terrible thing. You look at them as a person who made a mistake. You can learn from that mistake and become a better human being. And that's what works. Report an error in the passage at 35:47

36:20 Even, I don't know how many of you in a marriage, sometimes your husband has let you down, or your wife has let you down. They made a mistake. Does that mean you can't trust them anymore? No way. It's not just forgiveness, it's much deeper than that. Report an error in the passage at 36:20

36:46 I call it giving them probation. That's what I did with a couple. They still keep coming over to Bodhinyana Monastery once a week. I'm kind of quite proud of them. She was sending, she was checking his suit to take it to the dry cleaners. And she was checking one of their pockets and had a receipt there from a brothel. Her husband had been playing around. Report an error in the passage at 36:46

37:19 So he sort of omitted it straight away. He said, look, I still love you. For the wife, she couldn't understand that. She wanted to divorce straight away. But then, both came to monastery. I talked to them for a long time. And he said, look, you will never do that again. And I said, it's deserving of forgiveness. Report an error in the passage at 37:19

37:45 He said, no, I can't. He's cheated me once. How can I trust him? Do you understand that? So what we decided on was not just forgiveness, deeper than that. He said, for the next six months or a year, he said, a year, for one whole year, he has to give you full access, access to all his pockets, all secret hiding places, and of course all the passwords on his mobile electronic media stuff. Report an error in the passage at 37:45

38:24 So anytime you can check him, every time that he comes home late from work, please, you know, check. The traffic details. If there was a jam, check it out. He has to give you all the information. And I said, that's the deal. If you really love your wife, you still love her, you've got to prove it now. And the standards are much higher than you had before. And bless him, he did that. Report an error in the passage at 38:24

38:56 For one whole year, she checked everything. And now she trusts him. So we see them coming to monastery. They got their marriage back together again. That's one of the most... I've never been married, okay? So, but the results are there for me to see. That's what after that first book, which I wrote, Opening the Door of Your Heart, that was really popular. Not just because it was fun to read, because of what it said. Report an error in the passage at 38:56

39:29 But I must say that there was this disciple from Adelaide who came to visit. And she told me the story when she went into the biggest bookshop in Adelaide looking for that book. The people who ran that store said, here, we've got a copy of it. I said, well, just look, I can't find it anywhere. So the owner of the store checked it out where it was located. And once they found it in the store, they had to come and tell me it was in the heart surgery book under medicine. Report an error in the passage at 39:29

40:07 It's true. Opening the door of your heart. Some idiot putting in heart surgery. But Report an error in the passage at 40:07

40:19 anyhow, I remember one of the best accolades for that book was actually to get this invitation, a little envelope in the post. And it was free tickets to go to Bangkok. Report an error in the passage at 40:19

40:42 From four people who were working in the Aussie embassy in Bangkok. They got a copy of the book and four of them, two of them were divorced. Report an error in the passage at 40:42

40:55 The two couples, another two couples were in trial separation. And they read that book and they came together again. Just didn't look at the two bad bricks, but look at the wonderful things why they fell in love together in the first place. Report an error in the passage at 40:55

41:15 And they clubbed together to buy me these tickets which they just sent to me. It was like free whenever you wanted to. And so I could go to the embassy and give a talk there. I gave a few talks in Bangkok. It was a sign it was really working. And that's the most important thing, to see that you can give and make people happier and more peaceful. Report an error in the passage at 41:15

41:43 Isn't that a good reason? To write books and let people know how it can work. Because imagine, I remember my only understanding of marriage was with my mum and dad. And they always loved each other. Of course they argued sometimes. But whenever they argued, as a kid, weirdly I kind of liked that. Because I knew what would happen next. We lived in a very, very, very, very small council flat. Report an error in the passage at 41:43

42:18 They couldn't escape from myself and my brother. It's such a small area to live in. And so, I knew when they had an argument, sometimes they refused to speak with one another. Have you ever done that to your partner in life? Let the kids see that, if you have any kids. Because the beautiful thing is, just when my dad went up to my mum and my brother and I were encouraging them and said, sorry, shouldn't have shouted at you. Report an error in the passage at 42:18

42:50 And they hugged and made up. And seeing like your own mother and father make up with kindness, it taught me a great lesson. It said it's okay to disagree, okay to get very upset at somebody as long as you make up afterwards. Because the make up was a beautiful part of it. When two people who could carry on fighting forever actually decided to be, not be so proud. Report an error in the passage at 42:50

43:22 And to say, look, I'm sorry. And how beautiful that was, that word. Which is one of the reasons why we always try to do that as much as possible in a monastery. Report an error in the passage at 43:22

43:36 Yeah, we say silly things. Look, how many times have you known me? Let's ask. Leha, do ever I say silly things? Come on, be honest. Of course. Do you ever say silly things to me? You bet. Report an error in the passage at 43:36

43:58 Would I ever get angry at you? No way. Actually, I should. No, I can't. But sometimes when you say sorry, it's not what I meant. And still respect you and are kind to you. It's wonderful when that happens. You have that kindness which is more important, more powerful than these stupid things we say. A lot of times by mistake. It's not what I meant. Sorry. So because of that, some of these Ideas of being easy to forgive and trusting in people. Trusting they'll never harm you. And if you do forgive them, how wonderful they can behave. Report an error in the passage at 43:58

44:44 How much they respect that forgiveness. And that's one of the beautiful things in life. And sometimes some of the forgiveness ceremonies I've seen are so gorgeous, so beautiful. You like to have everybody see when people have argued. ...and been upset at each other, can forgive one another. I still remember this, because someone reminded me of this recently. Report an error in the passage at 44:44

45:15 During the First World War, you know how brutal that was? Between the English troops and some German troops, it was Christmas Day. Report an error in the passage at 45:15

45:28 And what they did, they put down their weapons and had a football match, soccer match. For one day they were friends. Similar to that, is there any people here from Laos? Report an error in the passage at 45:28

45:46 But during the... This was one of my friends who was a monk who spent a lot of time in Laos during the war years, the Vietnam War. And he told me this story. He just went to one of the restaurants in Luang Prabang for lunch and he felt safe there. Even though it was a war time, the communists and the government troops were fighting to the death. Report an error in the passage at 45:46

46:13 He saw some of the government troops in the restaurant and another table with their machine guns against the wall. And then he saw the communist troops come in with their machine guns. He felt like diving under the table. These two warring factions in the second city of Laos, Luang Prabang, came into the restaurant for lunch. Report an error in the passage at 46:13

46:48 The communist troops sat at another table. They put their guns against the wall and ordered their lunch. Because in Laos, not just on Christmas Day, every day, war stops for lunch. Report an error in the passage at 46:48

47:11 That was beautiful. I can understand that because in the northeast of Thailand it was Laotian culture. There are things more important than killing one another. And apparently after the lunch I did ask, was it that the government troops went out to the right and the communist troops went out to the left, so they never met each other? Report an error in the passage at 47:11

47:40 So quite likely. For those nice little idiosyncrasies of life, how we can forgive each other, have fun together and realize there's more important things than having arguments. Report an error in the passage at 47:40

47:55 And running away because we think you're right. We never think you're right do we? We think I'm right and you're wrong. Wouldn't it be better to think you're right and I'm wrong? Can you do that? Report an error in the passage at 47:55

48:16 Why not? It brings peace and harmony to the world. Okay, that's my little talk on jet lag. That's what happens when you get jet lagged. Thank you all for listening. Report an error in the passage at 48:16

48:33 [chanting]

48:37 How many comments have we got today? From the chairs, from the floor, from the cushions? Any comments from people here first? Yes. Report an error in the passage at 48:37

48:54 Hello, Ajahn. It's a really interesting talk today, a really funny one. I was wondering, I was curious about the powers. Usually, like, for an example, does a bhikkhu or a bhikkhuni have to think? Do you have to get those powers or does this manifest? Okay, I can answer this. We're supposed to not advertise them. Report an error in the passage at 48:54

49:17 There's many good reasons for that. There's a wonderful nun over in Victoria who she always reported that her teacher told her when she was training, if you ever develop psychic powers, please don't tell anybody. Otherwise you'll spend the rest of your life Having to prove them. There's a wonderful piece of advice. You get bugged by universities, by other people not believing you. Report an error in the passage at 49:17

49:48 Come on, prove it. So for a peaceful life. But anyway, how they work is they are through deep meditation. Honestly, this is why sometimes you get frustrated. You can't tell too much about this because you get taken to a research institute and experimented on. Report an error in the passage at 49:48

50:10 But a lot of times they work as a natural result of meditation. Your mind becomes incredibly powerful. And if you ever do your meditation, you start off with the normal, like breath meditation or something. Even as the Buddha taught it, Ānāpānasati, the next part of breath meditation, your breath gets very calm, and then you start experiencing what the Buddha called pīti sukha, joy and happiness along with the breath. Report an error in the passage at 50:10

50:39 And that gets immense. Then you're not looking at the breath anymore, the immense joy and happiness becomes like nimittas, there's beautiful lights in the mind. Buddha called that experiencing the jitta, the sixth sense of mind. And that becomes huge. And that takes you into the jhānas, deep meditation where the five senses disappear. Report an error in the passage at 50:39

51:06 You just got the sixth sense, the mind there, to show you what it's capable of. And after that... When you come out afterwards, your mind is really empowered. You don't need to sleep. Please don't do this, though, because we're just talking today about if people don't sleep when they go on a retreat. Sometimes it could be a deep meditation, but a lot of times it's, you know, they may be having a psychosis or something. Be careful, because we're concerned about that. Report an error in the passage at 51:06

51:37 We care about you. And sometimes if you don't know what you're doing, you think this is great meditation. It's not. So anyhow... There are differences there. But anyway, that's what usually happens. And you come out afterwards. For something like reading minds, if a monk or a nun develops those abilities, they only do that once or twice. Report an error in the passage at 51:37

51:59 You know the reason why? Because all of your minds are not worth reading. Report an error in the passage at 51:59

52:10 It's like reading a poorly written novel. Pulp fiction. Is your mind really worth reading? Report an error in the passage at 52:10

52:22 Okay, I've told this story before, so I don't mind telling it again. This is one of the interactions with Ajahn Chah. You know that when Ajahn Chah started getting sick, if I'm going over time, please let me know. Pull the plug. And Ajahn Chah was getting quite sick. So we did find out that in Buddhist Vinaya, they did have saunas 2,500 years ago in India. Report an error in the passage at 52:22

52:55 And they were common. So we thought, if it's okay to have a sauna in the time of the Buddha, why don't we build a sauna for Ajahn Chah? So we did. I was involved in that. And once the sauna was built, the reason was we could actually invite Ajahn Chah over to monastery once a week to take a sauna. But it wasn't. Report an error in the passage at 52:55

53:23 It wasn't as compassionate as you think. There's a lot of selfishness in that because if he came over to Bodhinyana, not to Bodhinyana, to Wat Bananacar in those days, he would always give a dharma talk. It was a way of getting an extra dharma talk from him. And it worked beautifully because on one occasion he gave such a fantastic dharma teaching. Report an error in the passage at 53:23

53:47 And there's one of those occasions you had tears in your eyes afterwards. It's so beautiful. And then afterwards, some of the other monks were helping in the sauna. I went behind the hall, in a nice quiet place, and I sat there, just on the hard concrete, but no one could see me there, and just meditating. Report an error in the passage at 53:47

54:11 And if you get really inspired by a talk, or something you haven't heard before, which really captures you, you get so blissed out. So it's a beautiful meditation. For a couple of hours, even though it was on hard concrete, I didn't mind that it was hard, you really get blissed. And then afterwards, I thought maybe there might be time to actually help my teacher who taught me how to meditate properly. Report an error in the passage at 54:11

54:44 So I got up and walked towards the sauna. But I was late, because I could see Ajahn Chah coming in the opposite direction. Report an error in the passage at 54:44

54:54 And as he was coming towards me, he could see him looking at me, really sort of intently. So I just, as usual, to let him pass, I moved to the side. He never walked past me, he stopped and looked at me. And honestly, I don't think this is exhibiting any psychic powers on my part, but as he looked upon me, I could feel him inside my mind. Report an error in the passage at 54:54

55:26 He was reading my mind. He had that ability. And this is how you felt it. You knew it was happening. And for once, I never resisted. I was quite proud of how peaceful and pure my mind was at that moment. Just come out of a nice meditation. So have a look around. You know what it's like when somebody, like when you were a kid, your mother inspects your bedroom to make sure it's tied in. For once, it actually is. Report an error in the passage at 55:26

55:58 That was my teacher inspecting me. And I was quite proud, yeah, come and have a look. Report an error in the passage at 55:58

56:06 And that's when he decided to try and enlighten me. Mine was peaceful, pure, ready. So he looked at me and said, I'm sure you've heard this before, but it's a great story. I'm sure you don't mind hearing it again. You've heard it before, haven't you? Do you want to hear it again? Report an error in the passage at 56:06

56:30 Well, actually, it's just gone past nine o 'clock. I think we have to leave this till next week. Report an error in the passage at 56:30

56:39 None of you are heading for the door. Good. He looked at me and said, Bhamawangso. That's a full name, not Ajahn Brahm. It wasn't Ajahn then. Bhamawangso. Just get my attention. Why? In Thai, it's Ajahn Brahm. Tamai. That's for Sompoc over there. I understand Thai and Lao. Tamai. He looked at me and I answered, I don't know. Report an error in the passage at 56:39

57:18 I was still a youngish monk. I was being honest. He was trying to enlighten me and I failed. And then he looked at me again and said to me, I'll tell you the answer. Report an error in the passage at 57:18

57:34 And that really interested me. From one of the great meditation masters who I respected, still respect today even though he died many years ago. He was asking me, A very deep meditation question, dharma question, why? And I said, I don't know. And he said, the answer is, there's nothing. Report an error in the passage at 57:34

58:03 Then he said, do you understand? Report an error in the passage at 58:03

58:09 And I said, yes. And he said, what? I said, no you don't. He was totally correct. But that was a dharma teaching, just in a couple of words, which I always remember and I share with many people. Why? Report an error in the passage at 58:09

58:32 When you really know the answer to that question, you understand why we meditate and get so deep, the answer is very clear. There's nothing, nothing you own, nothing you have to worry about. Report an error in the passage at 58:32

58:45 Now that's the greatest of psychic powers. At Ajahn Chah's funeral service, they had the TV, he was a famous monk by this time. The TV was there and they had a group of senior monks and a couple of early people who had been with him for such a long time. An interviewer, it's on live TV throughout Thailand, asked the question, did you ever witness Ajahn Chah doing a real psychic power? Report an error in the passage at 58:45

59:21 All the monks were silent. One of the lay people said, yes. And Report an error in the passage at 59:21

59:33 of course, a cabaret went on this lay person. What was it? And the lay person said, For many years I saw Ajahn Chah teach the Dhamma so beautifully. And if ever you listen to the workshops like tomorrow, ask Venerable Sunyo, what psychic powers did the Buddha praise? The ability to teach the Dhamma was the only one which was worth anything, said the Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 59:33

1:00:12 And all the monks afterwards said, oh, I wish we'd have said that. They were totally outdone by the slave person. It was wonderful. So anyway, that's the psychic powers thing. So, has Ajahn Brahm got psychic powers? Why? He keeps dharma. Okay, so anyway, we did have some questions on the internet. They're still there. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:12

1:00:41 Are they all gone to sleep now? Okay, I'll answer them quickly because it's a bit late and I'm tired. Okay. Question one, Sri Lanka is going through severe floods. Please tell how those who survive can reconcile and face life with the help of dharma. That's actually quite easy. Please always remember that we do have tragedies and crises throughout our world. So please, it doesn't matter if you're a Muslim or a Hindu or a Buddhist or a Christian or whoever, please help one another. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:41

1:01:11 It gives us an opportunity to actually to show how powerful kindness, compassion can be. And it's also, they go through this because of climate change. Please remember what's important in this world, not just money or possessions, but what's really important is the ability to be kind to one another, to help one another. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:11

1:01:35 And so, of course, I've already done some chanting and blessings for this when I was in UK, when it happened. I was told about it and did a lot of chanting and spreading compassion as best I can. But that's part of our life. Years ago we had something not as bad, obviously nowhere near as bad, we had this big crown fire, bush fire season in Bodhinyana Monastery. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:35

1:02:01 I was there when it happened. It was 46 degrees centigrade before the fire came. At the time it was the hottest day in Western Australia, in that part of Western Australia ever. And that's the day a big fire came through. To actually be there and see the destruction of it. Bang! Boom! Trees explode. They don't burn. And that was kind of awful. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:01

1:02:31 But we had to evacuate and I thought the monastery had been burnt to the ground. The next time we went there, it was kind of miraculous. All the huts were still there. There's no green leaves anywhere in that forest. You can see right through the forest, the furthest part, Oh, that was awful. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:31

1:02:49 There was nothing, no leaves. And just in about six months, that forest over there somehow used to fires and it regenerated. It didn't need even to do anything. The energy was in the soil, underneath the leaves. And so because of that, it regenerated so fast. That's what you'd love to see in floods or tsunamis or fires or destructions. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:49

1:03:19 To allow regeneration to happen, that's a challenge, to see how quickly that can happen and also to make sure we've seen how extreme floods work and don't think this is extreme or one in a hundred years but that one in a hundred years is now and you're in the middle of it. So please do whatever you can to protect what's important in life, which is people, not property. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:19

1:03:52 Communists aren't allowed to have property. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:52

1:03:57 How does one find peace when living in a country that is doing atrocious things to humans, terrorizing the people and becoming a worldwide threat? If that's the company you're living in, who voted those people in? Why can't people who have a democracy understand what democracy really is? It's a huge responsibility. And it's not just, again, for making money. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:57

1:04:27 It's for making peace, for making harmony. But if you're already living in those places, don't leave. Because if you leave, there'll be less peaceful people there. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:27

1:04:40 Do some meditation, create peace. Know what peace is. And then spread that to others. From Canada, how to cope with intrusive, blasphemy thoughts caused by OCD. OCD, what's that? Occupational? No? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:40

1:05:03 Obsessive compulsive disorder. Obsessive compulsive disorder, is that permanent? Or is that because one has a temporary sort of sickness like a cold or fever or flu? Report an error in the passage at 1:05:03

1:05:17 But intrusive blasphemy, it feels impossible to let go of it. It makes me feel guilty and causes a lot of anxiety and pain. Don't try to let go of it. For whatever condition it is and whatever's caused that, Because everything in Buddhism is a cause and effect mechanism, it's natural. But, see if you can step away from your brain, from the person you think you are, and kind of look at it from a distance. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:17

1:05:52 It's not me, not mine, not a self. It's a temporary illusion I'm buying into. And then it can pass much quicker. That's why a lot of times to overcome intense Report an error in the passage at 1:05:52

1:06:08 ...problematic behavior. Don't own it. If it's owning it, you think you are responsible for it and it makes it much worse. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:08

1:06:19 And be more forgiving. It's easy to give mettā to others but to give mettā to oneself as well is important. Ah, from one of my favorite cities. You know where it is? Yes, that's one of them. But another one is Medan in Indonesia, in Sumatra. I don't know why but I kind of love that tale. How should we respond to someone who has committed suicide due to an illness? Can chanting help the spirit be reborn in a happy realm? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:19

1:06:54 Of course. Chanting, forgiveness, kindness. As I often said that suicide is the last act we do in our life. Please remember all the other acts that person has done throughout his life. You can't judge a person By the last question they answer in an exam, all the other questions are important. Like November, December, what do they call them? Report an error in the passage at 1:06:54

1:07:27 The entry to university exams. I did ask this parent of a person who committed suicide. I said, how many exams do you take? He said, four, no, five subjects. Four subjects, two exams per subject, that's eight papers you have to sit and maybe say 10 questions, 80 questions in all. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:27

1:07:55 Imagine, so this is an example, the first 79 questions you answer perfectly and the last question in the exams you make a real big mess of. You take a terrible answer. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:55

1:08:12 You only get 79 out of 80. To me that's university, no problem. You don't have to have perfect score in life to go to a nice rebirth. 79 out of 80 is a pretty hot score. Do you understand? The thing is that we always think the last thing they did was terrible. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:12

1:08:38 What about all the rest they have done? You can't judge anybody by one stupid act. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:38

1:08:47 Make sense? Any other questions from the floor? Report an error in the passage at 1:08:47

1:08:54 Eddie, you got no comment? When I go overseas, they say they miss you when you don't make a comment. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:54

1:09:06 Oh, Ajahn Brahm. Okay, thank you. That's enough. It's not a question, it's like a comment. You talk about the war, you know? Yeah. You see, at the moment, you know, what's going on in the world, these wars are from the... That's kind of... Report an error in the passage at 1:09:06

1:09:24 Heads of countries, it's a very dirty thing altogether. They make money. Not just from the heads, you vote them in. Yeah, the heads, they change leadership, all these things, and then making money, all these things. And not that, they use all these weapons to bomb each other. I think they are worse. worst, I think, really... Report an error in the passage at 1:09:24

1:09:52 Ajahn Brahm, human beings but they are worse than animals, you know. What do you think? The minds are worse than animals. How can you do that thing, you know? You're bombing one and then retaliation back and all these things. Oh yeah. I think if that's the case, we just have the leaders go into the boxing ring or somewhere and just the two of them... Report an error in the passage at 1:09:52

1:10:13 Yeah, that's why they should let them... you know, fight it out instead of the innocent citizens, you know, getting... But sometimes you see that the people they represent, people who vote them in, how many people when they vote in the political party or the representative really take the time to see what's best for the country, not best for me? Report an error in the passage at 1:10:13

1:10:47 You know, it's kind of a bit of selfishness, the democracy. It would be much better if you just vote in the head monk. That's right. No, it wouldn't. That's right, you know, then you're voting in and then all these protests. I would run away as fast as I could. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:47

1:11:07 I'm sure in the country there's a lot of suffering, you know, in the mind, there's a lot of suffering going on. Yeah, it is, yeah, in many countries. I'd better stop now. But thank you for saying your piece, because otherwise they would miss it. Eddie. Okay, so thank you everybody for listening. I did the best I can. And so I now bow to the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha. And then we can all go and take a rest. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:07