How to Not Be Afraid

0:00 It's something which many of you should know by now. Whenever I give a talk, whether it's to you here in Dhammaloka Center, Buddhist Society of WA, or to the monastic communities, the monks or nuns, or when I'm giving a retreat to people from places like Singapore, Whenever I start to give a talk, I haven't got a clue, honestly, what I'm going to talk about. But I look at you. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:40 I try and sort of tie into you, to resonate with you. I'm not saying I'm reading your mind, but finding out how you're feeling. Report an error in the passage at 0:40 Highlight the passage at 0:40

0:52 I base my talk on that. Sometimes, when you give a talk on a subject which you already... You think you know and you're going to tell people. That's a bit arrogant. You know better than other people. But instead of saying you know better, you know deeper than others. I've spent 51 years of my life now as a monk. And as a monk, I live in forests. In the forests, it can be sort of rough. Report an error in the passage at 0:52 Highlight the passage at 0:52

1:29 It can be not many. many uh resources but you can learn so much i'm just watching what's One of the nice things about these range retreats which we're just completing, even I have the opportunity to have some quiet time, deep quiet time. And this year, I usually only have two weeks, but the fellow monks were suggesting why not take a whole month this year. Report an error in the passage at 1:29 Highlight the passage at 1:29

2:03 That's what I did, four weeks of solitude. There was only this one person who was looking after me. It was Nicholas in front. He was bringing me my breakfast. What did I have for breakfast? A cup of tea. And for lunch, a whole heap of lunch. Report an error in the passage at 2:03 Highlight the passage at 2:03

2:28 But I gave most of that lunch, honestly, to the kangaroos, birds. There's one thing which happens when you get quiet. You get a lot of empathy, a lot of idea to empathize with the animal community around you. Report an error in the passage at 2:28 Highlight the passage at 2:28

2:51 And because of that, you have these wonderful experiences. One of the ones, this rains retreat, was one evening, just a nice echidna came to stay with me for a while. You know the echidnas? Report an error in the passage at 2:51 Highlight the passage at 2:51

3:08 You don't go looking for them. I was just doing my walking meditation. If you don't know how to do walking meditation, instead of sitting down on a cushion or on a chair, you just learn how to put your gaze one body length in front of you, not look to the left or the right, and just walk slowly from one place, from one end of a room to another end of the room. Report an error in the passage at 3:08 Highlight the passage at 3:08

3:33 And that's what I was doing. Beautiful echidna. Had so many spikes on it. Not really spiky spikes. That's just what they look like. This big ball of spikes. A little head in the front. Gorgeous animals. Sometimes you see little possums, if you're lucky enough. And the possums usually have babies on their back. And the wonderful thing is they're not afraid of you. Report an error in the passage at 3:33 Highlight the passage at 3:33

4:07 They just walk past you. I know some monks have told me they've just patted their little baby on the back. I would never do that because I want to know that the baby and their mum, the possum, is welcome, they're valued, and in no way in the world I want to scare it or give it anything which it's not used to. Report an error in the passage at 4:07 Highlight the passage at 4:07

4:31 So a lot of the times when you are aware of the animals in the forest, They never, ever, ever harm you. Even to the point that on one of these times, my preceptor, who was in Thailand, he was a very well-known monk and very sort of kind of famous. He became basically the acting head, a monk in Thailand for a while. Report an error in the passage at 4:31 Highlight the passage at 4:31

5:05 He told me once, I was waiting for him to pay my respects to him, and as I was waiting for him, of course, I just meditate, nothing else to do. You don't waste time as a monk. If you're just waiting for somebody, you enjoy that time of waiting. It's what I call the in-between moments of life, where you can get so much peace and happiness. Report an error in the passage at 5:05 Highlight the passage at 5:05

5:28 Anyway, I was waiting for him for about a quarter of an hour or half an hour, and he came into the... He saw me meditating and that brought back some of his experiences when he was a young monk being trained. The place where he grew up was in Gottsamoi so many years ago when it was an unknown island just off the coast of Thailand. Report an error in the passage at 5:28 Highlight the passage at 5:28

5:52 And he said when he grew up there every young monk had to learn meditation. One of his experiences He was meditating in a coconut plantation in Gottsamoi. And he closed his eyes and he meditated. It was a very good meditation in the sense he was very still and peaceful for a couple of hours. But then what happened when he opened his eyes? Report an error in the passage at 5:52 Highlight the passage at 5:52

6:21 In his lap he saw a snake had crawled up. It was one of the most dangerous snakes on that island. The sort of snake... Where his parents, his teacher, were told, if you see something like that, get away quick. But he said the weird thing was, he was so peaceful after doing a couple of hours meditation, he had no fear at all. Report an error in the passage at 6:21 Highlight the passage at 6:21

6:48 He said that was weird. This little snake was caught up in his lap. It was a deadly snake. And he thought, you can stay there as long as you like. I will never harm you. You know sometimes we have, those are supposed to be idealistic thoughts of a Buddhist monk, but how many actually do it? Report an error in the passage at 6:48 Highlight the passage at 6:48

7:13 Can you do it? And he said that was an amazing thing. He'd been taught all his young life to fear those snakes. And then when one actually was on his lap, he just gave it some kindness, that's all. Report an error in the passage at 7:13 Highlight the passage at 7:13

7:30 And he told me just one of the weirdest things of his young life, after about another 10 or 15 minutes, that little really dangerous snake uncurled and just crawled away. So peaceful. And I like stories like that because I've had experiences like that before. Most people, if you practice your meditation in places like Thailand, yes, there's many animals there, but they don't eat. Report an error in the passage at 7:30 Highlight the passage at 7:30

8:01 Monks, they just want to leave you. They don't want to be bothered. They just see a nice, cool, calm lap to sit on for, I don't know how long, when they actually called on him. But because of that, they trusted one another. And so, no problem at all, no fear. Would you like to be able to do that? You go in jungles, it doesn't matter what you see, who you see, how you see. Report an error in the passage at 8:01 Highlight the passage at 8:01

8:30 No one can ever harm you. That's just animals. And because I had many people from Singapore over the last week, I started telling stories about how some of the experiences I've had here in Australia, how nothing has ever harmed me. And on one of those occasions, I was in I used to go and teach in the prison in Banbury, the first prison I ever taught in. I got this invitation to go down there and the fellow, the prisoner, he managed to get a telephone call when that was the main way of communicating in those days. Report an error in the passage at 8:30 Highlight the passage at 8:30

9:18 And the first thing he said to me, this is from jail, you wouldn't believe just how hard it was to get this telephone call to you. And he was real, realistic. Report an error in the passage at 9:18 Highlight the passage at 9:18

9:30 So once he told me that, I thought, okay, I'm coming. I don't care how difficult it is to get there. You'll see me there in a week or two. And of course, that's what I did. I had an arrangement to give a talk on meditation in Bunbury Regional Prison. And that was such an interesting experience, going in jail for the first time and teaching meditation. Report an error in the passage at 9:30 Highlight the passage at 9:30

9:59 What was fascinating about that experience, There was a small prison at that time, maybe about 110, 120 inmates. And the number of inmates who came to my talk on meditation was about 95 % of them. 105 people came or something. Report an error in the passage at 9:59 Highlight the passage at 9:59

10:22 Did that kind of shock you? So many prisoners came to listen to my talk on meditation? I found out why. During the talk, actually not that long since it started, One of the prisoners put their hand up. When I looked at him, he was about six feet six or something high, full of scars. Report an error in the passage at 10:22 Highlight the passage at 10:22

10:50 He was one of the leaders of the gangs in that prison. He said, can I ask you a question? And whenever anybody that big who'd been through so much violence said, can I ask you a question? You always say, yes. Report an error in the passage at 10:50 Highlight the passage at 10:50

11:10 Fascinatingly, he became a good friend. After seeing him many, many, many times, he really respected me. And I respected him for his honesty towards the monk. And anyway, he asked the question, is it true that if you learn meditation, you can also learn how to fly over walls? Report an error in the passage at 11:10 Highlight the passage at 11:10

11:37 This is true. Some of you heard that story before, when I said it takes special people to be able to levitate. And number two, it takes a lot of training. Then the next week when I went to the same place, I think it was only three or four people turned up. Report an error in the passage at 11:37 Highlight the passage at 11:37

11:58 You found out what they were really interested in. But nevertheless, some of these places were violent places. In the prison over in Canning Vale, which I went to later on. And this man... Three or four years later on, he'd been transferred to that jail. And when I went into the jail at Canning Vale, I forget, they keep changing its name. Report an error in the passage at 11:58 Highlight the passage at 11:58

12:28 It was a top security jail. And so the people at the gate gave me this little pen. I don't need a pen. I don't take any notes. He said, it's not a pen. It looked like it was an ordinary biro pen. He said, no, it's a security alarm. He said, see on all the ceilings, you think these are fire detectors. They're not fire detectors. These are where you point the pen at, press the button on the end, and then we'll know where you are. Report an error in the passage at 12:28 Highlight the passage at 12:28

13:04 The alarms will go off. We'll come and save you. But please, don't tell any of your friends who are prisoners who come to your class. It's supposed to be top secret. Report an error in the passage at 13:04 Highlight the passage at 13:04

13:21 I said, okay. But they said, put it in your pocket. Can you see any pockets in here? There's no pockets in here. I said, of course there's no pockets. I said, just hold it. So I hold it. And this guy, this six foot six guy, as soon as I came into the meditation class with the pen, he said, you've got one of those security alarms as well, have you? Report an error in the passage at 13:21 Highlight the passage at 13:21

13:45 Of course they know all about it. They're really intelligent. And then I said, yeah. He looked at me and said, Ajahn Brahm, do you think you can even press that button before we jumped you and raped you? Report an error in the passage at 13:45 Highlight the passage at 13:45

14:05 He was serious. And I said, no, correct, he said. We were way too fast. That's why they gave these pens, because any sort of visitor could get assaulted so easily. But you know, I wasn't scared. Report an error in the passage at 14:05 Highlight the passage at 14:05

14:27 And the reason I wasn't scared was what he said next. He said, but we welcome you in this jail. We've known you for many years now. We want you to be here. So because of that, if any of these guys in the back tried anything on you, I would get them first. I felt so protected, so safe, so I could relax and tell silly stories. Report an error in the passage at 14:27 Highlight the passage at 14:27

14:54 And that's my whole life has been, like learning how to be confident. And you never feel fear. I told a couple of stories. I was reminded of this today. My Kung Fu story. Report an error in the passage at 14:54 Highlight the passage at 14:54

15:11 How many of you are good at Kung Fu? Anyone? The only thing I knew about Kung Fu was 51 years ago before I became a monk. When was that? That's 1972 or something. At that time, there was a TV program called Kung Fu. I remember I was a school teacher at that time, and my fellow school teachers, you know, they said, why is Kung Fu supposed to be Buddhist when every episode is so much violence? Report an error in the passage at 15:11 Highlight the passage at 15:11

15:54 That's just what they have to do on a TV show to attract viewers. And it was true. That's the only thing I knew about Kung Fu. But then, I was visiting my mother in London, and I was walking from my mother's apartment to the Sri Lankan temple in Chiswick to give a talk that evening. This was the place where I grew up, you know, my area where I was a young boy. I knew all the back roads, the side roads. Report an error in the passage at 15:54 Highlight the passage at 15:54

16:31 And just to make it interesting for you, Another of those people who grew up in the same area that I grew up in Acton, the poor part of Acton, and down Chiswick and Hammersmith. Only I think last year I discovered when this fellow died, he was four years older than I was, he went to the same primary school and the same secondary school as I did. Report an error in the passage at 16:31 Highlight the passage at 16:31

17:00 Three or four years senior to me. I never knew that before. And this man, he became an actor. I became a monk. I would have seen him many times. Only three years or four years older. And his name was Alan Rickman. Have you heard that name before? Otherwise known as Harry Potter's Professor Snape. Report an error in the passage at 17:00 Highlight the passage at 17:00

17:29 He was supposed to be scary. And I did know that he was what they call a method actor. They base their character. On other people they've grown up with. And I kind of figured out, you know, he went to the same schools as me. So what teacher was the scariest teacher I knew from my upbringing? There's no doubt about it. Report an error in the passage at 17:29 Highlight the passage at 17:29

18:02 Mr. Jones. I'm pretty sure that Adam Rickman, Professor Snape, based his character. On Mr. Jones, he was a disciplinarian of the school, the primary school. But I was always confident. Report an error in the passage at 18:02 Highlight the passage at 18:02

18:24 And the confidence was one of the reasons why all any fear just disappeared. And so I remember once my father had come home to my house. So he had a half day off work. And one of the reasons he had a half day off work was that he managed to be given these two tickets for a football match. Report an error in the passage at 18:24 Highlight the passage at 18:24

18:58 Would you mind just closing your ears when I say who this football match was between? They don't need to. Between Poland and England. A World Cup qualifying match. This was serious sport. Report an error in the passage at 18:58 Highlight the passage at 18:58

19:16 And in those days that my dad said, oh, it's a shame you have to go to school this afternoon because I've got these two free tickets. Report an error in the passage at 19:16 Highlight the passage at 19:16

19:28 And I said, well, you can always ask Professor Snape. He said, no, you can't. Yeah, why not? And when I asked my teacher, my dad's got two free tickets. Can I go off school this afternoon, go football match? Report an error in the passage at 19:28 Highlight the passage at 19:28

19:49 And I think he was so stunned that I had the nerve to ask. He gave permission. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 19:49 Highlight the passage at 19:49

20:00 So I went off to a football match when all my friends were studying in school. That made it even more interesting. I won't say who won because I don't want to upset you. Report an error in the passage at 20:00 Highlight the passage at 20:00

20:16 But that was good fun. But sometimes you look, why are we afraid? And what I did... When I was in that area walking from my mother's house to the Sri Lankan temple to give a talk one evening, it was supposed to be like a no-go area for anyone. People didn't like to go down there. There's these council flats which had been kind of occupied by gangs. And I was walking down the road towards the Sri Lankan temple. Report an error in the passage at 20:16 Highlight the passage at 20:16

20:51 I had to pass this gang of thugs. And as I was going in their direction, they saw me, bald head, brown robes. So they started trying to intimidate me. There was about seven or eight of them at first, and by the time I got close to them, there was a bit more. And as they were coming towards me, they started to chant, Buddha, Buddha, Buddha, Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 20:51 Highlight the passage at 20:51

21:29 As I got closer, the chant got louder and more aggressive. What would you do? I just, it's not in my nature to show fear. And I wasn't afraid. So as I got closer to them, when I really could see their eyes get very violent, I lifted up my hands. I Report an error in the passage at 21:29 Highlight the passage at 21:29

22:02 have no clue in the world whether this is a legitimate kung fu posture or not. But they didn't know either. And I carried on walking. And you could see in their eyes, they got scared. Report an error in the passage at 22:02 Highlight the passage at 22:02

22:19 There's about 15 of them by now, only just one of me. And then they parted and let me go through. Report an error in the passage at 22:19 Highlight the passage at 22:19

22:28 This confidence or gall or whatever, if any one of them had hit me, I'd have been wasted. I wouldn't be able to stand by now. But I love things like that. Just to see what's possible when you don't get afraid. And one of the other times at Bunbury Beach, when I was sitting there, sitting quietly by myself, in the afternoon, there was no one there in those days. Report an error in the passage at 22:28 Highlight the passage at 22:28

22:54 Quiet, and I had a free afternoon, so I went there and just sat meditation. And I heard this sound, come right past my ear. And of course you pay attention to it, and I realized that somebody was throwing rocks at me, the pebbles from the beach. Report an error in the passage at 22:54 Highlight the passage at 22:54

23:18 When I opened my eyes, I heard them shout out, Get off our beach, Rajneeshi! Do you remember the time when that Rajneesh fellow was going to try and open up a centre here in Perth? That was that time. And these young boys, they saw me sitting on the beach, bald head, brown robe. They didn't know the difference between a Buddhist monk and a Rajneeshi. Report an error in the passage at 23:18 Highlight the passage at 23:18

23:50 That's why they're throwing stones at me. And I thought I better get up. Because if I didn't get up, the aim wasn't that good. Because the aim wasn't that good, one of them would hit me by mistake. Report an error in the passage at 23:50 Highlight the passage at 23:50

24:05 So I got up. Get off our beach now! I turned around and walked towards them. Made the shots easier. When you do things which people don't expect, that's when they run away. It's kind of weird. Many of you know me so well. How many of you would be afraid of me when I come towards you? Could I harm you or hurt you? Report an error in the passage at 24:05 Highlight the passage at 24:05

24:38 No way. And so they all ran away. One stayed. I said, please stay. They said, look, I'm not a Rajneeshi. I'm a Buddhist monk. Totally pacifist. I won't harm anybody. What is Buddhism? Then we had a conversation. And all the other kids, they saw me talking friendly to their mate. They also came and listened in. So I could teach these young boys, maybe 11 or 12 or something, 13, just don't throw rocks at people you don't know who they are. Report an error in the passage at 24:38 Highlight the passage at 24:38

25:16 And so it all worked out really well. But because I'm talking about this, one of the other difficulties I faced on Bunbury Beach. Many afternoons I sat there in the afternoon just peacefully. Just becoming cool and quiet. You know what happened? I was sitting there, a nice day in, I think it was November, and easy to get nice meditation, couple of hours, and when I opened my eyes, you could look, somebody was sitting next to me on my left, and another person on my right. Report an error in the passage at 25:16 Highlight the passage at 25:16

25:54 And when I appeared to take a look, you know what I saw? What was sitting next to me on my right? There was this 17-year-old young girl in a bikini sitting next to me on the beach. I looked on the other hand and there was another beautiful brunette in a bikini sitting on my left side. How do I know there were 17? Report an error in the passage at 25:54 Highlight the passage at 25:54

26:24 Because the story was this was the last day of TAE exams. That was the university entrance exams. And they had a school on the other side of the road. And so they thought, well now let's go and celebrate now. School is over, no more exams. And what do people that age do? Change into their bathers and go onto the beach and have a swim and play around, celebrate. Report an error in the passage at 26:24 Highlight the passage at 26:24

26:56 And two of these girls, instead of celebrating, they saw this weird event. A monk sitting perfectly still. And when you get into deep meditation, you don't know what's going on next to you. You don't pay attention at all. You're deep inside. They would have talked to me, but then you weren't listening. Report an error in the passage at 26:56 Highlight the passage at 26:56

27:17 And you don't hear. And so you're in deep meditation. They were waiting for me to come out. Now, what have you been doing? How do you do this? Report an error in the passage at 27:17 Highlight the passage at 27:17

27:28 I did talk to them for a few minutes. I tried to make the conversation short. Because I started to think, if someone took a photograph of me, there's Ajahn Brahm with this beautiful young lady on his left, beautiful on the right, both in bikinis. How can you explain that? I'd be in big trouble. There's a difficulty with being a monk. Report an error in the passage at 27:28 Highlight the passage at 27:28

27:56 Sometimes it's just what it looks like, not what it actually is. Report an error in the passage at 27:56 Highlight the passage at 27:56

28:03 Can I say that? Dennis, you remember that confession I made many years ago? Report an error in the passage at 28:03 Highlight the passage at 28:03

28:10 Can I confess? You know, this was serious. Because there were some monks over in the east, in Thailand, who were not really keeping their precepts. They'd had to disrobe. So one Friday evening, I said to the audience, I think you were there at the time, I said, There's so many cases of monks misbehaving. So I thought, I thought it's time to make my confession. Report an error in the passage at 28:10 Highlight the passage at 28:10

28:58 Many years ago, I spent some of the happiest times of my life in the loving arms of another man's wife. Report an error in the passage at 28:58 Highlight the passage at 28:58

29:16 No, no, not yet. Let me have that honor and fun. And people really sort of, what's Ajahn Brahm been up to? Oh please, not Ajahn Brahm as well. And I played it seriously. So Report an error in the passage at 29:16 Highlight the passage at 29:16

29:35 I said, we kissed, we hugged. I love that woman. And some people already going for the door. Report an error in the passage at 29:35 Highlight the passage at 29:35

29:50 And then what was the punchline, Dennis? My mum. I loved her very much. We hugged, we kissed. She was another man's wife. My dad. That was my mother. Report an error in the passage at 29:50 Highlight the passage at 29:50

30:05 Before I became a monk. And the reason I told a story like that, how easy it is to judge other people. You know, we hear a part of the story and we create a judgment which is not true. And that's where a lot of trouble comes from in this world. Have you ever, any of you, been misjudged? So please be kind to one another. Report an error in the passage at 30:05 Highlight the passage at 30:05

30:31 Of course that wasn't true. Actually it was true, but what people thought... So because of these stories, don't be afraid, don't fear, but also don't judge. Report an error in the passage at 30:31 Highlight the passage at 30:31

30:49 Don't judge outcomes. Years and years ago, I'm reminded of this because of Singapore. You know the time when we had all these disease events? This was the time before COVID. judge to Report an error in the passage at 30:49 Highlight the passage at 30:49

31:08 They had SARS, S-A-R-S, Stun Acute Respiratory Syndrome. I think that's what it means. But anyway, during the SARS epidemic, I was giving some big talks over in Singapore. Report an error in the passage at 31:08 Highlight the passage at 31:08

31:25 Such was the interest that they started advertising, advertising that I was giving all these talks in a big convention center on the back of buses. Report an error in the passage at 31:25 Highlight the passage at 31:25

31:40 That's what they thought would be good advertising. So many people said, Ajahn Brahm, you've got a face like a back of a bus. Report an error in the passage at 31:40 Highlight the passage at 31:40

31:52 Please, you can say things like that. You won't offend me. I think it's funny. Just like my nicknames. You know one of my famous nicknames over in Indonesia, where I go a lot? Report an error in the passage at 31:52 Highlight the passage at 31:52

32:07 Not Ajahn Brahm, Ajahn Donut. Why do they call me Ajahn Donut? Number one, because I'm round. Report an error in the passage at 32:07 Highlight the passage at 32:07

32:23 Number two, because I'm sweet. And number three, because I'm holy. Report an error in the passage at 32:23 Highlight the passage at 32:23

32:33 So when somebody suggested it, I said, yeah, well done. So I don't get offended. I like to sort of share. You know one other thing which people call me this were students, ladies students, girls students from Mercedes College in Perth. I gave a talk there once. Report an error in the passage at 32:33 Highlight the passage at 32:33

32:55 The next day I happened to be in Perth doing some other business. When they saw me, they said, oh, you gave a Perth at our school. Do you still remember me? I said, yes, we'll never ever forget you. How sweet. They thanked me for my talk and they said it was unforgettable. I said, what part did you like about it? It's nothing to do with the content of your talk. It's your name. Report an error in the passage at 32:55 Highlight the passage at 32:55

33:26 How can you ever forget a monk called Ajahn Brahm? Report an error in the passage at 33:26 Highlight the passage at 33:26

33:35 There's an M on the end. They tried to wind me up. I said, thank you for winding me up. I'd refuse to get wound up. You enjoy, you know, your humor. It's what I learned even as a student, what I share with you. If you do something, a mistake, and people laugh at you, you laugh as well. Report an error in the passage at 33:35 Highlight the passage at 33:35

34:02 Then the world will never laugh at you, will only laugh with you. That's a beautiful piece of advice. And because of that, I laughed as well. And that's what really impressed those girl students. So these are ways we can learn how to live a very peaceful, happy life. Report an error in the passage at 34:02 Highlight the passage at 34:02

34:25 We learn this, a bit of practice, but then when these things happen, you ask yourself why. Why is it I don't get offended? Why is it you don't get afraid? Why is it that you don't have these things in your arsenal of emotions? Report an error in the passage at 34:25 Highlight the passage at 34:25

34:46 It's much more fun and peaceful. It's much more enjoyable not having these. Even many of the people over in the retreat, some of you as well, you travel. You go on aircraft. Report an error in the passage at 34:46 Highlight the passage at 34:46

35:05 You go through customs. You know, this is even the Singaporeans, they told me that when they told the customs officer they're going to do a retreat with Ajahn Brahm, the customs officer said, Ajahn Brahm, yeah, go listen to his talks. Now many of the customs people come here on a Friday evening or they go over on a Saturday afternoon to learn meditation. Report an error in the passage at 35:05 Highlight the passage at 35:05

35:33 They all know he's up here. So because of that, they told him, you know, this Singaporean person, oh yeah, Ajahn Brahm, he's fine, off you go. Report an error in the passage at 35:33 Highlight the passage at 35:33

35:47 They're our friends. How come they can be our friends? You know that once I was telling this story about these Buddha relics which we have in Bodhinyana Monastery. Have you seen those Buddha relics? We're going still on the, yeah, we have. Report an error in the passage at 35:47 Highlight the passage at 35:47

36:16 I think they've been hidden somewhere. I think in the other hall we have some. But the Buddha relics are supposed to be relics of the Lord Buddha. Report an error in the passage at 36:16 Highlight the passage at 36:16

36:26 Are they real? There was a long time when I was a theoretical physicist before I was a monk at Cambridge. And we had a lot of doubts about these relics. But then after a while, you see, they're properties. Report an error in the passage at 36:26 Highlight the passage at 36:26

36:46 Weird stuff. And I like it when you see weird stuff. One of the things which you see is that these relics can multiply. When I first saw relics which I had, and I left them with the disciples in Singapore, they had two little relics in this enclosed container. Report an error in the passage at 36:46 Highlight the passage at 36:46

37:11 And recently, during the rains retreat, I actually visited for two days Singapore, what's it called, the Sataha, the allowance from the Buddha to, at the end of my month retreat, to go there for two days. They were opening a new Buddhist center there on Lavender Street, 10 million bucks. They were raised for it. Report an error in the passage at 37:11 Highlight the passage at 37:11

37:38 And when they were opening it, they wanted me to be the VIP there. So I went there. One of the first things which I did was make sure those relics I'd given them about 10 years ago, they'd kept them. And the reason I wanted to make sure they were still keeping them and respecting them, because when I gave them, there was two relics in there. Report an error in the passage at 37:38 Highlight the passage at 37:38

38:01 And then, after about three months, the leader of the Buddhist Fellowship at that time, Angie Monksfield, she wrote me this fax back. And by the way, you won't believe this, there's now three. They multiply. Report an error in the passage at 38:01 Highlight the passage at 38:01

38:17 I'm not joking about that. It's weird. Buddha relics. And another time, I went to visit one of the Australian Buddhists down in Manjimak. Remember that, Dennis? Maureen Barton? She came up here recently. And apparently one of the Thai monks had visited and given her three relics of the Buddha. And she really respected them, looked after them, cared for them. But on this one occasion, her husband had left her and she needed someone to help renovate the inside of the house. Report an error in the passage at 38:17 Highlight the passage at 38:17

39:02 So she hired somebody. And this Western carpenter, by mistake, had just pushed over the relic casket. He didn't think they were important, so he just put it back again. And that's where she lost two. of those three relics and she really felt guilty and what she did was with a tea strainer everything which they'd hoovered up from the carpet was put in the compost pile she went with a tea strainer through all the compost trying to find the other two lost relics she found one of them the other one totally disappeared Report an error in the passage at 39:02 Highlight the passage at 39:02

39:50 And this was the early days of Bodhinyana Monastery. I was working my butt off. You know, in those days, there are some photos of me. You would never recognize me. I was so thin. I was working so hard. Dennis, was that true in those early days? Report an error in the passage at 39:50 Highlight the passage at 39:50

40:14 Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 40:14 Highlight the passage at 40:14

40:20 Anyhow, so working very hard. Yeah, so any... Report an error in the passage at 40:20 Highlight the passage at 40:20

40:23 And Ajahn Chakra was with me. He was the head monk then. He went to see Maureen Barton first for a bit of R &R. And she told him about the relics. She'd found one. The other one was still missing. She couldn't find it. She'd lost it. Report an error in the passage at 40:23 Highlight the passage at 40:23

40:41 Very tiny little relics. And so what she, Ajahn Chakra said, keep practicing well. It might come back. So when I went to see her, About a year or two later, have they come back yet? No. She said, let's have a look. I always remember this moment. It was all closed up. So she opened it up for me. I looked at it. You look at it. One, two, three. Report an error in the passage at 40:41 Highlight the passage at 40:41

41:15 She couldn't believe it. The relics had just come back. And she wrote it in a letter immediately. She never said anything. She stopped talking, went to her desk. To record it. To her, this was like a miracle. But of course, when you have things like relics, how do you get them into the country? Report an error in the passage at 41:15 Highlight the passage at 41:15

41:41 Honesty. Monks are always honest. So what I did when I brought these relics in from overseas, I had lots of them at this one time, and I brought them in, I declared them. You know those little brown cards? Which you have to put in all sort of things you need to declare to go through customs in Perth. It's still the same, basically. So what I wrote down on the customs form, I had something to declare, human remains. Report an error in the passage at 41:41 Highlight the passage at 41:41

42:17 Well, that was the closest. I had to say something. That's kind of what fat human remains. And I felt sorry for this poor customs officer who checked my records. So what have you got to declare? Human remains. Report an error in the passage at 42:17 Highlight the passage at 42:17

42:32 What? Human remains. Let's have a look at them. I took them out. What type of remains are these? Remains of the Buddha and holy disciples. Report an error in the passage at 42:32 Highlight the passage at 42:32

42:45 And that really bamboozled him. So much so, he said, just wait here. And he got the head guy, you know, who was on duty that day, to come over. What's the problem? He said, this monk, he's got these human remains here. Of whose? Report an error in the passage at 42:45 Highlight the passage at 42:45

43:07 The Buddha. And that made him very, very concerned. He wanted to have a look at them. And I showed them. They're all in containers, glass containers. You couldn't open them. And he looked at them and looked at them. And he looked at me and said, this is far too difficult even for me. Get out of here. I always remember the way he said, get out of here. I was too much of a problem. And that's where we got our relics from. Report an error in the passage at 43:07 Highlight the passage at 43:07

43:39 And so some of these times, if you're honest and straightforward, you never get into trouble. You never need to be afraid. At that other time at the airport, I'll do one more story. It's okay. The other time at the airport, years and years and years ago, actually I was coming in from Sri Lanka. I think the first time I went to Sri Lanka. Report an error in the passage at 43:39 Highlight the passage at 43:39

44:02 And coming back again, I had this flight arriving in the middle of the night. When I was coming back, They were really serious checking on importation of drugs. They had a dog sensor going up and down the lines, checking everybody to see if there was any smell of narcotics. When they came past me, I didn't mind, I like dogs. And so it came past me. You weren't allowed to touch it, but the dog was allowed to touch me. Report an error in the passage at 44:02 Highlight the passage at 44:02

44:31 He put his nose right in my robe and wagged his tail. Report an error in the passage at 44:31 Highlight the passage at 44:31

44:37 And the person that was in line in front of me walked away from me. The one behind me walked backwards. It was pretty clear what they thought. It was a drug smuggler. I wasn't afraid. I was relaxed. I didn't have any drugs. And then, it was so slow in those days, they took the dog up and down another time. Report an error in the passage at 44:37 Highlight the passage at 44:37

45:03 It did the same. Buried its head in my robe, wagged its tail, and had to drag it off me. Then, They asked me when I got to the counter, where are the drugs? I don't have any. I'm a good monk. Why did that dog do that to you twice? I said, because the dog recognizes loving kindness from a monk. Report an error in the passage at 45:03 Highlight the passage at 45:03

45:32 That didn't go down well. Report an error in the passage at 45:32 Highlight the passage at 45:32

45:37 But the fortunate thing is being a monk, Ajahn Brahm, this is actually, you've seen me at the airport. This is my carry-on baggage. I don't have any other baggage. It's very easy to have a look. And so what about, why did he put his head under here? So have a look. Nothing. It's very easy to get people to see what you've got underneath. Nothing. I know once over in US, one of the customs officers there said, what are you carrying under your robe? Report an error in the passage at 45:37 Highlight the passage at 45:37

46:14 He said, nothing. Just fat. Report an error in the passage at 46:14 Highlight the passage at 46:14

46:21 I'm sorry, I got that conversation a little bit wrong. He said, what are you carrying under the robe? Have you got a suicide belt under the robe? I said, no, it's just fat. Same thing he said. I Report an error in the passage at 46:21 Highlight the passage at 46:21

46:38 love it when people have a sense of humor. When you have a sense of humor, you never get into trouble. Did you hear about that, who was it? I forget his name now, but he was a hypnotist. And he was having a court case against him for fraud. Report an error in the passage at 46:38 Highlight the passage at 46:38

47:02 You know for fraud? And so the judge found him guilty. He told the hypnotist, I'm going to have to sentence you to two, no, what was it, for six, no, I think for six months in this resort at taxpayer's expense, five-star room. Report an error in the passage at 47:02 Highlight the passage at 47:02

47:28 He was a hypnotist. He hypnotized the judge to send him to a big resort at taxpayer's expense. Report an error in the passage at 47:28 Highlight the passage at 47:28

47:41 Dennis, you're a hypnotist, aren't you? Report an error in the passage at 47:41 Highlight the passage at 47:41

47:46 Have you been through a nice cruise somewhere or a nice resort? So anyway. Oh, come on, Dennis. You've been practising for years. Report an error in the passage at 47:46 Highlight the passage at 47:46

48:20 This is the story of having a fault-finding mind. Ajahn Jakaro, who just left, took over, appointed by the Buddhist Society of West Australia to be the boss. years Report an error in the passage at 48:20 Highlight the passage at 48:20

· · · silence, 1 minute

48:36 of Bodhinyana Monastery. So when you take over, you don't really know what you're supposed to do. So I decided to be strict and fierce. Report an error in the passage at 48:36 Highlight the passage at 48:36

48:49 So one day, I was wandering in Bodhinyana Monastery and I saw one of the monks had left a hammer out in the grass. It was getting rusty. They had been too lazy to put it away and now it was getting ruined. So I thought, this is a good time to give a talk, one of my first talks, the community of monks. Report an error in the passage at 48:49 Highlight the passage at 48:49

49:20 And so I made them all come into the main hall, sat on the top seat, and I said, You are monks. We can't just allow these things to be wasted. Some person, I don't know who it is, donated this hammer to us. We didn't buy it. They donated it. And I don't know who they are. There are some people here who are having really big financial troubles. And sometimes it's amazing they can even afford even to give us a nail, let alone a hammer. Report an error in the passage at 49:20 Highlight the passage at 49:20

49:50 We should respect people's donations and treat them with more respect. It's a rotten thing you've done here to actually allow some of this monastic property to go to ruin by leaving it out in the grass and making it sort of not caring about it. That was only like 1 % of what I said. I really sort of hammered the community monks. Report an error in the passage at 49:50 Highlight the passage at 49:50

50:17 So I shouldn't have said that. Thank you for laughing. I didn't realize that was a joke. I really treated them roughly, saying it's not to be done. You shouldn't do this. And all of those monks are all sitting up perfectly straight. That's where you can tell that you've really sort of maybe raised your voice a bit too loud. Report an error in the passage at 50:17 Highlight the passage at 50:17

50:43 None of them was sort of sleepy or just looking at something else. And then I was disappointed that not one of my monks confessed. It was them. Not one of them. And I really thought I'd just laid it on too hard. So I looked at them, waited. No one would admit that they were the one who left the hammer out. So I bowed to the Buddha statue and left the room. And I was disappointed. Report an error in the passage at 50:43 Highlight the passage at 50:43

51:16 It was only after I left the room that I realized who had left the hammer out. It was me. Report an error in the passage at 51:16 Highlight the passage at 51:16

51:29 And I'd totally forgotten. To put it away. And I don't know why it is that you criticize everybody else first, and then you remember. Report an error in the passage at 51:29 Highlight the passage at 51:29

51:43 So I walked back inside and said, just sit down, I've got something else to say. It was me who left the hammer out. Oh, it's so embarrassing. But I said it. It's wonderful when you admit your own mistakes. We all make them sometimes. So because of that... You know, you became much softer, kinder. And look at our monastery now. So many monks. Not just monks, nuns. Report an error in the passage at 51:43 Highlight the passage at 51:43

52:13 So many branch monasteries. And that's because they value their time there. And I respect all those monks and nuns immensely. Report an error in the passage at 52:13 Highlight the passage at 52:13

52:23 Do I? Report an error in the passage at 52:23 Highlight the passage at 52:23

52:28 Thank you. Okay, so that's the talk for this evening. Did you enjoy it? Excellent. And hopefully... It's not just for entertainment. Sometimes I hope you listened and learned and had some nice strategies how to not be afraid, no fear, and how to enjoy the life. And you come across a more confident human being who hardly ever gets into trouble. Report an error in the passage at 52:28 Highlight the passage at 52:28

53:04 Sadhu, okay, sadhu, sadhu, sadhu. If ever you go on one of my retreats over in Jhāna Grove, I always finish the three sadhus with hee hee hee. Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu, hee hee hee. Report an error in the passage at 53:04 Highlight the passage at 53:04

53:25 I was doing this at, what was it, 6.12 in the morning, a.m., and I said, how many other people have the opportunity, the chance, to really have a laugh and to giggle? At 6.12 in the morning. We're doing that every morning. Beautiful way of starting the day. Report an error in the passage at 53:25 Highlight the passage at 53:25

53:54 You can really get into it. Report an error in the passage at 53:54 Highlight the passage at 53:54

54:01 Okay, any questions? Going? Okay, yeah, you've got one, okay. No, over here for Sandra. Yeah, okay. Report an error in the passage at 54:01 Highlight the passage at 54:01

54:17 All sorts of stuff. But the real ones, they actually do look like bones. After you do a cremation, In those days all the Buddha's people were cremated. Then afterwards, depends on how hot it is, usually they have these bone fragments left. And those are the ones, sometimes people check them out. And after the Buddha's cremation, he split the bones into eight portions for different kingdoms and the dust. Report an error in the passage at 54:17 Highlight the passage at 54:17

54:54 They went to different capital cities. And one of those capital cities where they went to was Kusinara, the capital of his kingdom where he was born. And that particular city was destroyed by another king close by. And everyone was really concerned. Even now, where was the original Kusinara? Even now, there's a lot of... Report an error in the passage at 54:54 Highlight the passage at 54:54

55:21 Was it argument? Was it in Nepal or in India? Because if you have one of the stupas, you get lots of tourists and lots of money. Report an error in the passage at 55:21 Highlight the passage at 55:21

55:34 And even with people like St. Francis, you know, he was trying to be lord to different cities because if he died in your city, if he died in Perth, bad luck Bunbury or bad luck Albany. Report an error in the passage at 55:34 Highlight the passage at 55:34

55:48 And that got so crazy. One of the stories with relics, just maybe listen to this story, because it shows you how crazy it is. There was this priest from Norwich in England, and he went to visit one of these saints over in Europe somewhere. There's high security there, because if you had the relics, you had a lot of money. His corpse was very old. Report an error in the passage at 55:48 Highlight the passage at 55:48

56:17 This priest bit off the finger. And hid it in his mouth. That's really weird. But he brought it back to the city of Norwich in England and he was just made a saint himself. Because that brought so much business into the town of Norwich. And he made him a saint eventually. Had a big cathedral there. Simply because he broke the law and bit off a finger of a saint and brought it back into UK with him. Weird. Report an error in the passage at 56:17 Highlight the passage at 56:17

56:54 I wouldn't do that. Would you? Part of a being had been dead for years. Report an error in the passage at 56:54 Highlight the passage at 56:54

57:05 So he got away with it. So anyway, that's what those relics are. And they were big business in those days. These days, some of those relics you may see in big stupas, big monuments in places like Sri Lanka or Thailand and especially Burma. But Burma, because it's very unstable government there. Some of those stupas, they have fallen into disrepair and got lost. So because of that, there are some which are floating around. Report an error in the passage at 57:05 Highlight the passage at 57:05

57:40 They don't just multiply, sometimes they disappear. He was the head of the Sri Lankan Buddhist Society over in Melbourne. And he told me, he was driving me to the... Report an error in the passage at 57:40 Highlight the passage at 57:40

57:59 He went to the temple to give a talk. He said a monk had given him some relics and he just put it in his cupboard. He forgot about it for a year. And all those relics vanished. Report an error in the passage at 57:59 Highlight the passage at 57:59

58:17 So they come and they go. Report an error in the passage at 58:17 Highlight the passage at 58:17

58:26 I kind of like those spooky stories. Can I just finish with one? I don't know. You've got your questions. Answer the question. Okay. I need to give another talk when I ask questions. Yeah, Eddie. We can hear your voice. Report an error in the passage at 58:26 Highlight the passage at 58:26

58:49 Yeah. Yes. Report an error in the passage at 58:49 Highlight the passage at 58:49

58:56 Yes. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 58:56 Highlight the passage at 58:56

59:01 Yeah. Yeah. He actually buried his head in my... That's Report an error in the passage at 59:01 Highlight the passage at 59:01

59:13 what I tried to explain. I wasn't carrying any drugs. It's just my good vibes with that dog. But sometimes everybody can say that. Prove it. Report an error in the passage at 59:13 Highlight the passage at 59:13

59:27 Oh, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 59:27 Highlight the passage at 59:27

59:35 Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Report an error in the passage at 59:35 Highlight the passage at 59:35

59:44 It's good vibes. It shows you're not afraid. So it shows that it's a waste of time throwing stones. And so you go up and chat and tell just exactly who you are and what you're doing. I remember once over in London that I was being shouted at and called Hare Krishna. And it was by this guy in the street. Report an error in the passage at 59:44 Highlight the passage at 59:44

1:00:09 And he looked to be brown robe and bald head. And the worst embarrassing thing, my mother was with me at the time. So I thought, you know, usually you just pass it off. I thought, I'm not going to stand for somebody shouting at me the wrong approbation, you know, when my mum's with me. So I went up to him and said, I am not a Hare Krishna. I'm a Buddhist monk. And then this guy took off his beanie. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:09 Highlight the passage at 1:00:09

1:00:38 He had the hairstyle of the Hare Krishna. He said, yeah, I know you're a Buddhist monk. I'm Hare Krishna. Hare Krishna! Report an error in the passage at 1:00:38 Highlight the passage at 1:00:38

1:00:50 I was so embarrassed. It always goes wrong when your mum's with you. That was fun. It's usually Eddie does the last. Oh, anything on the computer? Sorry, this is my first talk of the season, so I forgot all the computer questions. It's only nine o 'clock. It's still early. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:50 Highlight the passage at 1:00:50

1:01:14 Here we go. How many questions have we got here? Oh, okay. From Sweden. Can I heal from MECFS? Can I heal from me? Now, what is ME? Report an error in the passage at 1:01:14 Highlight the passage at 1:01:14

1:01:31 How chronic fatigue symptoms? Yes, tough, hard to do but can be done. How can you do that? I say that because your mind, as they say in Buddhism, is the forerunner of all things. It's not just your body is sick, your mind. And that is incredibly powerful. That can sometimes heal anything. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:31 Highlight the passage at 1:01:31

1:02:03 Chronic fatigue syndrome. Just basically learn how to be really still, really still. Stillness doesn't take energy. That's why even chronic fatigue can still be really still. You get into these bliss states. I know this monk who was so sick. I think it was from, what was it, sclop typhus or something? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:03 Highlight the passage at 1:02:03

1:02:31 And, you know, just could hardly stand up. This was for days. He never felt so... with our energy in his whole life. He just fortunately managed to get into deep meditation and that was the end of that disease. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:31 Highlight the passage at 1:02:31

1:02:49 It's possible. It's not always likely, but it's possible. Question from Vietnam. There are many methods of meditation that are teaching from different monks, different traditions. How do you know which is the right thing that is taught or taught by the Buddha? See if it creates this peace. What is peace? Report an error in the passage at 1:02:49 Highlight the passage at 1:02:49

1:03:14 What is stillness? What is happiness? You know what those are. Don't look at the philosophical results. Look at the emotional results. Are you an easier person to live with? Can you inspire people? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:14 Highlight the passage at 1:03:14

1:03:36 Not because you want to, but just because your peace, your happiness, your kindness gets really, really strong. If you can see that in somebody who's meditating, you'll find that all those meditation teachers practice the same type of meditation. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:36 Highlight the passage at 1:03:36

1:03:59 Peace, stillness, disappearance of the body, empowering of the mind, in brief. From Germany, when having deep feelings of empathy and compassion with everything, how do you stop getting sad and crying? How can I stop crying? Report an error in the passage at 1:03:59 Highlight the passage at 1:03:59

1:04:19 Easy. Not tears of sadness, but tears of joy, yes. That's allowable and that happens. That's why I cry. I often tell people, I never cried at my father's funeral, never cried since. He was an inspiring man. Every time I think of him, you feel like standing up and clapping, giving applause. You appreciate his life so much. Well, I cry. I don't know why I do this. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:19 Highlight the passage at 1:04:19

1:04:51 It just happens whenever in some places where I go, especially in India, some of the places where, one of the places where you see this beautiful Buddha statue called the Dhammacakkosa Buddha. Is that the one behind us? That's not, okay. We've got one here. No. But I remember when I first went there, it was the most beautiful statue of Buddha I'd ever seen. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:51 Highlight the passage at 1:04:51

1:05:15 On just, on Buddhist books. Then there's one day, They actually were going to where it existed, in Benares, in the Deer Park, in the little museum next to it. So I went in there, and no one told me where it was. I searched for it, and I still remember to this day, turning a corner and seeing this statue at the end of the room. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:15 Highlight the passage at 1:05:15

1:05:43 I don't know why it affected me. It was gorgeous, beautiful. It's the same as one of our members. And she told me, she was a Christian, her husband was a Buddhist, but then he wanted to take her over to India to see the Buddhist holy sites. And we always have to have just a briefing before we go. One of the things I said, I was leading that pilgrimage, and one of the things I told everybody, some of these places are very powerful. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:43 Highlight the passage at 1:05:43

1:06:18 So powerful, you know, you walk in the door there and you just... You can't help but get overtaken by this beautiful happiness. And then when I said this, this lady, she never told me, she said, what rubbish. And she came from UK. There's so many old ruins in UK. She'd been to many of them. She'd never cried at any of these places where there were ruins. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:18 Highlight the passage at 1:06:18

1:06:46 But then the first evening, she came with her husband. You know those people, Barbara and Ainsley. They may be listening to this talk, I'm not sure, but they're getting old now. But remember, Baba came up to say, sorry, I never believed you. She went into Bodh Gaya, never expected anything, and as soon as she walked in to that little temple where the Buddha was enlightened, she burst out crying. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:46 Highlight the passage at 1:06:46

1:07:14 She couldn't stop it. That's sometimes what happens. Anyway, don't try and stop crying. Go for it, enjoy it. From Bolivia. On chanda, the iddhi-prada, rather than desire, I understand it as disagreement with the five sense world, but agreement with the six sense world, where jhānas are found. Am I right? Report an error in the passage at 1:07:14 Highlight the passage at 1:07:14

1:07:45 Never heard that interpretation before. Chanda is like approval. Sometimes if people can't be at a ceremony, or monks, they say, no, go ahead without me. So that one, I'm not really sure. I agree with you. But anyway, it's good not to agree with the five sense world, but agreement with the sixth sense world. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:45 Highlight the passage at 1:07:45

1:08:12 I understand your conclusion, but it's just the meaning of candor. Okay? Is that enough? You want some more? I haven't given a talk here for a while, so I can carry on. Okay, last question. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:12 Highlight the passage at 1:08:12

1:08:35 Yeah, yeah. The forest itself, it's... I must admit that I was... Just in my, in, actually it was over in Jhāna Grove, looking at the forest there this afternoon. Had a few minutes. I never needed to do anything. So I just looked. And from the meditation center just up the hill. It was beautiful, gorgeous. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:35 Highlight the passage at 1:08:35

1:09:07 I'd never seen it so beautiful before. And I've been, I built it. How many, how many years is that? Dennis, since we built Jhanagraha. 20? Or 15? Yeah. The thing is, sometimes I get busy. I don't pause enough to look. Do you understand what I mean there? Sometimes you have the opportunity to be still. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:07 Highlight the passage at 1:09:07

1:09:39 Especially when you've been meditating, you get way more sensitive. And you look at things you've been looking at for years. You've never seen them look so beautiful before. That's why I was saying when I was on my retreat for four weeks this season, and you saw these wonderful animals. All those years I never seen an echidna just come walk in almost in my meditation part while I was there. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:39 Highlight the passage at 1:09:39

1:10:05 Welcome. No way you're going to sort of try and get rid of these beautiful animals. Thank you for visiting me. You appreciate the forest, nature, everything, so much more. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:05 Highlight the passage at 1:10:05

1:10:19 The whole of the world gets really beautiful. And the other thing which I... I will stop after this little anecdote. I used to say that after one retreat which I did, not this one, but beforehand, after one retreat which I did, after I finished, of course the first thing I did was actually to go and have breakfast. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:19 Highlight the passage at 1:10:19

1:10:44 And I had a baked bean. Just one. And I put it in my mouth. That was a sensation. Just one baked bean because you could really taste everything about it. The tomato sauce, it was not sweet, it wasn't sour, it was this beautiful balance of tomato sauce. I just let it soak into my palate. And when I could taste no more tomato sauce after about two or three minutes, then you crush the bean. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:44 Highlight the passage at 1:10:44

1:11:17 That was just... Report an error in the passage at 1:11:17 Highlight the passage at 1:11:17

1:11:53 Before I was a monk, I used to tell my girlfriend, if I went for an expensive meal and I was paying, I said, shut up, I want to enjoy this. I was a really bad, bad boyfriend in those days. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:53 Highlight the passage at 1:11:53

1:12:07 Okay, so thank you. I'll keep my promise now. Let's bow three times to Buddha, Dharma and Saṅgha. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:07 Highlight the passage at 1:12:07

· · · silence, 1 minute

1:12:58 If you Report an error in the passage at 1:12:58 Highlight the passage at 1:12:58

1:13:21 wish to, three bows. Bow, bow, bow. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:21 Highlight the passage at 1:13:21