Laughing Together Builds Harmony

0:01 That's a beautiful subject, the gratitude. Can you hear okay? Okay. So once you start to have the idea of gratitude, it means that it's not just what you do and how you feel. It's also where it came from, what caused the ability to give talks, the ability to be kind, the ability to be able to serve and help others. Report an error in the passage at 0:01 Highlight the passage at 0:01

0:30 And of course, one of the people I'm grateful to is my own teacher. And I know he taught me so many things. And one of the things I was contemplating just before I opened my mouth was that when I was a young monk, first went over to Australia, that I hardly said anything. My job was to be quiet and serve. Until the other monk who was with me at the time, He had to go off to Thailand and left me in the monastery by myself. So I had to start talking and giving some advice. I remember this young girl, she must have been about 12 or 13, came up to me after I'd just given a little talk. Report an error in the passage at 0:30 Highlight the passage at 0:30

1:17 She said, I'm shocked. I'm surprised. You can actually speak. I thought you were brain damaged. Report an error in the passage at 1:17 Highlight the passage at 1:17

1:29 I kind of like the honesty. You know, the young people, they don't really understand what they're saying and how strange it might be. But to her, that's how it felt, that everybody would speak. But one of the things which I was taught, if you have nothing to say, if you can't improve upon the silence, then keep quiet. Report an error in the passage at 1:29 Highlight the passage at 1:29

1:53 And it's out of gratitude. That's one of the beautiful things, to be comfortable in silence. And I'm so grateful for being taught how to be silent, no matter when, no matter when. And even if you're on a retreat, I often say to people, if we do have a rule of no speaking, if somebody does destroy that rule, speaking really loud, I always say, just give them a one-finger sign. Report an error in the passage at 1:53 Highlight the passage at 1:53

2:23 You know the one-finger sign? That's right, this one. Not the middle finger, please. Report an error in the passage at 2:23 Highlight the passage at 2:23

2:33 But it's also, you don't need... To speak, to show your gratitude and your kindness and your warmth to someone else, just to be able to smile. Report an error in the passage at 2:33 Highlight the passage at 2:33

2:47 Come on. How many of you, be honest now, followed what I said last night, or yesterday afternoon, and actually did the two-finger smile this morning? Did your push-ups? Oh, one in the back. Oh, wow. How many? Oh, come on. Four, five. Five, six, six, that's good. Okay. It actually does work. I love doing those, enjoying them. Because you start off the day with free happiness. You can always do that. Report an error in the passage at 2:47 Highlight the passage at 2:47

3:24 And it doesn't matter, I think I should know myself by now after all these years. But looking in the mirror and making a funny face at myself, you can't help but smile. And that's a beautiful way to start the day. Even any time, just during the day. Report an error in the passage at 3:24 Highlight the passage at 3:24

3:41 miserable, depressed, upset, to the bathroom. make a funny face in front of the mirror. does actually cheer you up. And that helps with lessening the difficulties and the suffering during the day. It's not just learning how to laugh at yourself and to laugh at life. That's like living in harmony. Report an error in the passage at 3:41 Highlight the passage at 3:41

4:06 harmony is not just being silly, it is being silly. Harmony in life is being able to enjoy whatever happens in life. It's cold this morning, but it's also beautiful light in the morning, a sunny day. You always see the advantage in things, never see what's wrong. So much so that the other story which became very, very popular and famous was the two bad bricks story. Report an error in the passage at 4:06 Highlight the passage at 4:06

4:35 I think you all know that story. How many of you don't know the two bad bricks and the wall story? Don't. That's what I said, listen. Don't know. How many don't know? How many don't know? Oh, great. Oh, my goodness. There's about five. How many do know? Report an error in the passage at 4:35 Highlight the passage at 4:35

4:57 Okay. I'm going to say it, as you all know. Report an error in the passage at 4:57 Highlight the passage at 4:57

5:04 These are one of those experiences in life. You listen to life, you look at life, and you understand from one experience so many other experiences about life. How we always love complaining and how we always are embarrassed about if we are the reason for complaints. So this particular story, a real story, a personal story, when I first moved to Bodhinyana Monastery where I live, it is always a lot of work. Report an error in the passage at 5:04 Highlight the passage at 5:04

5:34 And one of the things I volunteered to do was to help build the huts and every other structure which was needed in the monastery at the time. I learned how to be a bricklayer. Did I train in bricklaying when I was young? No, I trained in making bombs. Report an error in the passage at 5:34 Highlight the passage at 5:34

5:56 It was true. A theoretical physicist. Anyway, I had to learn how to lay bricks. I thought it was logical, easy. But a lot of times when you push your boundaries and experiment with things you've never done before, you learn so much. Bombs. Report an error in the passage at 5:56 Highlight the passage at 5:56

6:18 And this particular time, I was building a wall, and as I was building the wall, I wasn't being paid, which meant that you could take all the time you needed. Report an error in the passage at 6:18 Highlight the passage at 6:18

6:30 And if I made a mistake, I would take off that brick and do it again. Simple. It was much more complicated than I ever thought. And so it took me a long time to finish my first brick wall. When I finished that brick wall, What do you do when you've created something? You stand back to admire your work. It's only when I stood back I could notice the two of those bricks were crooked. Report an error in the passage at 6:30 Highlight the passage at 6:30

7:01 The two crooked bricks spoiled the whole wall. They spoiled it so much that I wanted to take those bricks out. I tried to scrape off the cement, which is now hard, to try and get the bricks out so I can reset them. Couldn't do it. The cement mortar was so hard. So the next thing I thought of was to use my early training in making bombs, blow up the wall and start again. Report an error in the passage at 7:01 Highlight the passage at 7:01

7:37 I did tell you, didn't I, when I made my first bomb? Only bomb. It wasn't a habit, was it? I haven't confessed. When I was 10 or 11 years old, I think 11, home. need that. Report an error in the passage at 7:37 Highlight the passage at 7:37

7:55 With a friend of mine who knew chemistry. And he supplied all the ingredients. The only thing I ever supplied was the tin can to put the ingredients in. Report an error in the passage at 7:55 Highlight the passage at 7:55

8:05 And it worked. It went boom! And I felt so... It's a boy thing, you know. Have you ever made a bomb yourself? Or you missed out on life. Report an error in the passage at 8:05 Highlight the passage at 8:05

8:22 So it went big bang. And then... That's why you get even in theoretical physics, you know, the big bang. Big Bang Theory. Why do they call it Big Bang? Because Stephen Hawkins was a boy. Report an error in the passage at 8:22 Highlight the passage at 8:22

8:40 That's rude, I reckon. Anyway. Anyway, you thought about blowing up your wall. Yeah. Oh, you're rushing me. Oh. You already said that. So when I did sort of think about that, we couldn't get any explosives. Report an error in the passage at 8:40 Highlight the passage at 8:40

9:01 And anyway, we couldn't afford them. So I thought, bulldozer, push it over. But I couldn't afford that either. I was stuck with something which everybody could see and which looked really terrible. Report an error in the passage at 9:01 Highlight the passage at 9:01

9:17 Have you ever had that experience? You made a mistake, everybody knows it, and you feel just so awful about it. You feel ashamed. I wasted people's money. donated a little bit here a little bit there to get bricks or get water and i've wasted it so number one i had nightmares about it number two was that i volunteered to work extra to be the tour guide of the monastery just in being built so i could always take some people the visitors somewhere else so i could avoid it Until one day that person saw that wall with the two crooked bricks and that's when they said to me, that's a beautiful wall. Report an error in the passage at 9:17 Highlight the passage at 9:17

10:14 And I thought they were joking. Secondly, I thought, have you left your spectacles in the car? Are you visually impaired? Can you not see those two bad bricks which spoil the whole wall? And that's when this gentleman, I forget who he was, But if I saw him today, I'd worship him out of respect for his wisdom and how he helped me. He said, yes, I can see those two crooked bricks, but I can also see the 998 perfect bricks. Report an error in the passage at 10:14 Highlight the passage at 10:14

10:54 I don't know about you, but that really, really struck me. It hit me like a brick. Two bricks. I don't know if you like that. That was silly. Report an error in the passage at 10:54 Highlight the passage at 10:54

11:10 But it was true. I realized that I'd been trained in my life to see the crooked bricks in myself, in life, in others. I was just telling a venerable this morning, one of those girlfriends I had years ago. She knew I was a vegetarian at the time. So she made me a dinner, went to all that trouble making me a dinner. Report an error in the passage at 11:10 Highlight the passage at 11:10

11:39 And by mistake, she put meat in it. And that was the end of that relationship. I was so critical. And I regret that afterwards, because that's not the way to treat someone who went through so much trouble getting you a meal, what she thought I would like. In the end, she said she'd just forgotten. But anyway, that's one or two bad bricks. Is that worthwhile criticizing someone for that? Report an error in the passage at 11:39 Highlight the passage at 11:39

12:12 These days, if I had that over again, I'd probably say, oh, please don't do that again. I would have eaten it first, even though I didn't like meat or didn't eat meat. It's more important to be kind to human beings as well as to animals. So because of that, you know, I was way too critical when I was a kid. Report an error in the passage at 12:12 Highlight the passage at 12:12

12:35 Two bad bricks, if you make a mistake, that's fine, as long as it's 998 to 2. It's quite high odds. Odds of doing things right and correct. Because that's how we can start living in harmony with the world. How many things in the world work out exactly as you expect? If it did, life would be really boring. So often people ask you, can you do some chanting for me? Report an error in the passage at 12:35 Highlight the passage at 12:35

13:11 I'm going to have an operation soon. I want to make sure it's successful. Can you please, please, please do some chanting? Can you please, please, please do some chanting? You know what people do sometimes? They ask monks, especially forest monks in Thailand, for lottery numbers. Report an error in the passage at 13:11 Highlight the passage at 13:11

13:29 Sometimes they win, believe it or not. Would you like a lottery number? Report an error in the passage at 13:29 Highlight the passage at 13:29

13:38 Okay, come up afterwards, I'll give you one. Honestly, I'll give you a lottery number, but always the wrong ones. I never give the right ones. I don't want you to be overly wealthy. Even a short-time wealthy. Would you like some more money for Al Campa's Bikini Project? I don't really think about that. Report an error in the passage at 13:38 Highlight the passage at 13:38

14:05 I don't. Okay. Anyway, all that superstition stuff. Sometimes I love stories about superstition because they're really, really funny, especially when they go wrong. There was a story once and I read this. Even in the local newspaper in Perth, West Australia. Have you ever seen over in Thailand, they have these amulets you wear around your neck? Report an error in the passage at 14:05 Highlight the passage at 14:05

14:39 And apparently, one of these major generals in Bangkok had bought one of these amulets for 500,000 US dollars. Half a million. And that was many years ago when half a million was worth something. And it kind of... Report an error in the passage at 14:39 Highlight the passage at 14:39

15:01 He kind of wondered what is a soldier doing with that type of money? It's obviously corrupt. But nevertheless, he was so proud of his amulet, because his amulet was reported to make you immune from bullets. Report an error in the passage at 15:01 Highlight the passage at 15:01

15:24 And because, you know, being a general in an army, you know, sometimes generals got killed. So he said, I'm safe now. I've got my amulet and it protects you from bullets. So he ordered a major as a junior officer in the officer's mess sometimes, somewhere in Bangkok. And he ordered the major to take the revolver and shoot him. Report an error in the passage at 15:24 Highlight the passage at 15:24

15:56 And if you're a junior officer, you have to follow orders. So the junior officer put the bullet in the revolver. I aimed at the general and said, just shoot here. This is where the heart is. And shot him. It was amazing. It was actually almost, at least the other people thought it was miraculous because the general died. Report an error in the passage at 15:56 Highlight the passage at 15:56

16:27 And of course the general couldn't claim insurance. He couldn't ask for his money back to get the amulet back. So those superstitions are really dangerous. Report an error in the passage at 16:27 Highlight the passage at 16:27

16:38 Sometimes I was there when people asked Ajahn Chah for an amulet. To protect them from bullets. I've only seen Ajahn Chah agree once to giving somebody an ambulance all the way around their neck to protect them from bullets. A Buddha statue around the neck. There was a big three-meter Buddha statue. He said, that's the only one which will protect you from bullets. Report an error in the passage at 16:38 Highlight the passage at 16:38

17:13 So sometimes that's superstition and stuff. Some of it can help, but most of it, if it's for the wrong reason, doesn't help at all. And where do they get into talking about it? I have no idea. Me too. Oh yeah, the two bad bricks in the wall. Why is it that we always tend to see what is wrong, see the mistakes, and not realize this universe is made of mistakes? Report an error in the passage at 17:13 Highlight the passage at 17:13

17:44 I love it when I say things like that. Things are always going wrong. Things are always going wrong so much you can always predict them. They go wrong because things are uncertain. They're so uncertain that then I remember the Buddha's teachings. Anicca. And I mentioned this, I think, in the five-day retreat recently. Report an error in the passage at 17:44 Highlight the passage at 17:44

18:09 Most people translate or render the word anicca as impermanent. That's not enough. It goes much deeper than that. The deeper meaning of anicca How Ajahn Chah would say it, uncertain, my nair in Thai. And I love that idea, uncertain. What does that mean? All of you in relationships, your relationship's uncertain. What does that mean? Report an error in the passage at 18:09 Highlight the passage at 18:09

18:42 It means you cannot take it for granted. You don't know what's going to happen next. This means it's always work to keep that relationship going. To be sensitive enough, kind enough, to make sure it keeps on and on and on and on and on instead of just because you take it for granted you don't put any care or effort into it and it all works wrong. Report an error in the passage at 18:42 Highlight the passage at 18:42

19:10 That's the thing with our world. To be in harmony with our world we have to learn how to understand it first. A good example of that is You know, I'm very good at predicting the weather. Report an error in the passage at 19:10 Highlight the passage at 19:10

19:29 It's amazing just how. You know what the weather's going to be tomorrow? Yeah. I'm certain, yeah. And that makes life more interesting. You know you can always handle it. You know, if you put your washing out and it rains, that gives it an extra rinse. Report an error in the passage at 19:29 Highlight the passage at 19:29

19:53 Or whatever. So you don't say things have gone wrong. They've gone right. It's gone right today. My washing's got wet and dirty. It's gone right today. The microphones aren't working. It's gone right today. What else can we say has gone right? It's broken. Okay, yeah. Things do break. Welcome to life. Things break. If things didn't break, we'd have no call for electricians and plumbers and other things which... Report an error in the passage at 19:53 Highlight the passage at 19:53

20:31 It gives people a lot of good work. Have you never noticed, I think I read this article in an English newspaper years and years and years ago. They said if ever you have children, please, please, please don't send them to university. They said it costs a lot of money. When they go to university and get a degree, they can't use it. Report an error in the passage at 20:31 Highlight the passage at 20:31

20:52 They send them to an apprenticeship, become a plumber or a bricklayer. Then they always have lots of work. And if you have a son who's a plumber, or daughters of plumber or electrician, that means that you get very friendly all of your neighbours. love to keep in contact with you. Report an error in the passage at 20:52 Highlight the passage at 20:52

21:14 Socially, you go up in the world in people's estimation, because you can do things which are useful. Does that make sense? Nobody. Report an error in the passage at 21:14 Highlight the passage at 21:14

21:31 Nobody. It's trouble. how many of you have got really good jobs as plumbers or electricians? Report an error in the passage at 21:31 Highlight the passage at 21:31

21:40 That's why they're here. That's why they're here, yeah. So Report an error in the passage at 21:40 Highlight the passage at 21:40

21:52 anyway, when we come in harmony in life, we can change our perspectives a lot. We're not really concerned about what other people say. We get to have our own understanding. That's one of the nice things about us being a Buddhist. I always thought it was rebellious. Not following what other people do, other people say. Report an error in the passage at 21:52 Highlight the passage at 21:52

22:11 Thinking for yourself and challenging things. And I even remember people always used to say that, oh, Ajahn Chah, the teacher I knew the best, he was so conservative. No way. I remember when these monks from Bangkok came up to his monastery to check him out because he was becoming popular by doing things not in the usual way. Report an error in the passage at 22:11 Highlight the passage at 22:11

22:39 And he was rebellious. That's kind of why you like him. I feel like I belong there. We weren't just following what people were saying or doing or what even the Buddha taught. You really got deeper into it and understood it. That's one of the things which I found. The deeper you understand things the more you are in harmony. You understand how to solve differences of opinion. Report an error in the passage at 22:39 Highlight the passage at 22:39

23:08 Wouldn't it be very uninteresting in this world if people always thought the same? One of my lovely stories adapted i think from a zen story when these uh i say two monks okay These two monks Report an error in the passage at 23:08 Highlight the passage at 23:08

23:32 were having an argument about rebirth. One of the monks said, I don't believe in rebirth. One monk said. The other monk said, why not? Because I haven't died yet. How can you be sure? There's such a thing as rebirth, he argued, when you are still alive, when all you're doing is believing what other people say. You've got to have personal understanding to be sure of these things. Report an error in the passage at 23:32 Highlight the passage at 23:32

24:06 So he said, I haven't died yet, so I don't believe in rebirth. And the other monk said, but the Buddha taught rebirth. It's obvious. And so they had an argument. Do you have to believe in rebirth, or do you not have to believe in rebirth? Report an error in the passage at 24:06 Highlight the passage at 24:06

24:23 And so they argued and argued and then one of them said, look, I'm going to settle this. I'm going to go to the teacher who was a Buddhist nun. Report an error in the passage at 24:23 Highlight the passage at 24:23

24:40 So they went to the teacher who was a Buddhist nun. Very wise. And he said his case and the teacher said, yeah, that's right. Report an error in the passage at 24:40 Highlight the passage at 24:40

24:56 And so they went and said, look, my teacher said that it's right not to believe in rebirth. wise Report an error in the passage at 24:56 Highlight the passage at 24:56

25:02 And the other one said, he couldn't have said that. So he went to see her and he said, the Buddha taught rebirth. It's in all of the dharma. You can't really have Buddhism without rebirth. And she thought about it and she said, yeah, that's right. Then he went outside and said, now she says I'm right. Report an error in the passage at 25:02 Highlight the passage at 25:02

25:24 But she said I was right. So they went in there together. Both of them went to see the teacher and said, You don't have to believe in rebirth, said the first one. The second one said, but you have to believe in rebirth. And then you came and we both asked you your opinion and you both told us we were both right. Report an error in the passage at 25:24 Highlight the passage at 25:24

25:44 We can't both be right. And the teacher thought for a while and said, that's right. Report an error in the passage at 25:44 Highlight the passage at 25:44

26:02 Now that was a very wise teacher, whatever gender. No, it was a non. Report an error in the passage at 26:02 Highlight the passage at 26:02

26:12 You've got a gender. Have I got what? You've got an agenda. No, I'm just... Yeah, that's right. Report an error in the passage at 26:12 Highlight the passage at 26:12

26:24 So whatever. Why is it that we always want to be right? Is it nice not to be wrong sometimes? To be wrong sometimes. Yeah. It's one of the philosophers, I think it was, Aristotle, a famous one, not Winnie the Pooh this time. Report an error in the passage at 26:24 Highlight the passage at 26:24

26:53 He once said that everybody thinks they're right, even when you make a mistake. You can only admit a mistake afterwards. Report an error in the passage at 26:53 Highlight the passage at 26:53

27:04 You realize you were wrong, but you can't think you are wrong. And he argued that point, and I said, amazing. Why is it we always think we're right? Report an error in the passage at 27:04 Highlight the passage at 27:04

27:15 Wouldn't it be wonderful to just keep the idea in your mind, you may be right, you may be wrong. And if you think you may be right, you may be wrong. You're much more in harmony with the real world and not always be so sure and get into arguments. That's the point about living in harmony with the world. Report an error in the passage at 27:15 Highlight the passage at 27:15

27:37 If you are in harmony with the world and with other people as well, you never need to have any arguments with them at all. Report an error in the passage at 27:37 Highlight the passage at 27:37

27:48 You don't always need to be right. In fact, it's nice to be wrong sometimes. The more times you are wrong, the more peace you have. Report an error in the passage at 27:48 Highlight the passage at 27:48

27:59 Is that true? No one wants to argue with you. They think you're silly. A 13-year-old thought that I was brain damaged. Report an error in the passage at 27:59 Highlight the passage at 27:59

28:12 So being right, being correct is a personal attribute. It's not what you advertise to others. You do not have to be the person who is right. If you have to be the person who is right, you have to defend yourself so often. Report an error in the passage at 28:12 Highlight the passage at 28:12

28:32 It's better to be someone who is quiet and peaceful. The people who live in harmony in this world, or the beings who live in harmony with this world, have you ever noticed them? They're often the animals, the birds in the sky, the beings who live in this world who don't make any arguments. Other people make arguments with them. I learnt a lot by living in solitude, by observing the natural world. Report an error in the passage at 28:32 Highlight the passage at 28:32

29:09 And how it works. I do remember just one little animal who was very, very badly injured to see what they would do. And the little animal would actually crawl in a secluded place. This one underneath the building, I could not reach it. It went there to either get better or die, naturally. But it didn't want to be disturbed. Each one of us. Report an error in the passage at 29:09 Highlight the passage at 29:09

29:42 Have you ever noticed being so sick you don't want to be disturbed? You just want to be, just to see what happens. And when you think of injury, we always want to heal it. Report an error in the passage at 29:42 Highlight the passage at 29:42

29:56 Get sickness, again we want to recover. And death, that's one of the worst things we ever contemplate. Years and years and years ago, you did notice I was counseling this man who was dying of cancer. Report an error in the passage at 29:56 Highlight the passage at 29:56

30:16 And his wife. And it was an amazing couple. They were young. She was Australian. He was from the US. They were both fit and healthy in their prime. They had their own little business, a nice company of whitewater rafting. He knew all these great spots throughout the world and taking people to these great quiet places. Report an error in the passage at 30:16 Highlight the passage at 30:16

30:45 To water raft down the rapids. It's a beautiful life. They were making not much, but enough. But mostly they were enjoying their young life together, husband and wife. And then he got cancer. He was still really young. She was a nurse. And so because she especially was a Buddhist, I would counsel her once or twice a week. Report an error in the passage at 30:45 Highlight the passage at 30:45

31:15 Especially when he got really, really sick. I remember just going to the little apartment that was in North Fremantle and going there and seeing him get so weak. Report an error in the passage at 31:15 Highlight the passage at 31:15

31:30 And he was so weak, you know, I thought he was going to die any time now. But he kept on day after day after day being alive. When I went there one evening, I sort of kind of intuited the problem. Report an error in the passage at 31:30 Highlight the passage at 31:30

31:47 I asked Jane, his wife. She was a nurse. I asked her, have you given your husband permission to die yet? Report an error in the passage at 31:47 Highlight the passage at 31:47

32:02 I think I can explain that very easily. If you love someone so much, you know, young, you care for them so much, it's one of the worst things you can do, to die on the person who loves you. Report an error in the passage at 32:02 Highlight the passage at 32:02

32:20 Imagine what it feels like. You try, try, try to get better. You really work yourself hard to make sure you don't die and people love you. Report an error in the passage at 32:20 Highlight the passage at 32:20

32:32 And sometimes, you know, you ask them, how are you feeling today? And what does your loved one say? I feel a little bit better when they feel awful. They lie to you. Not because they really want to lie. It's because they love you too much. Report an error in the passage at 32:32 Highlight the passage at 32:32

32:55 Not too much, but they love you a lot. You're the most important person to them. You never want to disappoint them. And that's what this husband was doing. Report an error in the passage at 32:55 Highlight the passage at 32:55

33:06 And so when I asked her, have you given him permission to die yet? She understood it straight away, which was amazing. She jumped up on his bed. She couldn't hug him like I've seen by Ajahn Brahm hugging people. They would kill him. His bones were really... They're Report an error in the passage at 33:06 Highlight the passage at 33:06

33:31 true. His bones were really weak. He was dying of cancer. He looked like he should have died a couple of days ago. She hugged him very, very gently and just whispered to him, I give you permission to die. Report an error in the passage at 33:31 Highlight the passage at 33:31

33:47 And of course they both wept. And he died that night. That's all he needed. You know, the permission. He never wanted to hurt her at all. And when she gave him permission, that freed him from that pain. There's one thing which... If you can do that, I invite you that if you've got a partner or a mother or a father who's really, really, really sick and they love you a lot, please tell them, I give you permission to die. Report an error in the passage at 33:47 Highlight the passage at 33:47

34:25 Sometimes you think, why should I do that? Of course they know it's okay. No, tell them. But please wait until they're very sick. Don't tell your husband. Report an error in the passage at 34:25 Highlight the passage at 34:25

34:41 He's still healthy. think. Life is okay. You can die any time. What are you doing? You're allowing that person to be in harmony with his sickness, his life and death. And then sometimes those moments of death can be so beautiful. I remember so many, many times when people have told me those stories about the dying moments. Report an error in the passage at 34:41 Highlight the passage at 34:41

35:10 They want to be honest. I remember the story of this wife. It was by her husband's bed at the very, very end. And the husband sort of asked her, maybe the last bit of energy he had, Darling, I know I'm going to die soon. Report an error in the passage at 35:10 Highlight the passage at 35:10

35:33 Can you please be honest with me? I've got the four children here. And three of them have been really, really successful, look really good. And the fourth person has always had lots of difficulty in his life. This fourth person. Report an error in the passage at 35:33 Highlight the passage at 35:33

35:54 The fourth child, was he really ours? When she looked at him, smiled, said, yes, he was ours. Report an error in the passage at 35:54 Highlight the passage at 35:54

36:10 And that's actually when he died. And afterwards she said to herself, I'm glad he never asked about the other three. Report an error in the passage at 36:10 Highlight the passage at 36:10

36:44 Do you need whacking, Ajahn? Oh, it's almost time. I'm not giving you permission to die. That's selfish. Report an error in the passage at 36:44 Highlight the passage at 36:44

37:02 So anyway. Report an error in the passage at 37:02 Highlight the passage at 37:02

37:06 Stop laughing at first. I can't. Report an error in the passage at 37:06 Highlight the passage at 37:06

37:12 I'm living in harmony with my throat. Report an error in the passage at 37:12 Highlight the passage at 37:12

37:20 There's another thing. Report an error in the passage at 37:20 Highlight the passage at 37:20

37:26 Learning to live in harmony with your body means learning how to relax it. We will have cough every now and again. But you know one of those sayings? It's not the cough that carries you off. What is it? The coffin they carry you off in. Very good. Report an error in the passage at 37:26 Highlight the passage at 37:26

37:50 Not today. Not today, okay. Tomorrow? No. Three days tomorrow. Report an error in the passage at 37:50 Highlight the passage at 37:50

38:02 Okay, let's have a 15-minute break. Yeah, okay. It's 10-10. Yeah, that's good. All right. Excellent. Okay. We did say that you might choke on a joke. Yeah, that'd be great. No, it's not great. Why not? Of all the things... don't know. Report an error in the passage at 38:02 Highlight the passage at 38:02

38:21 How many nurses and doctors are here? How many of you have ever written on the death certificate, cause of death? Joking, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 38:21 Highlight the passage at 38:21

38:34 But actually, Buddhists never do that, do they? What do you write on the death certificate, cause of death? Being born. Life. Report an error in the passage at 38:34 Highlight the passage at 38:34

38:47 All right. Are there any doctors or nurses? So where were you just now? You're giving me permission. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 38:47 Highlight the passage at 38:47