Ajahn Brahm's Personal Experience of Grief

0:00 So, those people who wish to quickly visit the toilet, first in, first served, and those who want to continue here, I'll give a talk this evening. I don't know that, don't try and think or plan a talk, but the last few days that I've been focusing on deaths, I did go to a... Actually a funeral service here yesterday and there's also other services which are going to be happening even on Sunday. Report an error in the passage at 0:00 Highlight the passage at 0:00

0:42 Somebody who is doing a little service in remembrance of their husband who passed away, talking about people who have lost their children. Report an error in the passage at 0:42 Highlight the passage at 0:42

0:55 So I thought I'd talk a little bit about grief, about what happens. When somebody passes away and some personal experiences of grief. But my personal experiences of grief are a bit not similar to many other people's feelings of grief. I told this story many times that the first time I should have seen grief was when my own father passed away. Report an error in the passage at 0:55 Highlight the passage at 0:55

1:34 He's my father. I love the man. And he's really extra kind to me. To give you one example of what I remember what he did. I remember just when I was 10 years of age and I was born in London. I loved playing soccer. Every time when I had an opportunity, I got the ball and just playing in the streets or in a park, anywhere. Report an error in the passage at 1:34 Highlight the passage at 1:34

2:05 And when I was 10, I got the first position in the school football team. It was supposed to be 11, but I was very young. And so I was very excited. Dad, Dad, I didn't care about doing well in math or in English. What I cared about was playing soccer. Report an error in the passage at 2:05 Highlight the passage at 2:05

2:25 And so I told my father, hey, I've got a place in the school football team next week. Can you come and watch? And my father said, I'm sorry, but I have to work on that Saturday morning. And I tried not to show it, but I was really, really disappointed. As a young boy, only 10, you really wanted your father to watch you, but he had to work. So I went to the game, and I got changed into the kit, the school kit, and started playing. Report an error in the passage at 2:25 Highlight the passage at 2:25

3:04 And after only about five or ten minutes, I heard a guy started shouting at me, encouraging me, come on son, you can do this. It's my father's voice. I couldn't believe it. Was I imagining what I wanted? But I turned around to look, it was him. He actually came to the match and was supporting me. You can imagine what that does to a ten-year-old. Your dad is there. Report an error in the passage at 3:04 Highlight the passage at 3:04

3:33 I don't know how he managed it, but thank you so much for shouting for me. And at the end of the match, I went up to him and said, Dad, thank you for coming. How did you get here? And that's when my dad said, actually I'm very proud of this, I'm being honest with you, that he said, oh, he lied to his boss. Report an error in the passage at 3:33 Highlight the passage at 3:33

3:59 He said he had a series of injections which he had to have from his doctor on Saturday morning at the time we were playing the school soccer matches. He said that's how he could come. Okay, it was lying. I'm not supposed to encourage that. I'm a monk. But I was so proud of my dad, the fact that he was putting his job on the line for actually to come. Report an error in the passage at 3:59 Highlight the passage at 3:59

4:29 And watch his son play soccer. And that kind of meant something to me. I don't encourage that. Don't you go and lie and say Ajahn Brahm taught us how to lie. Report an error in the passage at 4:29 Highlight the passage at 4:29

4:42 But you can understand how I felt. You know, my father, that's how important he thought I was. And so, that when he did die, that I was there at the house when it happened. And not a house, a small... Report an error in the passage at 4:42 Highlight the passage at 4:42

5:00 It's a small sort of council flat. We didn't own it. I also remember that when he told me, one of the other things which I always remembered he said to me was when he took me aside in his beaten up old car, it still worked, only just, and he said, son, whatever happens to you in your life, I was about 13 or 14 at the time, Whatever happens to you in your life, the door of my house will always be open to you. When I thought about that, this house was just a small flat, it hardly had anything in it. Report an error in the passage at 5:00 Highlight the passage at 5:00

5:47 That's why he told me, he said, don't worry about locking the door of the house, and the house, the little flat, the apartment. He said, if any burglar ever comes in, Report an error in the passage at 5:47 Highlight the passage at 5:47

6:02 We want them to come in. They might look at how little we have, have compassion on us and leave us something. Report an error in the passage at 6:02 Highlight the passage at 6:02

6:14 And there's a lot of truth to that. So we were poor but we were kind of a loving family. And I remember one of my experiences with him, he was a very kind man. One day as a little kid, I went to the door of the house, somebody was knocking on the door. think. Report an error in the passage at 6:14 Highlight the passage at 6:14

6:35 I opened it, and there were two British policemen on the outside. Is your dad in? Yeah, he's in the front room. And I was a little bit scared, but I thought, my dad doesn't do anything wrong. And a couple of minutes later, there was another knock on the door. Another couple of British police. A few minutes later, another couple of British police. And that's when I started getting worried. Report an error in the passage at 6:35 Highlight the passage at 6:35

7:07 Was my father done? To have six policemen in there and another two came in afterwards. Eight police? He must be sort of the worst criminal in the whole of that part of London. That's what I thought. So I went in the room, had a look, peek, find out what was going on, whether they were interrogating him. Report an error in the passage at 7:07 Highlight the passage at 7:07

7:29 You know what was happening? For those of you who know soccer, once a year in May, They have the English Cup final. Those policemen, one of them was his friend, and they should have been out on the streets, you know, just making sure everything was safe. They weren't going on their rounds. They were instead invited by my father just to quietly come into his house and watch the TV, the soccer. Report an error in the passage at 7:29 Highlight the passage at 7:29

8:03 They were doing something illegal, the policemen. But that's why I always kind of loved my father. And so when he died, did I feel grief at all? You think I should have done, but I didn't feel any grief at all. It was weird. No one ever told me what I was supposed to do. It was how I felt. And I sometimes when I tried to wake him up, mother called me, I can't wake up your dad, went into his room, shook him. Report an error in the passage at 8:03 Highlight the passage at 8:03

8:41 He didn't move, he was cold. I'm going to his funeral service. I never cried, never felt sad. At his funeral service, what I do remember, I was 16 at the time, I wanted to stand up and clap and shout, well done Dan, beautiful life, thank you so much. Report an error in the passage at 8:41 Highlight the passage at 8:41

9:02 I wanted to shout for an encore, can I have another six months please? And that was where I saw that wonderful simile. I'm looking at a person's life like a concert. I did tell that story on Wednesday. There was a funeral here. And I said that when I was young, I was brought up in London. And they had some great musicians there. And one of those musicians I really was so fortunate to see. Report an error in the passage at 9:02 Highlight the passage at 9:02

9:33 We didn't know who was going to become famous and who wasn't. But there was this one singer and... I went there with my brother, there's only sort of four other people went, six people at the concert, and the singer was called Rod Stewart. Report an error in the passage at 9:33 Highlight the passage at 9:33

9:53 Can you get a private concert with Sir Rod these days? Thousands of people going, I remember that. I remember just after the concert, you think, you know, when he says finish now, last song, he would stand up and say, more, more, encore, encore. Report an error in the passage at 9:53 Highlight the passage at 9:53

10:11 And sometimes they would say a bit longer, a few more songs. But then eventually it always came to that point when they had to go home. And it kind of, you knew, you'd never have that wonderful experience to see and hear this music ever again. It was so unlikely. Report an error in the passage at 10:11 Highlight the passage at 10:11

10:35 But when I went out of those concert halls or little clubs, I never once cried. I never felt sad. How can you have grief? Some of the other great concerts I saw, and I say this, it's absolutely true, the first concert of Led Zeppelin in a marquee club in Wardhall Street, Soho. And I was there, watching. And they became an enormously famous band. And I happened to be there, and when they finished their... Report an error in the passage at 10:35 Highlight the passage at 10:35

11:16 They're set. I never cried. I felt, wow, how lucky I was to have been there for that performance. Now you can understand how I felt when my father died. Thank you, father. What a beautiful performance that was. There was no sadness there. A sense of great privilege. Yes, I'd miss my father, but I was so privileged, so lucky. Report an error in the passage at 11:16 Highlight the passage at 11:16

11:49 To have had him as my dad for such a long time, 16 years, how can you cry when you appreciate all the wonderful things you've learned and he's given you? You know, from that story of, and I said, the door of my house will always be open to you, no matter who you are. You're my son, I'm your dad, that's enough. That's why I can never be critical. Report an error in the passage at 11:49 Highlight the passage at 11:49

12:20 of anybody. A lot of people, they think they've hurt me and they ask forgiveness. I'm sorry I shouldn't have done that, I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry. What do you mean? Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for trying. It never worked for you that well but thank you for giving it a try, giving it a go. Report an error in the passage at 12:20 Highlight the passage at 12:20

12:45 Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for being my fellow monk. Thank you for being a Buddhist nun. Wow. And I respect you so much for things like that. You know, I know how hard it is to be a Buddhist monk, but being a Buddhist monk in the West, that's even harder. I remember one of those events which happened. It was when I was a young monk, the first year in a little... Report an error in the passage at 12:45 Highlight the passage at 12:45

13:22 Buddhist temple we had in North Perth. We had a VW van, a combi van. They were very helpful because you could put so much stuff in the back of the combi van to take it from here in Perth over to Serpentine where we were starting a monastery. Report an error in the passage at 13:22 Highlight the passage at 13:22

13:43 And I remember some people seeing that, how much stuff we put in the back. And he said, you guys must have some very good praying to be able to get that back. You know, all that sort of an hour or two's drive from here down to Serpentine. But we always survived. And just the, I was packing up the car with all sorts of stuff and this girl who was visiting her, I think, auntie next door, I think a number two. Report an error in the passage at 13:43 Highlight the passage at 13:43

14:19 Magnolia Street. We lived in number four Magnolia Street. She came out and she saw me just putting all this stuff in the vehicle. She put her hands on her hips and she looked at me and she looked me up and down really just offensively, as best she could try and be offensive as a young 12 or 13 year old girl. Report an error in the passage at 14:19 Highlight the passage at 14:19

14:41 She looked at me and said, that's sick. You're dressed like a girl. Dirts. And that was in 1974 or 5 or something, no longer than that, 1980 or something. And she tried to upset me. Report an error in the passage at 14:41 Highlight the passage at 14:41

15:00 Did I get upset? I thought it was very funny. Or like that Catholic school girl. I went to her class the day before and gave a talk there. I saw her the next day, just by chance, over in St. George's Terrace. And she said, oh, you gave a talk at our school yesterday. And I thought, oh, it's very nice of you. You remember me. She said, oh, we will never forget you. Report an error in the passage at 15:00 Highlight the passage at 15:00

15:30 Oh, isn't that sweet? They never forget me. How can you ever forget a monk with the name Ajahn Brahm? Report an error in the passage at 15:30 Highlight the passage at 15:30

15:42 And I said, there is an M on the end. Report an error in the passage at 15:42 Highlight the passage at 15:42

15:49 It's not Ajahn Brahm, it's Ajahn Brahm. Report an error in the passage at 15:49 Highlight the passage at 15:49

15:54 But a lot of times... I think these are funny, I always see the funny side of things, the gorgeous side of things, no matter what happens. And because I have that positive attitude, I don't know, actually I heard that from Ajahn Chah, and from my life. Report an error in the passage at 15:54 Highlight the passage at 15:54

16:15 Okay, so here it comes again, the bat poo simile. I was living in a cave, and outside the front of the cave, cave was this beautiful papaya tree. And the papayas there, they got the bat poo in the morning when the bats came into the cave after being out all night. And that... put her again on that same tree in the morning, in the evening or whatever, twice a day. And that... Report an error in the passage at 16:15 Highlight the passage at 16:15

16:49 It was such amazing fertilizer. There was only one tree in that area. It was a papaya tree. And those were the most delicious papayas I've ever had in my life. They were really sweet. Because they were made of bat poo. And that's where I get that simile from. If bat poo happens in your life, or dog poo, please don't criticize it. That's fertilizer. Report an error in the passage at 16:49 Highlight the passage at 16:49

17:20 Bat poo, dog poo make for the most delicious fruit you could ever eat. And I always say that with, instead of papaya, because papaya is not, it's sweet but it's not really juicy, not like mango. Report an error in the passage at 17:20 Highlight the passage at 17:20

17:34 Some of the mangoes I've eaten from here in Perth, oh my goodness, they're so sweet and so incredibly juicy. Do you remember those really amaze? You know, if it's been fertilized with dog poo. Just when you bite and it's so sweet and so juicy and the juice starts dripping down your cheek. Please remember what's really dripping down your cheek. Report an error in the passage at 17:34 Highlight the passage at 17:34

18:01 It's dog poo. Report an error in the passage at 18:01 Highlight the passage at 18:01

18:06 Transformed into delicious mango juice. That's how you see the positive side of things. So, you know, when you do, you're allowed to do that in those days. To lean over, I was only a 16-year-old kid, to give it a kiss. Thank you, Dad. For being such an amazing father, I'll never forget that. He never had tears, had this beautiful sense of joy and being so lucky, having a father who was willing to sacrifice his job, and if he got caught, just to come and see me play soccer. Report an error in the passage at 18:06 Highlight the passage at 18:06

18:46 How he could teach me this, he wasn't a Buddhist, but the door of his, I realized the door of his heart, not just his house, was open to me. while he was there, and the door of his heart, and that meant so much. The door of his heart would always be open to me no matter whatever happened, even when he died. Report an error in the passage at 18:46 Highlight the passage at 18:46

19:11 What a beautiful attitude that is. Instead of being sad about yourself, which is a bit of selfishness, Isn't it wonderful? My father gave me so much, I'll never ever forget that. That's what I respect. And that meant all that grief just disappeared and I valued his life. And I've taught that to so many other people over those years since. And let people know, that's how we value one another. Report an error in the passage at 19:11 Highlight the passage at 19:11

19:51 Nothing lasts forever except the attitude which one... Learns how to make towards other human beings, other animals. Look, sometimes when a death happens, it can sometimes be incredibly beautiful. This was one lady. Do you think there are ghosts who are animals? Spirits who are animals who will look after you once they're dead? Report an error in the passage at 19:51 Highlight the passage at 19:51

20:23 Of course. One of those stories, this lady, One of our members here, many years ago, she was living over in Rolling Stone and she had a dog. Nobody else, I don't know if she ever got married or the marriage fell apart and no kids around, just her and a dog in this house. She loved that dog. You may have dogs and just know how much they're important to you. And this particular dog, She would take the dog for a walk in the mornings and the evenings, and they'd play together in the forest. They were just like best of friends, not even more than best of friends, they were family together. Report an error in the passage at 20:23 Highlight the passage at 20:23

21:10 And when she took the dog one day into the forest, they were playing around like people do, and she lost a finger ring. And she told me the finger ring wasn't expensive, you can't go and sell it in a shop for thousands of dollars, but it had emotional value to her. Report an error in the passage at 21:10 Highlight the passage at 21:10

21:32 That's why they spent hours trying to find it, look for it. Even the dog. Can dogs find rings, look for rings? See what happens next. Day or two later, she forgot about the ring because the dog got sick and the dog died. Report an error in the passage at 21:32 Highlight the passage at 21:32

21:56 And she was kind of heartbroken at first by losing her dog. But then she swore to me, said, look, this I'm not lying. I'm not going to lie to you, Ajahn Brahm. I heard that dog barking in the house. It wasn't another dog. I know this. This is a dog I've lived with for years. I know the sound of that dog. That dog was in the house barking. Report an error in the passage at 21:56 Highlight the passage at 21:56

22:26 But I could never see it. It was always in another room. I ran to that room. I wanted to see that dog. But I could only hear its voice. Report an error in the passage at 22:26 Highlight the passage at 22:26

22:35 Until, after several days, she heard the dog outside the front door of her house while she was on the inside of that front door. The dog could not escape this time. If the dog was there, she would see it. So vision of the dog. But on the middle of the welcome mat in front of the house was her lost fingering. She'd been out of that house many times, but now the fingering was right there. Report an error in the passage at 22:35 Highlight the passage at 22:35

23:11 The dog had found it for her. She said, absolutely truthful. This is sometimes how to see the bigger picture of life, even when people do die. They still have an opportunity to serve and give you something. My father just, I inherited some of his great teachings. None of his money, he didn't have any. Even my mother, when she died, I remember my brother giving me a call from UK saying, our mum has passed away now. Report an error in the passage at 23:11 Highlight the passage at 23:11

23:55 And so, and I did some chanting for her myself, but you know, she was no longer. No longer there. And then later on, he told me that, you know, he was a banker himself, and working as bank manager of Barclays. And I want to tell you about the inheritance, you know, her worldly wealth. And he said, I have to do this, you know, because, you know, by law. Report an error in the passage at 23:55 Highlight the passage at 23:55

24:26 And he's only got two sons. You're one of them. I'm the other, said my brother. I just want to let you know how much is in the will. I think she said, he said the equivalent of, just to translate it into dollars for you, Australian dollars, it's about $5,000. Report an error in the passage at 24:26 Highlight the passage at 24:26

24:50 Can I just send the Buddhist Society a couple of thousand? That's our inheritance. After all the years, our parents have been alive. That's their worth. I said, do you want to contest it? Report an error in the passage at 24:50 Highlight the passage at 24:50

25:08 Of course not, because that wasn't the real inheritance from my mum. The real inheritance of my mum and dad was all their memories and the love and the kindness which they've given for so many years. One of the memories I have from my mum and dad was they did have arguments from time to time. And when they had an argument in such a small apartment, Report an error in the passage at 25:08 Highlight the passage at 25:08

25:37 My brother and I could hear it very easily. We could hear everything. And so my mum and dad could not escape from my brother and I. We heard everything. And so we'd often just go and look at them. Report an error in the passage at 25:37 Highlight the passage at 25:37

25:57 And that made my dad so guilty. So then he'd go to my mum, give her a hug and say, sorry, I shouldn't have said that. He'd say, no, it's my fault too. That was one of the beautiful things in my upbringing to see two of the people I love so much just always reconcile. They did have arguments, but they never lasted that long. And when they made up, they made up in front of the kids, in front of my brother and I. Report an error in the passage at 25:57 Highlight the passage at 25:57

26:29 And I remember those examples. Yeah, they did have arguments, but they never stopped them loving each other and forgiving each other. That's how I was trained. I saw it so many times. And I never, ever, ever wanted to give up on that beautiful training. That was my inheritance. Not any money, but just seeing good examples of two people that allowed themselves to argue. Report an error in the passage at 26:29 Highlight the passage at 26:29

26:59 Honestly, I look forward to their arguments. Because I knew what was going to happen next. Every time they'd make up and seeing them make up together was the beautiful part of it. So because of that, you know, you realize that at the end of their lives, when the funerals actually happened, there was no tears. Report an error in the passage at 26:59 Highlight the passage at 26:59

27:21 The sense of, wow, it's an end of another concert. It's a beautiful concert and I'll never forget that. I was part of it. Those are kids. Report an error in the passage at 27:21 Highlight the passage at 27:21

27:31 And that's why I don't mind. Going to funeral services. I've been to many funeral services. I said the last one just on Wednesday. Because whenever I go to a funeral service... No, sorry, that was not Wednesday. It was yesterday, Thursday. Whenever I go to a funeral service, there's a lot of good people around. What do you actually do? Report an error in the passage at 27:31 Highlight the passage at 27:31

27:53 What do you talk about when somebody dies? You talk about all the wonderful things they did. I call that the... they The sum total of their lives, the last accounts, how much they're worth, never in dollars, but how much they're worth in their character, how beautiful they've been, not in how they look. Report an error in the passage at 27:53 Highlight the passage at 27:53

28:22 Like yesterday, Esme, her name was, she's an old disciple of this temple, you know, went over to India. On a pilgrimage years and years and years ago, and just open coffin, you went and had a look at her. You can never think that such an old lady was beautiful, not on how she looks, but how she was, yeah. Report an error in the passage at 28:22 Highlight the passage at 28:22

28:52 That's what I'd like, to see somebody not by beauty or by wealth. Now when you pass away, how will people remember you and Report an error in the passage at 28:52 Highlight the passage at 28:52

29:09 how they remember you, I wish you could go to your own funeral before it happens and hear what people say about you and you realize how you do relate to other people and how you do inspire other people and how you do give this beautiful example of all the sacrifices you've done. For your kids, for your family usually. I don't think I've met many people whose funeral I would not like to go to. Report an error in the passage at 29:09 Highlight the passage at 29:09

29:44 All those ones inspire me and inspire you. Would you like to go to my funeral? What would it be like? If you understand what's going on, that would be beautiful. All those things which, you know, I talk about, all the things I've been trying to teach and give and serve and sacrifice over all these years, they should inspire you. Report an error in the passage at 29:44 Highlight the passage at 29:44

30:12 The only wrong thing about the funeral, why you wouldn't go, is because I'd be dead. Wouldn't it be nice to have a funeral service when I'm still alive? Just to inspire you? Report an error in the passage at 30:12 Highlight the passage at 30:12

30:26 That's what I mean at the end of a concert. You stand up, you clap and you shout and you ask for more. Report an error in the passage at 30:26 Highlight the passage at 30:26

30:35 Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to do? It takes these parts of life, which we do, and actually turns them into a different way of looking at them. So for grief, why on earth are we grief-stricken? Yeah, we miss somebody, but we can see some beauty in it. That little dog, you know, and it could find your fingering for you. Report an error in the passage at 30:35 Highlight the passage at 30:35

31:01 Now a lot of times, people you've lived with, to actually give them the last gift, you know, they can't find the ring, but, you know, when you're like a ghost dog, it's amazing what you can do. And I don't know how on earth can a dog, who's now dead, could actually find that ring first of all, pick it up. It's got no mouth. Report an error in the passage at 31:01 Highlight the passage at 31:01

31:25 How could it do that? Kind of impossible. I like it when people do impossible things. They break the rules. And one of those on the dogs and cats stories. I like cats as well. That's why whenever I do a loving kindness meditation, I always use a little kitten as a simile. But we had two cats. The first cat which we had at Bodhinyana Monastery, he was born in The hollow inside of a java log. It was a nice safe spot. A feral cat gave birth there and left this little kitten in there. Report an error in the passage at 31:25 Highlight the passage at 31:25

32:08 So of course we found it when it was meowing. And look, even though we're monks, even though are we allowed to have a pet, you can't ignore it. It's a beautiful little kitten. And of course you'd love it and want to care for it. Report an error in the passage at 32:08 Highlight the passage at 32:08

32:26 And that little kitten was so well cared for. You know, I noticed that when it was, it wasn't really hungry, but it would actually stand, it was very smart. It would sit or stand outside our kitchen and meow, meow, meow. And then sooner or later, one of the Anagarikas would give it some food. And then it would just go away. And then five minutes later, dishes of food that little kitten would get. Report an error in the passage at 32:26 Highlight the passage at 32:26

32:55 But, you know, it never told people that it was, you know, not being honest. It already had enough. I remember also, you know those cold days you can have out in the forest? Report an error in the passage at 32:55 Highlight the passage at 32:55

33:10 That one day I was in one of the kutis and I opened the door in the morning to go to the toilet. When I opened the door, a little kick side, I found out where it got to. It was in my sleeping bag. Right down the very bottom. Bottom. And it would not go out. He knew I was a monk. I was never going to torture it or try and get it out. So I had to spend the rest of the night in the cold. Report an error in the passage at 33:10 Highlight the passage at 33:10

33:37 Kit Kat had my sleeping bag. I survived. But that was also the cat. After a while, there were the trouble with cats in forests. There's so many things like possums and other little animals. And the birds as well, that's what the cats eat. Even though you give them enough food as you possibly can, they eat that food. Report an error in the passage at 33:37 Highlight the passage at 33:37

34:04 And so people told us a long time ago, you can't have cats, even if they're born in the forest, living in the forest. They destroy too much wildlife. And because I of all the monks thought that it was my cat, cats, and went to sleep in my sleeping bag. So, because of that, I decided, well, we have to find a home for it here in Perth. Report an error in the passage at 34:04 Highlight the passage at 34:04

34:38 So, we found a nice person. She used to be our president as well many years ago. And she said, you know, I can take it in. And so I caught the cat. And it trusted me and that's what made me feel bad. It trusted me and I sort of got it up to me and had a bag and put the cat into a bag. And I don't know if it realized what I was doing but it trusted me. I put it in a bag and put the bag in the back seat of a car where your feet go so it could not see through any window. Report an error in the passage at 34:38 Highlight the passage at 34:38

35:23 And I felt guilty. When the car left and she took it to her home in Watermans. You know where Watermans are? From here on the beach, around by the beach and a little bit north of here. I checked it out, it's about eight kilometers away from here. That's as the crow flies, eight kilometers. She kept it in her house for three days. Report an error in the passage at 35:23 Highlight the passage at 35:23

35:55 And after three days, she thought it would be probably used to the house now. It needed some exercise in the garden. And that it would get used. She was a very kind lady. And then as soon as she let it into the garden, that cat was so fast, it just ran to the gate, went under the gate, down the road. Report an error in the passage at 35:55 Highlight the passage at 35:55

36:21 She tried to get in her car and chase the cat, could not chase it. She went in her car, looked around the suburb, see if she could find the cat. And then she gave up on it. And then she called me here in Noramara Temple. It was on a Saturday afternoon in the summertime, one of those 40 degree days. She said, I'm terribly sorry Ajahn Brahm, I feel so guilty. I let out your cat into the garden and it ran. And I couldn't catch it. Report an error in the passage at 36:21 Highlight the passage at 36:21

36:59 I've lost it. You know how I answered? You haven't lost it. It's here with me in Lollamare now. Report an error in the passage at 36:59 Highlight the passage at 36:59

37:11 That cat ran all the way, you know, from Watermans to Lollamare, eight kilometers as a crow flies, in two hours. That's how fast it was. I couldn't believe it at first. Outside one of these doors. You heard meow, meow, and I heard that and opened it and it was Kit Kat. You recognise who the cat was. And so of course I let in. Poor little cat's paws were burning. You know, it had been on the hot sort of sidewalks of Perth and pavements. Report an error in the passage at 37:11 Highlight the passage at 37:11

37:55 It wasn't actually injured, but you could feel how hot it was. And of course I gave it saucer after saucer after saucer of milk. I think it drank about eight or nine saucers of milk. It was thirsty, dehydrated. But I could never understand how without a GPS network, without being a member of the RAC, could it find its way. Report an error in the passage at 37:55 Highlight the passage at 37:55

38:24 I know for certain the furthest north it had been from Bodhinyana Monastery was Byford. So he wouldn't have any kids. Report an error in the passage at 38:24 Highlight the passage at 38:24

38:39 Honestly, for you, if I dropped you at Waterman's, could you make it from Waterman's to Nala Māra in two hours? And you've never been in Perth city before? How on earth could a cat do that? That was kind of miraculous. So because of that, you know, he talked to the monk and said, okay, that cat, the birds will have to look after themselves. Report an error in the passage at 38:39 Highlight the passage at 38:39

39:04 It's a waste of time taking this cat anywhere. Many people thought, oh yeah, in Waterman's it finds its way to Serpentine. No, that's a long way. That's way too far. Take the shortcut. Find me here in Nonamara. It's much easier. And because of that, I respect them so much more. And birds and other animals, especially the kangaroos that live in Bodhinyana Monastery. Report an error in the passage at 39:04 Highlight the passage at 39:04

39:37 I know you see, you walk right past them sometimes, you've got to be careful not to bump them because they're not going to run away, they're not going to move away. Report an error in the passage at 39:37 Highlight the passage at 39:37

39:48 When any of them pass away or die, obviously the first thing we do is always check the pouch if it's a female to make sure there's no joey inside. Report an error in the passage at 39:48 Highlight the passage at 39:48

40:10 other and I just Report an error in the passage at 40:10 Highlight the passage at 40:10

40:26 summer. So what we do, we tried all sorts of things to find the monks' food. If we have anything left over, we leave it out for the monks. And that's when I... I still got my scientific bent. I used to be a theoretical physicist before. I always wanted to find out what food do kangaroos like the best. Report an error in the passage at 40:26 Highlight the passage at 40:26

40:49 And I discovered it with certainty, experiments. One day I had lots of food left over, so I put it all down on the ground and it had some carrots, apples, celery, all sorts of healthy food. You know what the kangaroo did? It went up, had a look, had a sniff, pushed aside the carrots, pushed aside the apple, pushed aside the celery, and right at the bottom, a slice of pizza. Report an error in the passage at 40:49 Highlight the passage at 40:49

41:27 With its paws, that's what it picked up. It had a choice of healthy food or pizza. And that kangaroo, oh no, it's going for the pizza. Report an error in the passage at 41:27 Highlight the passage at 41:27

41:40 And they could eat pizza very easily because they can pick it up in their paws. It was a nice effect. I don't know, in their paws. And Report an error in the passage at 41:40 Highlight the passage at 41:40

41:53 they loved it. I think it's the only kangaroos in the whole of Australia who get pizza every now and again. Report an error in the passage at 41:53 Highlight the passage at 41:53

42:06 But they seem to be healthy enough. And it's nice to be able to help them. Pony cubes is what they really like. Special cubes, you know, which are healthy for them. You know, because you like them and you care for them. You don't want to just injure them. So... You care for them. And of course they will always care for you. They'll never sort of harm you or hurt you. But I also remember when we would feed the kangaroos, we put the pony cubes in 11-litre plastic buckets. Report an error in the passage at 42:06 Highlight the passage at 42:06

42:38 There's lots of plastic buckets there. And I remember doing that for them and just having the... It's fun to feed them. Because as soon as they get to know that in the bucket there's food, of course... They all come running towards you. Only trouble was, a few times, it wasn't kangaroo food in my bucket, it was my washing. Report an error in the passage at 42:38 Highlight the passage at 42:38

43:07 Going down towards the washing place, the kangaroos would come running, what's this food now? It's not food, get away from me, this is my robes, and they're being washed. But it's really good fun. And so a lot of times, on grief, you value. And enjoy the life which you have. People aren't going to be there forever. But thank you for being here for all those years. And you don't feel grief. Report an error in the passage at 43:07 Highlight the passage at 43:07

43:36 Thank you for being my friend, my father, my mum. My brother's still alive. And, you know, my nieces and nephews. My brother's got children. Whenever I go and see them, you know what they call me? Monkle. Report an error in the passage at 43:36 Highlight the passage at 43:36

44:01 That's especially, only my relations can actually say that, truthfully. And it's nice when they do that. So there's a lot of time, we can still have those beautiful relationships of love and kindness. Always have to have a lot of forgiveness, like my mum and dad taught me. You know, after a while they argue, have differences of opinion, but afterwards, they always would hug in front of the kids and teach us. Report an error in the passage at 44:01 Highlight the passage at 44:01

44:29 The beauty of that forgiveness. And that was wonderful to see that. You know, they needed each other. And I needed to see that they were living in peace and harmony eventually. They have differences. Differences of opinion, arguments are usual. We won't always see the same thing. And there is not in Buddhism an absolute truth. Report an error in the passage at 44:29 Highlight the passage at 44:29

44:56 Like a series of statements, this is true, everything else is wrong. It's not so much the theory, it's how you practice that theory, the emotional part of it. You don't just argue, you say, I kind of don't agree with that. Oh yeah, fair enough, we don't have to do it. And that means we have peace and harmony in this world. Report an error in the passage at 44:56 Highlight the passage at 44:56

45:23 That's one of the reasons why. Tomorrow, we're going to be talking about a committee to form for Ajahn Brahm's funeral service, even though I've not died yet. And honestly, it doesn't really matter. You don't need to object to it, you don't need to support it, whatever happens. I'm happy whatever you say. It doesn't really matter. Report an error in the passage at 45:23 Highlight the passage at 45:23

45:51 I'm not going to die yet, I promised that already. Promised in public, I won't die for another three years, except if you give me special permission. Is that okay? Three years? You want to up it? We can actually make the, what's it, the barter decision tomorrow. Report an error in the passage at 45:51 Highlight the passage at 45:51

46:12 Do a deal. Stupid idea. Some people say that. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Some people say that. But instead of arguing, To say, well, if people want to do it, it's not going to lessen my life or increase my life. And so afterwards we find legally, emotionally, according to the Vinaya, why not? Report an error in the passage at 46:12 Highlight the passage at 46:12

46:38 I want to see how people respond to it. That's what I'm interested in. I've always got these plans, what I want to do. And one of those plans, just one of the monks suggested this. This is what would happen if you... Ajahn Brahm suggested that I should allow the monks to decide what happens at my funeral. They already suggested it, that I should do a recording first of all on a small tape machine and put it inside the coffin. Report an error in the passage at 46:38 Highlight the passage at 46:38

47:13 And Ajahn Brahm suggested that he would actually do the... because these things are all automatic, you can get them started from outside the coffin. And when I'm in my coffin, you press the button, And the words would be, I said, knock, knock, knock. Hey, Ajahn Brahm here, I'm not dead yet. Let me out, let me out. Report an error in the passage at 47:13 Highlight the passage at 47:13

47:43 I thought that would be a good thing to do. So if you let the monks organize my funeral, that's what they'll do. Report an error in the passage at 47:43 Highlight the passage at 47:43

47:53 Anyhow, that's for you to decide tomorrow. So thank you for me talking over much, but hopefully you enjoyed that. Instead of that grief, open the door of your heart to the people you love. No matter what you ever do, even if you die, the door of my heart will always be open to you. And that looks at death with a beautiful positive thing, rather than something negative, which creates too much pain for you. Report an error in the passage at 47:53 Highlight the passage at 47:53

48:25 Why do you die? Why do you cry when people die? Can't we do it differently? That's what I would ask you to do. So, that would also be, if there is a committee, Deciding how to deal with my funeral. Absolutely no one will be able to cry when I die. If you cry when I die, then you're not really my disciple. Report an error in the passage at 48:25 Highlight the passage at 48:25

48:51 All those years you haven't been listening to me. Okay? Thank you for listening. Report an error in the passage at 48:51 Highlight the passage at 48:51

49:03 Okay. Questions? If we get them from the internet first of all. Okay. Thank you. Here we go. Two children. How can I stop worrying about money all the time? It is hard to rest and feel free when there's always not enough money at home. That is always difficult, but sometimes, I don't know how old your children are, sometimes the children feel a bit sort of lesser. Report an error in the passage at 49:03 Highlight the passage at 49:03

49:38 I remember once I made my mother cry, one of my memories, because I said to her, I went to a really good school, you know, from a secondary school. I told my mum one day, sometimes I feel so embarrassed. You know, I've got holes in my jacket and kind of have some nice clothes. I felt sort of lesser than the people I went to school with. I made my mother cry and my father just said, oh, please don't do that again. Report an error in the passage at 49:38 Highlight the passage at 49:38

50:12 We're all trying our best. But in those days, you didn't need to have good clothes to be popular. It was in the late 60s. Having a few patches in your clothes was actually quite cool. But anyway, you try your very best and that's what your children remember of you, Mother, most of all. Your kindness and your love, the time you have for them. If you can spend time with them, you won't get a kid who offers you for her birthday a live eel. Report an error in the passage at 50:12 Highlight the passage at 50:12

50:53 You know that story which I did to my poor old mum. I thought it was very funny. She screamed. Anyway, I said, sorry. But don't worry about money. Just worry about, you know, enough food and enough love, enough time you can give your kids and maybe their father as well. Report an error in the passage at 50:53 Highlight the passage at 50:53

51:20 Worry doesn't help anything. It's like grief. It's kind of pointless. People say it's natural, but it's like what we condition, how we see other people respond. I try to make sure that people respond in a different way. Report an error in the passage at 51:20 Highlight the passage at 51:20

51:37 Why do some people move on so fast after a breakup, while others stay emotionally attached for years? And why is it so hard to let go of someone who is still alive but no longer in your life? That is a difficult question, but I've told this to many people recently. Report an error in the passage at 51:37 Highlight the passage at 51:37

51:56 That, you know, my last, you know, boyfriend-girlfriend relationship, I had a girlfriend when I was 20, you know, that was when I was my last year at university. And, you know, we had a great relationship together. And, you know, I really thought that maybe that might actually develop into marriage one day. Report an error in the passage at 51:56 Highlight the passage at 51:56

52:22 But then what happened, I had really deep meditation. I didn't realize it at the time, but that kind of ended the relationship. I wasn't so interested anymore. You can see that in the suttas, how the Buddha taught. If you get into a nice deep meditation, you're not interested in getting any happiness from lust or from any other type of relationship. Report an error in the passage at 52:22 Highlight the passage at 52:22

52:50 And so then I went off and became a monk. I didn't want a relationship anymore because What I had with the meditation was, how can I say this, way more beautiful, way more simple, way more easy and available. Report an error in the passage at 52:50 Highlight the passage at 52:50

53:11 That's why I became celibate. Honestly, it's what happens if you get into jhānas. I'm not sure if I should say that, but I have now. But anyway, that's what happens. So that's a really much more happiness, so much more joy and so much longer life. Honestly, you don't have to worry about me. Report an error in the passage at 53:11 Highlight the passage at 53:11

53:39 What was it that story I said about having scrub typhus for about three or four weeks and no one knew what it was, heavy fevers. No appetite, just no, absolutely zero energy. This is the least energy I've ever had in my life. I was only about 24, 25. Just a young man, I should be really fit. And no energy at all. Really close to death. And what I did, well, I shouldn't make it personal. Report an error in the passage at 53:39 Highlight the passage at 53:39

54:14 Look, I was just meditating. I decided, okay, let's meditate. And when I meditated, I never crossed my legs or, you know, sit up, make your back straight, left hand, you know, under the right hand, you know, head down and watch the breath. It was totally unordinary. My legs were all over the place. And my arms, one was this way, one was the other way. Report an error in the passage at 54:14 Highlight the passage at 54:14

54:44 But I just got into gorgeous meditation. And when you have that, Sickness. It was like typhoid. The same symptoms, but different bacteria. And so when I came out of the meditation, I thought, wow, that's amazing. Just totally different posture. I've never taught that posture here. I don't think I can. Can you lay on your back, sort of left leg that direction, a bit more that way, and right leg the other direction, an arm this way, an arm that way. Report an error in the passage at 54:44 Highlight the passage at 54:44

55:19 Totally extraordinary. But it worked. I got some really nice deep meditations. Wow. So that's how you overcome many things like diseases. Report an error in the passage at 55:19 Highlight the passage at 55:19

55:35 Honestly. How to start is make you a Buddhist monastery. A Buddhist monk or a nun. It's not things aren't Buddhist. People are. So start keeping precepts. Start meditating. It's like in some of the deep meditations. Wow. It's not your home. It's you. Make your body a Buddhist. Report an error in the passage at 55:35 Highlight the passage at 55:35

56:12 Last one from a question from Germany. Dear Ajahn, how can I strengthen patience to endure when I sit, breathe and watch without reacting? Report an error in the passage at 56:12 Highlight the passage at 56:12

56:25 By living in the present moment more. Right now. A lot of times reacting is thinking, I can't stand this any longer, this is going to get worse, it's going to get worse. That's why I still remember that from the times when I used to watch movies as a kid. Report an error in the passage at 56:25 Highlight the passage at 56:25

56:44 And amazing, the few movies which were about wars, they would come up to you. They don't just get into it and torture somebody, they make you afraid of the future. Report an error in the passage at 56:44 Highlight the passage at 56:44

57:01 If they didn't make you afraid of the future, then being tortured is something like just going to the hospital and getting some procedure done on you. I remember that, I was talking about that a few days ago, that when I was in the hospital for only four days, only seven days, I was under a gynecologist, by the way. Report an error in the passage at 57:01 Highlight the passage at 57:01

57:24 Honestly! Because, you know, he was one of the Buddhists here, and he let me go into a hospital, he booked me in there. It's the first time they've seen a male under a gynecologist. Report an error in the passage at 57:24 Highlight the passage at 57:24

57:40 And I wasn't fat in those days, so I couldn't say, you know, oh, there's a baby in here. Report an error in the passage at 57:40 Highlight the passage at 57:40

57:50 So anyhow, where was I going with this? Sorry? No, anyway. Report an error in the passage at 57:50 Highlight the passage at 57:50

58:02 Where was I going with this? Report an error in the passage at 58:02 Highlight the passage at 58:02

58:09 Ajahn, it's really not a question, but a comment. so... Report an error in the passage at 58:09 Highlight the passage at 58:09

58:06 girl from New York here. Report an error in the passage at 58:06 Highlight the passage at 58:06

58:14 It is well known and you have mentioned it a number of times. The best way to pay respects to a teacher is by practicing. Yes, what he says. To the best of your ability. Could you please give a few words about your students right now and in the future and where are you? They haven't seen you, they haven't met you. How they pay respect to you. What is the best way? Please give some words. Report an error in the passage at 58:14 Highlight the passage at 58:14

58:43 Yeah, the best way is never argue with me. Is that good, never argue with me, Eddie? Promise? Report an error in the passage at 58:43 Highlight the passage at 58:43

58:57 No, please argue with me. The reason I say that is because you see some gurus or teachers, they always control people. They don't want to spend that time You know, to argue and talk with everybody. What was that story I was saying to you this afternoon? That when I gave a big talk in Hong Kong many years ago, two or three thousand people, and at the very end of the talk, the question time finished, and what happened afterwards was the photographs. Report an error in the passage at 58:57 Highlight the passage at 58:57

59:39 And when the photographs finished, then I said, I really need to go to the toilet. Which is a way to the nearest toilet and it was actually outside of the auditorium, you know, up the stairs. And up the stairs there was lots of people also came over to ask some special questions. I couldn't just, you know, disappear quickly. And eventually I got outside of the lecture theatre at the top of the stairs and where's the toilet? Report an error in the passage at 59:39 Highlight the passage at 59:39

1:00:07 Just over there. And even on the way some more people asked me questions. And eventually, at last, I went into the men's toilets and I felt, oh, so relieved. I can now go to toilet. And as soon as I opened the door, I saw there was one young man who was washing his hands, which is always a good thing to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:07 Highlight the passage at 1:00:07

1:00:28 But when he washed his hands, he came out, oh, Ajahn Brahm, I really need to ask this question of you. And even in the toilet, they were asking me questions. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:28 Highlight the passage at 1:00:28

1:00:40 That was a bit harsh. That's what happens. So please, you do that as well. That's what I'm here for. That's how to respect me. Ask questions. And don't be afraid to ask questions. And if you can't ask the question, I say ask this monk, ask that monk. Report an error in the passage at 1:00:40 Highlight the passage at 1:00:40

1:01:04 I mean the devotees who haven't had the fortune to see you and meet you in the future. How can they respect you? That's why all these talks are recorded, written books, the teachers, the followers, the students, you've all learnt so much. I trust you, so both of you. So you answer the questions. I just need to go and take a rest. Thank you Ajahn. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:04 Highlight the passage at 1:01:04

1:01:42 Ajahn Brahm, regarding what you said just now, tomorrow's AGM? thank you. OK. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:42 Highlight the passage at 1:01:42

1:01:48 Yes. Is it going to happen? They're going to bring up forming a sub-committee to arrange your funeral service. I'm not bringing it up. Okay. It's in the committee agenda. Yeah. So it has to be brought up. Oh, I don't know who suggested that, okay. I've checked with many people and they were disgusted. I think stupid, you know, the thing, okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:01:48 Highlight the passage at 1:01:48

1:02:07 My first instinct was... Have you checked with me yet? I've not checked with you. Yes, you have. My first instinct was don't they have better things to do, you know. Fair enough, Ajahn Brahm. If you are sick, you have a few months left to leave all these things. Fair enough. I'd like to be in the subcommittee to arrange for that too. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:07 Highlight the passage at 1:02:07

1:02:28 You're fit. You're going to Cambodia the next month or what? Yeah, that might knock me off. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:28 Highlight the passage at 1:02:28

1:02:38 And then tomorrow at the AGM, it's going to be live telecast. And the audience outside, you know. In other parts of the world, they might have wrong ideas, thinking, oh, Ajahn Brahm is sick and all these things. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:38 Highlight the passage at 1:02:38

1:02:57 Can't they have better things to do? Things like, oh, what topic to talk, all these more positive things. I think that's a very good thing to do. Report an error in the passage at 1:02:57 Highlight the passage at 1:02:57

1:03:06 If they are following my advice, like good disciples are supposed to do, as you mentioned earlier, they should let it happen. or what. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:06 Highlight the passage at 1:03:06

1:03:18 If it's going, when you form a sub-community, it should be the monks, you know, the majority of the monks to decide, you know. Not the lay people or anything, it's a monk's thing, you know, lay people can give some ideas. It's the monks who have the final say. They may have the final say, but the lay people will need your help. There'll be lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of people. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:18 Highlight the passage at 1:03:18

1:03:46 To me, I think it's too premature. Yeah, okay. You know, you're still healthy, you know. Some people, oh, you're trying to brush. No, that's the real thing. I'm speaking from my heart, okay. Anyway, I wish you well. Thank you. Report an error in the passage at 1:03:46 Highlight the passage at 1:03:46

1:04:08 In the back over there. Okay. Okay, yeah, for sure. Thank you. Good evening. Good evening, Ajahn Brahm. Ciao. I've got a question for you, which I haven't seen in any of your sermons on YouTube. So my question relates to the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe. Can you please draw on the sutras and the lessons from the great Gautama, the Buddha, and tell us what you think he would have preached to some of the world leaders like Vladimir Putin, Bibi Netanyahu, and President Donald Trump? Report an error in the passage at 1:04:08 Highlight the passage at 1:04:08

1:04:48 Thank you. One of the first things I would say is that don't look at sutras for this. Look at the feelings. The sutras are groups of words and they're amazing. But one of the things which is missing from it, how it affects people. That's one of the reasons I was just saying we did an ordination of one of the Anagarikas as novices last Monday. Report an error in the passage at 1:04:48 Highlight the passage at 1:04:48

1:05:16 It was inspiring. Why was it inspiring? Just another feeling of the whole family being there, the novices family, and just a person we've known for a long time eventually just becoming a novice monk. That really is inspiring. I was also, I went to Adana today. I'm going to tell you about this Anusha. Anusha's going to go over to Dhammasara soon. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:16 Highlight the passage at 1:05:16

1:05:47 to start the process of becoming anagarika and then samaneri and eventually bhikkhuni. And you can see it right from the very beginning. She deserves this. I've seen her for such a long time. And eventually when she becomes a bhikkhuni. Have a look at her now. And then you'll be so inspired in two or three years time when that event happens. Report an error in the passage at 1:05:47 Highlight the passage at 1:05:47

1:06:17 That's what is really inspiring. When you see you're part of this and you're allowing it to happen. Why is that inspiring? Just a person is just becoming a bhikkhuni, so what? But the feelings behind that, the emotions behind that, what is inspiration? What is that joy? After a while when you see that and you can feel that, and instead of just writing about it, Or writing an essay about it. You see when there's peace and harmony in this world. And if someone like a Trump or Netanyahu or Putin or whatever, or an Ayatollah over in Iran can actually see that happiness. Report an error in the passage at 1:06:17 Highlight the passage at 1:06:17

1:07:03 How can you ever sort of hurt somebody, blow them up? You know the way, I remember reading about this. That's one of the hardest jobs of a general in an army to get people to actually pull that trigger and kill somebody when they can see them right in front of them. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:03 Highlight the passage at 1:07:03

1:07:25 That's why they have things like drones. So it just looks like a war you're just fighting as a computer game. You make it as similar as possible to a computer game rather than actually seeing it as a person. It's a person with a father and a mother and even like kids and a wife and a husband. It's almost impossible to harm them or hurt them or kill them for most people. I want people actually to see the results of what they do. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:25 Highlight the passage at 1:07:25

1:07:56 And this makes absolutely no sense to me. I'd make a terrible... Would I make a terrible president of the United States? I certainly would be very different. Forgive everybody. Would that be bad? Forgive every... Jewish leader, every Muslim leader, every politician. Report an error in the passage at 1:07:56 Highlight the passage at 1:07:56

1:08:32 That's what I would say, forgiveness reigns. And why have we got so many people from so many different religions and backgrounds here? Why do you keep coming here? It's a safe place. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:32 Highlight the passage at 1:08:32

1:08:52 The little kid there is fast asleep. That's fine, that's what kids do. But isn't it wonderful when you have the understanding, oh, there, still awake, well done. Isn't it wonderful when the kids can grow up to just, doesn't matter what colour your skin is, boy, girl, or whatever, or where you're from, that you're a human being, and you're my friend, and I will always look after you. Report an error in the passage at 1:08:52 Highlight the passage at 1:08:52

1:09:20 That's something which, wouldn't you like your kids to feel like that? Report an error in the passage at 1:09:20 Highlight the passage at 1:09:20

1:09:27 So that's one of the nice things about Buddhists, that's how I would teach them. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:27 Highlight the passage at 1:09:27

1:09:34 And I just, something which comes up, I'm finished here, but one of my nephews, I didn't tell that story this evening, no, before, he was coming to visit me, and when he came from UK to have a tour around Vietnam, he loved Vietnam, and then when he came through Singapore on his way here, The Singapore immigration or customs whatever, when they put his backpack through the computer, or through the x-ray, they picked up, it was a bullet casing in his backpack. Report an error in the passage at 1:09:34 Highlight the passage at 1:09:34

1:10:17 And that's illegal. Even though it's not a live bullet, a bullet casing is also illegal. So they put him in one of these little offices to interrogate him. And then they said, you know, Did you know you had a bullet casing in here? He said, no, I didn't know. Well, where are you going? He said, I'm going to Australia to visit my uncle, who's a monk. Report an error in the passage at 1:10:17 Highlight the passage at 1:10:17

1:10:46 And these were really tough guys in the immigration, or not immigration, customs. And they said, watch your monk's, your uncle's name. Really, you know, fiery. He was breaking the law, having a bullet casing in his Report an error in the passage at 1:10:46 Highlight the passage at 1:10:46

1:11:06 Oh, my uncle's name is Ajahn Brahm. And at that, the interrogator, oh, Ajahn Brahm, I'm his disciple too. Thank you, you can go. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:06 Highlight the passage at 1:11:06

1:11:22 That's what I like to see, that's some forgiveness, some kindness. Only because it was my nephew, he got away with it. So if you ever get caught with anything like that in Singapore, just say, oh, he's my teacher. And they say, oh, me too. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:22 Highlight the passage at 1:11:22

1:11:42 And if they don't let you go, I'm going to tell my teacher and your teacher too, you'll be in big trouble. I don't know if that answers your question, but it starts to. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:42 Highlight the passage at 1:11:42

1:11:53 Okay, it's now 20 past... Oh, you want to quickly get in one? Short question, short answer? Yeah, I want to heal my body of cancer. I'm wondering what type of meditation I should be doing or like how long I should be meditating for? Just do calming your mind as best as possible. Let go. Relax to the max. And as long as you're enjoying it, carry on. Don't give a time limit. Okay. Okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:11:53 Highlight the passage at 1:11:53

1:12:23 Okay. Thank you. Okay, I'm now going to bow three times. Thank you for all listening. And even though it's 20 minutes extra time, it's 20 past nine now, I'm not going to charge the Buddhist Society of Western Australia overtime. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:23 Highlight the passage at 1:12:23

1:12:41 I should do, shouldn't I? Okay, another quick story. I can't, I deserve what I get. Now my, when I was giving this lecture over in the UK, they paid my airfare tickets, business class to get me to go on this human resources conference. I was in a big conference over in London, paid everything for me, nice hotel, and then I was only to give Like a 45-minute talk on human resources in a big sort of conference hall. And then just before the talk, I was told that there's two people trying to get in for free at my talk. Report an error in the passage at 1:12:41 Highlight the passage at 1:12:41

1:13:28 It's my brother and my niece. And so I said, well, okay, come on, you can let them in. But then I scolded my brother. He was a banker. He can afford it. The same as my niece, she could afford it too, she was working some big job somewhere. I said, you're embarrassing me, just trying to get in for free. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:28 Highlight the passage at 1:13:28

1:13:52 He said, do you know, Ajahn Brahm, how much they were charging each of us? £300 each for my talk. And as soon as I came back to Perth, I told the committee what my market rate is. Report an error in the passage at 1:13:52 Highlight the passage at 1:13:52

1:14:16 If you're going to be the president next year Prem, then that's how much I cost for an extra 20 minutes. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:16 Highlight the passage at 1:14:16

1:14:26 Okay, got that recorded? Good, okay. Report an error in the passage at 1:14:26 Highlight the passage at 1:14:26

1:14:51 Bhagavatam, Abhivad-Ami. Svakkhato bhagavata dhammo dhamma namasami Supatipanno bhagavato Satsang with Mooji Satsang with Mooji Report an error in the passage at 1:14:51 Highlight the passage at 1:14:51