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Okay, so now,
before the talk,

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those of you who want to go to
toilet or go outside,

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you’re most welcome
or stay inside.

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Of course, many people
will be listening online.

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I hope.

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And for a monk
who gives so many talks,

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some to you,
some to monks,

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some online talks
over to Singapore

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or Hong Kong 
or wherever, to UK…

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because even though you don't 
travel at this time because of Covid,

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still, you do lots of talks 
in many different countries.

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So often I think that I’ve taught

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on every subject there could be.

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But this evening,
somebody just asked me.

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And they, sort of, said: 
‘Well, why don't you give a talk…’

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Because I said: 
‘Well, you know,

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all these talks, some of the 
talks I’ve given is on rubbish’.

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‘No, you've never 
given that talk before’.

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So today's talk is 
‘Buddhism and rubbish’.

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So if anyone who complains
afterwards ‘that was a rubbish talk’,

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I say ‘yes, great, well 
done, you've understood it’.

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Because sometimes, 
when we talk about rubbish,

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there are some times 
that we reject it.

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But as a Buddhist monk,

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there's so many things 
which other people reject,

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you look at again and 
see some of its beauty

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and some of its delights.

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And using the idea of rubbish,

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one of the first 
metaphors which I remember

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was again from my teacher, 
Ajahn Chah, years and years ago.

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And he was the one who…
he knew just what would happen,

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when his western 
disciples went over to

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the different countries which didn't 
have much of a tradition of Buddhism.

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And one of the things you'd always 
have to do is actually talk to people,

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be their friend

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and just to listen to the 
problems they have in their life.

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And of course, 
that happens a lot,

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even though you had no, like,

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lectures or education on counseling.

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Nevertheless, you soon 
became a very good counselor,

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a lot of the time, because of 
things which Ajahn Chah taught you...

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and one of those things he 
always taught us was to remember,

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whenever you counsel 
somebody, they tell you their problems:

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marriage problems, life problems, 
money problems, and all these problems…

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Till this day I can't understand 
why people ask monks or nuns

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about these questions.

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Number one: as you all know, 
I have never been married.

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What do I know about marriage?

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Number two: I’ve never had kids.
What do I know about raising children?

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Number three: I’ve got no money. 
What do I know about economy?

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Number four: I don't have a job.

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What do I know about going to the 
office in the morning and getting a job?

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Number five: I don't have a car. 
What do I know about driving a car?

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But all these questions 
which people ask you -

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I always give an answer.

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Make it up as I go 
along most of the time,

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but with some kindness

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and some understanding 
about what's really being asked.

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By the end of the interview or 
the end of the counseling session

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I’ve learned something from 
Ajahn Chah, which not many people know.

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And I don't think they teach 
you this in the universities

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if you go to counseling courses.

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And that was a simile, as many 
of you may be beginning to know,

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to be a rubbish bin.

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This is my first simile to 
celebrate the idea of rubbish.

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Because my teacher said:

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‘If ever you do any counseling, 
listen to people's problems,

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you must always receive

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whatever they say,

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if possible without any 
judgment, just with kindness,

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appreciating you don't know 
why that's happened to them

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or just what they're going through,

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but you try and give as much 
kindness as you possibly can.

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But when they leave,

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you must imagine 
that you are a rubbish bin.

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So you can actually 
accept everybody's problems

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and difficulties in life.

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I don't know why they're 
putting the rubbish into me,

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I didn't do it, 
it's not my fault,

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but please accept that rubbish.

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But the most important part of 
that simile is what he added in the end.

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‘But please make sure 
you always imagine yourself

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to be a rubbish bin 
with a hole in the bottom.

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So, what anybody tells you,
whatever they put in you,

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it goes right through 
and you don't keep any of it.'

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That was the most 
wonderful part of that simile.

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So it means

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that after people tell you some 
terrible things which happened

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and really difficult problems,

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first of all I would worry 
about that ‘oh, what can I do,

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I must do something to help them’.

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And then afterwards,
you get full.

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So when the next person came, 
you wouldn't be able to listen to them,

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you'd be thinking 
about the last person.

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And you’d soon 
be a full rubbish bin

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overflowing with trash.

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But instead,

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if you’re a rubbish bin 
with a hole in the bottom,

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whatever you tell me, 
whatever you complain about,

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whatever you disclose to me
about the difficulties of your life,

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it just goes right inside

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and goes right through and 
afterwards there's nothing in there.

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I’m a rubbish bin 
with a hole in the bottom.

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So always empty to receive

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the next piece of rubbish 
you want to donate to me.

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That's a wonderful little thing

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that the idea of being 
a rubbish bin is not keeping anything.

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Being able to 
discard things, being able to…

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It's not just 
polluting the planet.

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This is almost like a metaphor

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that everything which we 
use eventually breaks down,

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goes back to the 
soil or goes back to…

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All of the difficulties of your life too,

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don't last.
They're all anicca.

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They fade away 
and other things happen.

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And because I’ve been 
here for long enough now,

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37, 38 years now in this place,

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46 years as a monk…

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So much you can see, it doesn't last.

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Dhammasara - 
when did we build that?

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It doesn't last.
[laughter]

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One day it's gonna fade away.

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Same with Bodhinyana 
monastery, it fades away.

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But it's worth making.

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It's one thing which 
I love telling people,

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because it was… I think I told 
people this in the Dana last week.

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On 31st of January 2000…
no sorry, 31st of January, 1991.

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That was when we had our big bushfire,
big ground fire on the hottest day ever,

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at the time in West Australia.
46 degrees, 46 degrees - that's hot.

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That was before the fire came.

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When the fire came,

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it came right through our monastery.

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As the trees exploded.

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But anyway,

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we were forced to evacuate, when the 
fire was happening, all ready to defend.

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We had all the… 
fire pumps going,

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but we were told we had to leave.

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When we did leave, 
I saw those trees exploding

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and you could feel that 
this was an incredibly hot fire.

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And Bodhinyana Monastery,

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I thought was gone.

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I honestly thought that.

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But the following morning,
we were taken back there,

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to see all of the 
huts were still there.

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All of the huts are 
still at Dhammasara.

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All of the halls and 
dining halls at Dhammasara.

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The only thing which is 
not at Dhammasara is you.

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The nuns.
[laughter]

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But they'll come back 
again, in a day or two.

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But what was amazing was 
that you could let things go.

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Because it wasn't having the monastery

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or the facilities which was important.

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It was actually having the spirit,

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having the opportunity to serve and build

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a very… honestly, I mention this, 
because it was absolutely true.

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That even though I thought 
everything was going to be burnt down,

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you went there the next day,

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knowing ‘Well, 
let's build it up again.'

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'Let's do it again.'

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Because it was the action which 
was more important than the results.

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The service.

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Because you can see that in nature

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that things do eventually fall down.

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They do get old,

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they do get rubbishy

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like Ajahn Brahm.

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I’m getting much older than I used to be.

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People just showed me these photographs

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when I used to be able to go 
on top of roofs and fix them up.

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Now monks say, if 
I get on top of the roof,

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the roof will buckle.
[laughter]

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You know, Venerable Sunyo, just next
to my room, the place where I stay,

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there's lots and lots 
of twigs in the gutter.

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I thought of getting up on 
the roof and taking them out.

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But I thought twice. ‘No, 
it's better to keep the roof…

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unharmed'.
[laughter]

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But anyway.

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In the old days, I would 
get up there and do stuff.

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But you can see just how to get…

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things like old age.

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Things start to decay.

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There's something beautiful 
about the decaying part of nature.

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Things like turning into rubbish.
What was really important to you,

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what was really precious,

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eventually fades away and disappears.

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Its importance is temporary.

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And everything

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which I cherished, which 
I owned, which I loved and cared for,

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things like your family,

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they're temporary.

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It doesn't mean you don't care for 
them - you care for them to the max,

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knowing that they’re not 
always gonna be here.

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And when they do pass away,

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that was a beautiful time spent.

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You enjoyed each 
other's company so much.

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Thank you.

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And you know, that's that 
old simile which I say a lot of…

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When you go to concerts.

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A concert being 
held here next week.

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Beautiful, beautiful concerts.

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They will never last.

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In fact, if they did last,

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then, there'd be

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something unbeautiful about them.

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There'd be something which, 
after a while, you get bored.

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After a while, you turn away anyway,

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to go see something different.

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But there’s something about 
those great concerts, very short,

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and when it's finished, you feel just...

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grateful.

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Grateful to have been there

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and enjoy that great performance.

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You know that they will turn to dust.

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But nevertheless, 
it's important to be there.

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00:12:36,830 --> 00:12:40,794
And enjoy it 
while it's happening.

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Knowing that you'll have to let it go.

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And move away.

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And much of this, you can find that

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when we understand 
the whole idea of rubbish,

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things which have 
used are no longer usable.

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It has a use.

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Rubbish is… obviously, 
people recycle rubbish,

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I’m not gonna go into that, 
because that's talked about a lot.

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But whenever we do have rubbish, 
we know that whatever we use,

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will one day just be thrown away.

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Is that bad?

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00:13:16,992 --> 00:13:21,752
There was… For those of you 
who are traditional Buddhists,

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this is one story about 
this monk, Chulapantaka.

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This was in the time of the Buddha.

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that his brother 
was fully enlightened,

231
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but his younger brother, 
this guy Chulapantaka,

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was very... intellectually challenged.

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He couldn't really learn 
much theory or teachings.

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And he was finding very 
difficult to meditate, at first.

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But what his brother gave him - 
was it the Buddha or his brother -

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gave him just a piece of cloth.

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Just told him to keep rubbing the cloth.

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00:14:02,131 --> 00:14:06,097
And so this is what this younger 
brother did, just kept rubbing the cloth,

239
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until the cloth became quite dirty.

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00:14:09,495 --> 00:14:14,787
And he kept on rubbing it, 
until the cloth started to...

241
00:14:14,787 --> 00:14:16,898
to be frailed.

242
00:14:16,898 --> 00:14:20,502
And kept on wearing,
until it started to break down.

243
00:14:20,502 --> 00:14:21,347
His brother said

244
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‘That's the nature of all the 
things which we hold dear to in life.

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00:14:25,900 --> 00:14:27,939
Through use,

246
00:14:27,939 --> 00:14:29,724
through association,

247
00:14:29,724 --> 00:14:31,311
over time,

248
00:14:31,311 --> 00:14:32,714
it all tends to

249
00:14:32,714 --> 00:14:34,531
disappear and vanish.

250
00:14:34,531 --> 00:14:36,881
And turn into rubbish.

251
00:14:36,881 --> 00:14:40,099
Just like the most 
beautiful things in Bodhinyana.

252
00:14:40,099 --> 00:14:42,618
Maybe not in my lifetime,

253
00:14:42,618 --> 00:14:44,764
but all those huts…

254
00:14:44,764 --> 00:14:47,911
I was quite stupid when 
I started building those huts.

255
00:14:47,911 --> 00:14:50,651
I wanted to make them permanent.

256
00:14:50,651 --> 00:14:54,439
Do them well, do them once,
so you don't have to do it again.

257
00:14:56,999 --> 00:15:00,014
I thought just build these
things and it's all finished,

258
00:15:00,014 --> 00:15:02,538
no other monk will 
have to bother about it.

259
00:15:02,538 --> 00:15:04,705
But of course, that's 
not the nature of life.

260
00:15:04,705 --> 00:15:08,187
They tend to start to fall apart.

261
00:15:08,187 --> 00:15:12,268
Or if they don't fall apart, 
just fashions fall apart.

262
00:15:12,268 --> 00:15:15,875
In other words, no, the windows are 
too small, we want to make them bigger.

263
00:15:15,875 --> 00:15:20,062
No, no, we don't want a brick wall, 
we want a whitewashed wall.

264
00:15:20,062 --> 00:15:23,426
No, we don't want it this 
way, we want it that way.

265
00:15:23,426 --> 00:15:25,261
And so,

266
00:15:25,261 --> 00:15:30,168
often even Bodhinyana monastery
and Dhammasara monastery, as you know;

267
00:15:30,168 --> 00:15:34,263
when people would come 
and they said: ‘Is it finished yet?’

268
00:15:34,263 --> 00:15:36,692
And I would say: ‘No’.

269
00:15:36,692 --> 00:15:40,313
‘Well, you’ve got all the huts there, 
you've got all the dining room there,

270
00:15:40,313 --> 00:15:43,638
you've got the meditation 
room; is it finished yet?!’

271
00:15:43,638 --> 00:15:47,840
Never finished, no, they keep going on, 
there’ll always be building something new.

272
00:15:47,840 --> 00:15:50,488
That's what's happened 
at Bodhinyana monastery.

273
00:15:50,488 --> 00:15:52,500
We've been going much longer.

274
00:15:52,500 --> 00:15:55,157
Thirty-six years, 
‘Is it finished yet?!’

275
00:15:55,157 --> 00:15:56,076
Venerable Sunyo?

276
00:15:56,076 --> 00:15:59,182
'No way.'

277
00:15:59,182 --> 00:16:02,258
And this is actually our life.

278
00:16:02,258 --> 00:16:04,475
Things don't get finished.

279
00:16:04,475 --> 00:16:05,581
They get built,

280
00:16:05,581 --> 00:16:07,740
they get worn away,

281
00:16:07,740 --> 00:16:09,231
they turn to rubbish

282
00:16:09,231 --> 00:16:11,768
and they get rebuilt.

283
00:16:11,768 --> 00:16:14,888
For those of you who 
have been to old countries,

284
00:16:14,888 --> 00:16:17,117
I remember just…

285
00:16:17,117 --> 00:16:20,866
Well, you know, 
I was born in London.

286
00:16:20,866 --> 00:16:25,091
And that London 
is built on rubbish.

287
00:16:25,091 --> 00:16:27,342
It's rubbish upon rubbish upon rubbish.

288
00:16:27,342 --> 00:16:29,273
And when people 
actually do excavations

289
00:16:29,273 --> 00:16:35,147
to put foundations in 
to another big building,

290
00:16:35,147 --> 00:16:40,019
they always come across 
the rubbish of old generations.

291
00:16:40,019 --> 00:16:44,088
Sometimes a hundred, two hundred,
five hundred, a thousand years of age.

292
00:16:44,088 --> 00:16:46,536
And even longer than that.

293
00:16:46,536 --> 00:16:49,535
Because that's what happens.

294
00:16:49,535 --> 00:16:52,044
Life creates that rubbish.

295
00:16:52,044 --> 00:16:53,943
And that rubbish 
becomes the foundation

296
00:16:53,943 --> 00:16:58,920
on which new buildings, 
new culture is made.

297
00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:01,378
Without that rubbish

298
00:17:01,378 --> 00:17:04,360
of past generations,

299
00:17:04,360 --> 00:17:06,491
our generation wouldn't have

300
00:17:06,491 --> 00:17:11,631
the foundations on which to grow.

301
00:17:11,631 --> 00:17:14,105
And live.

302
00:17:14,105 --> 00:17:18,676
And sometimes 
that history, history is just…

303
00:17:18,676 --> 00:17:22,667
Our grandparents' rubbish.

304
00:17:22,667 --> 00:17:26,111
All the things which they did and 
use, which was so important to them,

305
00:17:26,111 --> 00:17:30,529
which wore out and new 
things were built afterwards.

306
00:17:30,529 --> 00:17:35,579
Sometimes, that… 
that is not disrespect.

307
00:17:35,579 --> 00:17:38,141
But it's always like building

308
00:17:38,141 --> 00:17:39,718
on what other people have done.

309
00:17:39,718 --> 00:17:41,790
And that is the same

310
00:17:41,790 --> 00:17:45,140
just even with ideas

311
00:17:45,140 --> 00:17:47,022
and teachings.

312
00:17:47,022 --> 00:17:52,693
So often, even in teaching 
about Buddhism, about meditation,

313
00:17:52,693 --> 00:17:55,881
you know – yes, we 
have the old teachings

314
00:17:55,881 --> 00:17:58,979
which you can read and understand.

315
00:17:58,979 --> 00:18:01,648
From even the time of the Buddha.

316
00:18:01,648 --> 00:18:07,163
About how these things worked 
and how meditation was taught.

317
00:18:07,163 --> 00:18:08,678
But,

318
00:18:08,678 --> 00:18:12,231
can we improve on that?

319
00:18:12,231 --> 00:18:13,922
Of course.

320
00:18:13,922 --> 00:18:15,605
You know we can.

321
00:18:15,605 --> 00:18:18,587
In the time of the Buddha
that people would have...

322
00:18:18,587 --> 00:18:25,139
they wouldn't have zafus like you have
these days, they'd just get some grass.

323
00:18:25,139 --> 00:18:28,345
But can we improve
upon those zafus?

324
00:18:28,345 --> 00:18:31,304
I've often mentioned this,
it'd be a great opportunity

325
00:18:31,304 --> 00:18:35,097
for anybody who wishes to

326
00:18:35,097 --> 00:18:42,079
innovate and get
a lovely new business.

327
00:18:42,079 --> 00:18:43,887
Look at the meditation cushions

328
00:18:43,887 --> 00:18:45,248
you're sitting on right now

329
00:18:45,248 --> 00:18:46,788
or the chairs.

330
00:18:46,788 --> 00:18:51,043
These are just so old-fashioned.

331
00:18:51,043 --> 00:18:53,091
And imagine having...

332
00:18:53,091 --> 00:18:55,496
We live in a world of high-tech.

333
00:18:55,496 --> 00:19:00,623
Can't we get high-tech
meditation cushions?

334
00:19:00,623 --> 00:19:03,465
And once you start 
thinking like that...

335
00:19:03,465 --> 00:19:08,265
Basically, I got this idea
from this guy over in Singapore.

336
00:19:08,265 --> 00:19:11,240
This guy in Singapore,
he was a designer.

337
00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,644
One of his great claims to fame

338
00:19:14,644 --> 00:19:18,377
was actually designing 
dresses for Princess Diana

339
00:19:18,377 --> 00:19:20,981
when she was still alive.

340
00:19:20,981 --> 00:19:23,316
He designed a couple of her dresses.

341
00:19:23,316 --> 00:19:27,070
So he was obviously a very
smart guy living in Singapore.

342
00:19:27,070 --> 00:19:30,782
And his latest idea,
when I saw him years ago,

343
00:19:30,782 --> 00:19:34,998
was like designer 
Zimmer frames.

344
00:19:34,998 --> 00:19:38,523
If you think about it, you know the
Zimmer frames which elderly people use,

345
00:19:38,523 --> 00:19:42,221
many of those elderly 
people are cashed-up.

346
00:19:42,221 --> 00:19:44,974
So to get like a 
designer Zimmer frame,

347
00:19:44,974 --> 00:19:47,329
you know, that'll be in their budget

348
00:19:47,329 --> 00:19:51,412
and you make a lot of money that way.

349
00:19:51,412 --> 00:19:54,270
Was that exploitation
or was it just smart thinking?

350
00:19:54,270 --> 00:19:57,329
Designer Zimmer frames.

351
00:19:57,329 --> 00:19:59,026
I don't know, but

352
00:19:59,026 --> 00:20:01,443
anyway, that...

353
00:20:01,443 --> 00:20:04,278
Please excuse me,
I can't resist this one.

354
00:20:04,278 --> 00:20:06,756
I was just saying 
today, because Dhammasara

355
00:20:06,756 --> 00:20:09,972
had that... what do you call that...

356
00:20:09,972 --> 00:20:12,938
where you make donations at Dhammasara?

357
00:20:12,938 --> 00:20:15,966
'Cashless donations',
that little thing over there

358
00:20:15,966 --> 00:20:17,743
you just put a credit card on,

359
00:20:17,743 --> 00:20:21,323
and it puts money 
into Dhammasara.

360
00:20:21,323 --> 00:20:23,321
They're just trying it out over here.

361
00:20:23,321 --> 00:20:24,389
But I say,

362
00:20:24,389 --> 00:20:26,932
that please, if anyone has

363
00:20:26,932 --> 00:20:29,180
Parkinson's disease,

364
00:20:29,180 --> 00:20:30,627
please be careful.
(laughter)

365
00:20:35,439 --> 00:20:38,014
About 20-30 taps,
when you only meant one.

366
00:20:38,014 --> 00:20:40,765
And that's your bank balance gone.

367
00:20:44,715 --> 00:20:49,072
Alzheimer's also, yes.

368
00:20:49,072 --> 00:20:50,531
Did you put a donation in,

369
00:20:50,531 --> 00:20:51,365
Lawrence?

370
00:20:51,365 --> 00:20:54,336
Are you sure?

371
00:20:54,336 --> 00:20:56,777
Alzheimer's... did I
put it in, I'm not sure.

372
00:20:56,777 --> 00:20:58,401
Anyway.

373
00:20:58,401 --> 00:21:01,551
It's ok, we won't
exploit you, maybe.

374
00:21:01,551 --> 00:21:03,660
But anyway.

375
00:21:03,660 --> 00:21:06,422
For zafus.

376
00:21:06,422 --> 00:21:08,586
Why do we just have this

377
00:21:08,586 --> 00:21:11,105
fluff inside there?

378
00:21:11,105 --> 00:21:12,936
Because if you 
have designer zafus,

379
00:21:12,936 --> 00:21:14,994
you know, with IT.

380
00:21:14,994 --> 00:21:16,394
First of all,

381
00:21:16,394 --> 00:21:18,015
you know, you 
can actually adjust,

382
00:21:18,015 --> 00:21:20,189
they have different 
compartments to the zafu,

383
00:21:20,189 --> 00:21:21,948
so if your back needs lifting,

384
00:21:21,948 --> 00:21:23,601
you can just press one button

385
00:21:23,601 --> 00:21:25,703
and the back lifts up.

386
00:21:25,703 --> 00:21:28,604
If your knee is a bit sore,

387
00:21:28,604 --> 00:21:31,859
the other part lifts up, 
so your knee can lift up.

388
00:21:31,859 --> 00:21:34,610
If it really is sore,
it can give it a massage,

389
00:21:34,610 --> 00:21:37,587
like on those massage 
chairs you can sit on,

390
00:21:37,587 --> 00:21:40,739
so your knee gets a good
massage while you're meditating.

391
00:21:40,739 --> 00:21:42,831
If you're too hot...

392
00:21:42,831 --> 00:21:44,722
sometimes who 
knows what we can put,

393
00:21:44,722 --> 00:21:47,098
the temperature on there,
the aircons are on today,

394
00:21:47,098 --> 00:21:48,442
but sometimes it's hot here,

395
00:21:48,442 --> 00:21:49,898
sometimes it's cold here.

396
00:21:49,898 --> 00:21:53,119
If it's really cold, you can
get these blows of hot air

397
00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:54,822
coming up your 
body to warm you up

398
00:21:54,822 --> 00:21:58,076
and if it's too hot, you can
get some coolness in there,

399
00:21:58,076 --> 00:21:59,468
if you have sloth and torpor,

400
00:21:59,468 --> 00:22:01,089
really tired,

401
00:22:01,089 --> 00:22:03,895
which many people have after
coming here after day's work

402
00:22:03,895 --> 00:22:04,710
or week's work

403
00:22:04,710 --> 00:22:07,609
and you come here for 
Friday night and you're half-asleep,

404
00:22:07,609 --> 00:22:14,348
you can press another 
little button for a coffee.

405
00:22:14,348 --> 00:22:16,965
Or if you like tea, 
tea or cappuccino,

406
00:22:16,965 --> 00:22:19,063
you can have all 
sorts of buttons on there.

407
00:22:19,063 --> 00:22:22,916
Like a high-tech
meditation cushion.

408
00:22:22,916 --> 00:22:28,546
I'm sure there's so many
wealthy people over in USA

409
00:22:28,546 --> 00:22:33,812
who meditate, that you
would make a fortune.

410
00:22:33,812 --> 00:22:36,856
Is that a good idea?

411
00:22:36,856 --> 00:22:37,605
Anyway.

412
00:22:37,605 --> 00:22:38,975
How did we get on to that,

413
00:22:38,975 --> 00:22:42,240
it's supposed to be a talk on 
rubbish, not about making a fortune.

414
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:43,946
Is money rubbish?

415
00:22:43,946 --> 00:22:45,138
[Yes]

416
00:22:45,138 --> 00:22:46,100
Really?

417
00:22:46,100 --> 00:22:48,990
So we have a rubbish bin
at the back over there.

418
00:22:48,990 --> 00:22:50,471
For your rubbish.

419
00:22:50,471 --> 00:22:51,187
Now, is it?

420
00:22:51,187 --> 00:22:54,259
That was another thing
which Ajahn Chah used to teach.

421
00:22:54,259 --> 00:22:56,244
You know.

422
00:22:56,244 --> 00:23:00,524
Sometimes people asked,
'Did Ajahn Chah make any predictions?'

423
00:23:00,524 --> 00:23:02,959
Telling the future. 
He actually did,

424
00:23:02,959 --> 00:23:05,314
a couple of times.

425
00:23:05,314 --> 00:23:08,306
And this prediction,
I was there when he made it.

426
00:23:08,306 --> 00:23:11,590
He, sort of, said:
'In the future,

427
00:23:11,590 --> 00:23:18,621
they will run out of paper 
to make banknotes.

428
00:23:18,621 --> 00:23:20,499
They won't have enough paper left.

429
00:23:20,499 --> 00:23:22,559
They're cutting down too many trees.

430
00:23:22,559 --> 00:23:25,902
And they will not... they'll run out
of metal, like silver or gold

431
00:23:25,902 --> 00:23:29,212
to make coins.

432
00:23:29,212 --> 00:23:33,308
So they'll have to find 
something else to use for money.'

433
00:23:33,308 --> 00:23:37,231
And what he said, what 
they'd use for money in the future –

434
00:23:37,231 --> 00:23:41,520
these little balls of chicken poo.

435
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:43,501
Okay – chicken shit.

436
00:23:43,501 --> 00:23:45,950
You know the little balls
you see of chicken shit?

437
00:23:45,950 --> 00:23:47,684
So that's what they'll pay you in,

438
00:23:47,684 --> 00:23:51,545
after you go to work for the week.

439
00:23:51,545 --> 00:23:53,091
Hundred pellets of chicken shit

440
00:23:53,091 --> 00:23:54,856
for all your hard work.

441
00:23:54,856 --> 00:23:57,476
And you'd really ask 
for a rise in chicken shit,

442
00:23:57,476 --> 00:24:00,630
because you're not getting
enough to feed your family.

443
00:24:00,630 --> 00:24:04,130
And you go to the bank, and you 
won't be putting money in the bank,

444
00:24:04,130 --> 00:24:07,025
but little pellets of
chicken poo in the bank.

445
00:24:07,025 --> 00:24:13,252
And the IMF would become
the International Manure Fund.

446
00:24:13,252 --> 00:24:18,942
What's the difference
between chicken shit and money?

447
00:24:18,942 --> 00:24:22,553
Only the value you put on it.

448
00:24:22,553 --> 00:24:24,506
That's the only difference.

449
00:24:24,506 --> 00:24:28,200
And so he predicted
people will be fighting wars

450
00:24:28,200 --> 00:24:30,078
over chicken shit.

451
00:24:30,078 --> 00:24:33,449
Who makes the most...

452
00:24:33,449 --> 00:24:36,409
And looking at the economy

453
00:24:36,409 --> 00:24:42,121
as how much more chicken shit
we can make in our different countries.

454
00:24:42,121 --> 00:24:45,414
But that was something 
which was quite challenging,

455
00:24:45,414 --> 00:24:47,988
because it had some truth to it.

456
00:24:47,988 --> 00:24:51,540
All this stuff which we value,

457
00:24:51,540 --> 00:24:54,877
what's its difference between rubbish?

458
00:24:54,877 --> 00:24:58,016
Only the value which we give to it.

459
00:24:58,016 --> 00:24:59,602
It's the same with

460
00:24:59,602 --> 00:25:02,832
so much other stuff we have.

461
00:25:02,832 --> 00:25:06,903
One of the great advantages I found

462
00:25:06,903 --> 00:25:10,833
with being a Buddhist monk 
is we can be rebellious,

463
00:25:10,833 --> 00:25:12,534
we challenge

464
00:25:12,534 --> 00:25:15,986
what is means to be 
comfortable and happy.

465
00:25:15,986 --> 00:25:18,792
What it means to be rich.

466
00:25:18,792 --> 00:25:21,673
Many of you know where I live:

467
00:25:21,673 --> 00:25:24,283
in a cave, there's hardly anything there.

468
00:25:24,283 --> 00:25:27,432
And honestly, I'm so 
happy in that little cave.

469
00:25:27,432 --> 00:25:29,714
It's quiet, it's cool,

470
00:25:29,714 --> 00:25:32,448
I get some great meditation there.

471
00:25:32,448 --> 00:25:37,782
How many of you would like to live there?
(silence)

472
00:25:37,782 --> 00:25:39,545
A few people, yes.

473
00:25:39,545 --> 00:25:42,185
So you go and build yourself one.

474
00:25:42,185 --> 00:25:44,508
It's much cheaper
than the house you live in.

475
00:25:44,508 --> 00:25:46,651
Or the apartment you live in.

476
00:25:46,651 --> 00:25:48,154
Or whatever else you live in.

477
00:25:48,154 --> 00:25:50,781
Just get a nice cave.
But, you know, the trouble is

478
00:25:50,781 --> 00:25:53,621
that we're not allowed to build caves.

479
00:25:53,621 --> 00:25:58,753
Because, again, our system 
is not rebellious enough.

480
00:25:58,753 --> 00:26:01,642
We think: "Oh no, you need 
to have a kitchen, a bathroom,

481
00:26:01,642 --> 00:26:02,716
bla-bla-bla-bla-bla

482
00:26:02,716 --> 00:26:07,051
You need to have this amount 
of space, this amount of space.

483
00:26:07,051 --> 00:26:09,035
But do you?

484
00:26:09,035 --> 00:26:12,406
I've lived in that cave 
for how many years now?

485
00:26:12,406 --> 00:26:14,351
Before you came, wasn't it?

486
00:26:14,351 --> 00:26:17,601
About 10–15 years, 20 years now?
How many years, do you know?

487
00:26:17,601 --> 00:26:21,401
Do you remember,
how long I've lived in my cave?

488
00:26:21,401 --> 00:26:22,603
Anyway,

489
00:26:22,603 --> 00:26:25,034
it's a long, long time, 
and it's very comfortable,

490
00:26:25,034 --> 00:26:29,532
so why is it that we can't...

491
00:26:29,532 --> 00:26:34,990
that all the people put their hands up,
buy a cave and go and live in there.

492
00:26:34,990 --> 00:26:35,750
Instead of...

493
00:26:35,750 --> 00:26:39,980
My cave is about... 
this is like a hemisphere.

494
00:26:39,980 --> 00:26:41,770
If you wanna know what it looks like.

495
00:26:41,770 --> 00:26:46,166
It's about 3 meters diameter.

496
00:26:46,166 --> 00:26:48,648
Made out of rocks, 
and it's very well made

497
00:26:48,648 --> 00:26:51,640
and I'm very grateful for the
monks who made that for me.

498
00:26:51,640 --> 00:26:53,440
And it's so comfortable in there.

499
00:26:53,440 --> 00:26:56,144
I really enjoy it, 
and many of you've seen it.

500
00:26:56,144 --> 00:27:02,715
It's one of the best accommodations in the
whole of Perth, doesn't cost much at all.

501
00:27:02,715 --> 00:27:05,259
So what it means, is: 
some people think

502
00:27:05,259 --> 00:27:07,815
that's a rubbish place to live.

503
00:27:07,815 --> 00:27:12,133
Why do people want to live in big houses?

504
00:27:12,133 --> 00:27:13,926
Why?

505
00:27:13,926 --> 00:27:16,155
So sometimes, when 
we challenge these things,

506
00:27:16,155 --> 00:27:18,880
we can actually see 
different ways of doing things.

507
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:21,221
I think those big places are just...

508
00:27:21,221 --> 00:27:23,449
not free at all.

509
00:27:23,449 --> 00:27:26,168
Different ways of looking at the world.

510
00:27:26,168 --> 00:27:30,267
This is also something which
I spent a lot of time talking about:

511
00:27:30,267 --> 00:27:32,011
freedom.

512
00:27:32,011 --> 00:27:36,616
What is freedom?
What is a free world?

513
00:27:36,616 --> 00:27:40,370
And the weird thing is 
that being a Buddhist monk

514
00:27:40,370 --> 00:27:43,484
and Buddhist nuns, 
we have so many rules

515
00:27:43,484 --> 00:27:46,256
we're supposed to be
keeping, which we do keep.

516
00:27:46,256 --> 00:27:49,527
That's one of the things that...
we teach people what these rule are,

517
00:27:49,527 --> 00:27:51,577
and you learn them yourself and

518
00:27:51,577 --> 00:27:54,322
you say, wow, these monks 
actually do keep those rules.

519
00:27:54,322 --> 00:27:57,065
We don't have money.

520
00:27:57,065 --> 00:27:59,297
So this is one of the 
reasons why, when...

521
00:27:59,297 --> 00:28:03,693
I said I couldn't try out that

522
00:28:03,693 --> 00:28:06,180
that donation terminal
or whatever it is.

523
00:28:06,180 --> 00:28:07,641
Because I've got no money.

524
00:28:07,641 --> 00:28:11,812
Imagine what it's like, to travel
around the world without money.

525
00:28:11,812 --> 00:28:13,989
And fortunately, no 
one has ever asked me,

526
00:28:13,989 --> 00:28:16,682
when I've gone through 
these customs and immigration,

527
00:28:16,682 --> 00:28:19,787
'Excuse me sir, how much money
are you bringing into the country?'

528
00:28:19,787 --> 00:28:21,902
'How much money are you spending here?'

529
00:28:21,902 --> 00:28:24,108
Because if they asked me, 
I'd say: 'Zero, nothing'.

530
00:28:24,108 --> 00:28:25,616
[Zip...]

531
00:28:25,616 --> 00:28:27,863
They probably wouldn't let me in.

532
00:28:27,863 --> 00:28:31,155
But even though I'm not
going to any of these countries,

533
00:28:31,155 --> 00:28:33,800
bringing money into the economy,

534
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,738
you're bringing something
else which is more important.

535
00:28:36,738 --> 00:28:39,327
Which is why I keep 
getting invited to these places.

536
00:28:39,327 --> 00:28:42,902
Peace, happiness, joy,
different way of looking at things.

537
00:28:42,902 --> 00:28:47,421
Ways which can actually bring people
together rather than separate people.

538
00:28:47,421 --> 00:28:49,162
Different ways of looking.

539
00:28:49,162 --> 00:28:52,547
For me, the money is that rubbish stuff.

540
00:28:52,547 --> 00:28:53,867
And wealth...

541
00:28:53,867 --> 00:28:55,652
Yeah, you've got to have some wealth,

542
00:28:55,652 --> 00:28:56,880
but that's rubbish stuff.

543
00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,110
Fame is rubbish stuff.

544
00:28:59,110 --> 00:29:01,049
So what do you really want in your life?

545
00:29:01,049 --> 00:29:03,119
Is that rubbish?

546
00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:07,546
Or is it something 
which is really valuable?

547
00:29:07,546 --> 00:29:09,849
Sometimes, you can check on that.

548
00:29:09,849 --> 00:29:12,515
If your house was burning

549
00:29:12,515 --> 00:29:14,041
like in a bushfire

550
00:29:14,041 --> 00:29:17,736
and you did have a chance to
get in the house and get something

551
00:29:17,736 --> 00:29:21,496
to flee with before the fire hit.

552
00:29:21,496 --> 00:29:24,520
What would you take?

553
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,658
What is really valuable for you?

554
00:29:27,658 --> 00:29:30,861
Would it be your credit card?

555
00:29:30,861 --> 00:29:34,491
Would it be, maybe, your dog?

556
00:29:34,491 --> 00:29:37,292
What is very, really valuable for you?

557
00:29:37,292 --> 00:29:41,474
And sometimes, when you
can't take anything at all,

558
00:29:41,474 --> 00:29:43,826
sometimes just...

559
00:29:43,826 --> 00:29:46,108
your goodness is the most valuable.

560
00:29:46,108 --> 00:29:48,401
One thing which I always remember

561
00:29:48,401 --> 00:29:52,207
and also talked about 
a lot with the monks as well –

562
00:29:52,207 --> 00:29:54,718
not things.

563
00:29:54,718 --> 00:29:57,184
Not, sort of, you know, photographs

564
00:29:57,184 --> 00:29:59,294
or mementos

565
00:29:59,294 --> 00:30:01,098
or medals –

566
00:30:01,098 --> 00:30:04,121
that's not important.

567
00:30:04,121 --> 00:30:08,612
What is really important 
is, like, the service

568
00:30:08,612 --> 00:30:10,572
which you gave,

569
00:30:10,572 --> 00:30:13,895
which is why you got
that medal in the first place.

570
00:30:13,895 --> 00:30:15,403
That is what is important.

571
00:30:15,403 --> 00:30:19,371
That's something which is not rubbish
and that's something which doesn't fade.

572
00:30:19,371 --> 00:30:24,608
That is something which
stays in your heart forever.

573
00:30:24,608 --> 00:30:27,551
The service, the goodness, the kindness.

574
00:30:27,551 --> 00:30:29,416
What you've given to others.

575
00:30:29,416 --> 00:30:31,757
And I don't just mean money.

576
00:30:31,757 --> 00:30:34,063
I mean just the help which you've given.

577
00:30:34,063 --> 00:30:37,746
Just, you know, like good old Dennis –
I don't know how many years he's been

578
00:30:37,746 --> 00:30:40,160
President from time to time here.

579
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:43,910
So much service which he's given to this
Buddhist Society of Western Australia

580
00:30:43,910 --> 00:30:47,417
for so many years,
turned him into this beautiful,

581
00:30:47,417 --> 00:30:48,527
grey,

582
00:30:48,527 --> 00:30:50,055
going blind,

583
00:30:50,055 --> 00:30:53,505
but very happy person

584
00:30:53,505 --> 00:30:56,742
who people respect.

585
00:30:56,742 --> 00:30:59,993
That is something which
is so valuable in this world,

586
00:30:59,993 --> 00:31:02,523
that is not rubbish.

587
00:31:02,523 --> 00:31:10,120
Just how you are held
with love in people's hearts.

588
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:16,069
That is something which is priceless,
that's why its value is way beyond

589
00:31:16,069 --> 00:31:19,513
a monetary calculation.

590
00:31:19,513 --> 00:31:24,005
It's one of the reasons why I've 
been using that word a lot – 'priceless'.

591
00:31:24,005 --> 00:31:26,583
As many of you know those stories,

592
00:31:26,583 --> 00:31:28,734
when people ask, 
'How much do I have pay

593
00:31:28,734 --> 00:31:32,100
to come into your 
Buddhist Society of Western Australia?'

594
00:31:32,100 --> 00:31:37,404
And when I used to say 'Nothing', they
said 'Ok, you can't be any good, then'.

595
00:31:37,404 --> 00:31:40,631
Because if you want to, sort of, 
go to a place which is really good,

596
00:31:40,631 --> 00:31:44,596
a really good teacher,
oh, you have to pay for that...

597
00:31:44,596 --> 00:31:47,815
Do you?

598
00:31:47,815 --> 00:31:50,524
All these motivational
teachers that used to come –

599
00:31:50,524 --> 00:31:53,465
was it Tony Robbins, was it?

600
00:31:53,465 --> 00:31:54,265
Or...

601
00:31:54,265 --> 00:31:57,686
I don't know who the 
motivational speakers are.

602
00:31:57,686 --> 00:32:01,505
And you pay a fortune for those.

603
00:32:01,505 --> 00:32:02,875
Ajahn Brahm –

604
00:32:05,075 --> 00:32:05,821
nothing.

605
00:32:05,821 --> 00:32:09,729
And I remember a few people,
because I know some rich people,

606
00:32:09,729 --> 00:32:14,167
and they just went to a weekend
with these motivational speakers:

607
00:32:14,167 --> 00:32:17,438
five or six thousand dollars!

608
00:32:17,438 --> 00:32:19,307
Then they came to 
one of my weekends

609
00:32:19,307 --> 00:32:23,978
and they said 'Wow, you are much
better! Why don't you charge more?'

610
00:32:23,978 --> 00:32:26,068
I said 'Well, I do charge:

611
00:32:26,068 --> 00:32:28,356
the cost of coming to my talks

612
00:32:28,356 --> 00:32:31,001
is priceless.

613
00:32:31,001 --> 00:32:35,720
In other words, it's not, sort of,
given a monetary value at all.

614
00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:39,286
Because that monetary value
can never reach what is given.

615
00:32:39,286 --> 00:32:42,440
The importance of just 
kindness and giving

616
00:32:42,440 --> 00:32:45,586
by example, not just by words.

617
00:32:45,586 --> 00:32:48,527
That's one of the other things 
which is important value.

618
00:32:48,527 --> 00:32:51,413
If you just give a talk

619
00:32:51,413 --> 00:32:54,142
and it's just words, just arguments,

620
00:32:54,142 --> 00:32:56,183
there's nothing behind it,

621
00:32:56,183 --> 00:32:59,293
there's no practice, no living that life,

622
00:32:59,293 --> 00:33:01,793
that doesn't have much value.

623
00:33:01,793 --> 00:33:03,638
That is rubbish.

624
00:33:03,638 --> 00:33:06,718
There are some people 
who give amazing talks.

625
00:33:06,718 --> 00:33:08,909
When I read them,

626
00:33:08,909 --> 00:33:13,489
I say just 'Wow, that's... how can 
they talk so fluently, so eloquently,

627
00:33:13,489 --> 00:33:16,683
so deeply...

628
00:33:16,683 --> 00:33:19,173
But it doesn't have power.

629
00:33:19,173 --> 00:33:22,705
It's something which
I've seen so many times.

630
00:33:22,705 --> 00:33:27,033
If a person is actually living 
that life, if they're practicing it

631
00:33:27,033 --> 00:33:30,582
and not just faking it,

632
00:33:30,582 --> 00:33:32,547
it's amazing just how

633
00:33:32,547 --> 00:33:35,534
powerful that is.

634
00:33:35,534 --> 00:33:37,387
Some of the teachers – I'm sure you can

635
00:33:37,387 --> 00:33:42,928
hear the same teachings far 
more eloquent than I can give you.

636
00:33:42,928 --> 00:33:46,170
But it's where it's 
coming from is different.

637
00:33:46,170 --> 00:33:50,623
These little things like I tell, 
that you know, you are...

638
00:33:50,623 --> 00:33:54,034
all the nuns, there are 
renunciates, they're living that life.

639
00:33:54,034 --> 00:33:56,873
You go and check them out. See them.

640
00:33:56,873 --> 00:34:00,197
As they speak, so they live.

641
00:34:00,197 --> 00:34:01,343
Same with the monks.

642
00:34:01,343 --> 00:34:05,770
And that gives these 
teachings an extra power to them.

643
00:34:05,770 --> 00:34:10,783
Especially in a world where
there's a lot of dishonesty,

644
00:34:10,783 --> 00:34:12,791
a lot of falsities.

645
00:34:12,791 --> 00:34:16,607
People say one thing and 
they live a totally different life.

646
00:34:16,607 --> 00:34:20,194
A life where we've lost respect for 
so many people who used to be given

647
00:34:20,194 --> 00:34:23,173
so much authority.

648
00:34:23,173 --> 00:34:25,526
And they lost that authority.

649
00:34:25,526 --> 00:34:29,867
And I can understand why it is that
people these days, they just want...

650
00:34:29,867 --> 00:34:31,613
to have trust.

651
00:34:31,613 --> 00:34:34,782
At least some group of people.

652
00:34:34,782 --> 00:34:37,943
It's one of the reasons why –
I think I told this in an ordination

653
00:34:37,943 --> 00:34:40,782
a few... a week or two ago –

654
00:34:40,782 --> 00:34:42,326
Why it is that

655
00:34:42,326 --> 00:34:45,955
one of my friends, 
a monk over in Malaysia,

656
00:34:45,955 --> 00:34:47,771
it was actually Venerable Aggacitta

657
00:34:47,771 --> 00:34:49,088
years ago...

658
00:34:49,088 --> 00:34:52,143
When he was setting up his temple

659
00:34:53,173 --> 00:34:54,593
in Taipei...

660
00:34:55,203 --> 00:34:57,012
in Malaysia,

661
00:34:57,012 --> 00:35:01,025
he did a survey, first of all.

662
00:35:01,025 --> 00:35:03,358
He's a very highly educated monk.

663
00:35:03,358 --> 00:35:07,744
He surveyed as many of 
his lay followers as possible.

664
00:35:07,744 --> 00:35:08,880
And asked them:

665
00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:13,583
'What type of monk would you like?

666
00:35:13,583 --> 00:35:16,394
Should that monk be a great teacher?

667
00:35:16,394 --> 00:35:22,860
Should he be a monk 
who can tell great jokes?

668
00:35:22,860 --> 00:35:26,459
Should he be a monk who writes books?

669
00:35:26,459 --> 00:35:28,538
Should he be a monk 
who's a great scholar?

670
00:35:28,538 --> 00:35:30,789
Should he be a monk 
who's a great meditator?

671
00:35:30,789 --> 00:35:33,974
Should he become a monk
who keeps all the precepts?

672
00:35:33,974 --> 00:35:39,624
Should he be a monk who can
travel around and teach your kids?

673
00:35:39,624 --> 00:35:43,948
What type of monk would you want?'

674
00:35:43,948 --> 00:35:47,143
And the category 
which won, hands down,

675
00:35:47,143 --> 00:35:51,262
he showed me the results and 
I was so inspired and impressed:

676
00:35:51,262 --> 00:35:53,887
the type of monk they wanted most –

677
00:35:53,887 --> 00:35:57,694
and that was just for a monk; the type
of nun they want the most, as well –

678
00:35:57,694 --> 00:36:00,511
is the one who keeps the precepts.

679
00:36:00,511 --> 00:36:04,258
A virtuous person.

680
00:36:04,258 --> 00:36:08,363
Because they were the 
rarest to find in the world.

681
00:36:08,363 --> 00:36:11,974
Someone who lived what they taught.

682
00:36:11,974 --> 00:36:14,127
Instead of saying one thing,

683
00:36:14,127 --> 00:36:15,892
practicing differently,

684
00:36:15,892 --> 00:36:17,854
which made their words

685
00:36:17,854 --> 00:36:20,057
not worth anything at all.

686
00:36:20,057 --> 00:36:22,207
Just rubbish words.

687
00:36:22,207 --> 00:36:24,238
So little by little, that's so important,

688
00:36:24,238 --> 00:36:26,841
to give whatever we do, whatever we speak,

689
00:36:26,841 --> 00:36:29,579
whatever we write, that extra power

690
00:36:29,579 --> 00:36:32,141
by living this.

691
00:36:32,141 --> 00:36:39,628
And even I remember some 
of my followers over in Singapore,

692
00:36:39,628 --> 00:36:48,188
that there was this one Buddhist...
was he a Buddhist? No, he was

693
00:36:48,188 --> 00:36:52,452
a Christian, a pastor, who was caught

694
00:36:52,452 --> 00:36:57,731
making so much money, like
millions of Singapore dollars.

695
00:36:57,731 --> 00:37:02,389
And a lot of that was done fraudulently.

696
00:37:02,389 --> 00:37:04,931
So he was gonna go to jail.

697
00:37:04,931 --> 00:37:08,245
And that really made the Christian 
community in Singapore just really

698
00:37:08,245 --> 00:37:11,824
a bit upset about their leaders.

699
00:37:11,824 --> 00:37:16,309
At the same time, I was in the
newspaper for something else,

700
00:37:16,309 --> 00:37:18,734
and I was interviewed, 
and what I said there,

701
00:37:18,734 --> 00:37:20,529
and it was confirmed, that

702
00:37:20,529 --> 00:37:24,132
whenever I go teaching 
anywhere in Singapore,

703
00:37:24,132 --> 00:37:27,675
I don't get any money at all,
I don't have any bank account,

704
00:37:27,675 --> 00:37:29,318
don't have a credit card,

705
00:37:29,318 --> 00:37:33,015
don't have... nothing.

706
00:37:33,015 --> 00:37:35,594
It's always great fun in that sense.

707
00:37:35,594 --> 00:37:40,154
When you're a monk, you don't have
any driver's license, bank account

708
00:37:40,154 --> 00:37:42,545
details...

709
00:37:42,545 --> 00:37:47,628
I don't own anything.

710
00:37:47,628 --> 00:37:50,124
But look how well I live.

711
00:37:50,124 --> 00:37:52,622
And I said in this article,

712
00:37:52,622 --> 00:37:57,002
'In today's world, you don't need money.

713
00:37:57,002 --> 00:37:59,050
Or a credit card.

714
00:37:59,050 --> 00:38:00,840
If you're kind

715
00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:02,359
and giving

716
00:38:02,359 --> 00:38:03,890
and serving

717
00:38:03,890 --> 00:38:05,603
and helping,

718
00:38:05,603 --> 00:38:08,155
living simply.'

719
00:38:08,155 --> 00:38:14,068
And then, I think the next day,
in the letters column,

720
00:38:14,068 --> 00:38:19,529
one of these pastors said 'We can 
learn from this Ajahn Brahm fellow.'

721
00:38:19,529 --> 00:38:23,262
'Just look, there he is' – I had 
a good reputation in Singapore,

722
00:38:23,262 --> 00:38:26,415
'There he is, living very 
peaceful, doing such a good work

723
00:38:26,415 --> 00:38:30,117
and he doesn't charge 
a thing for anything'.

724
00:38:30,117 --> 00:38:31,797
All done for free.

725
00:38:31,797 --> 00:38:33,423
For gratis.

726
00:38:33,423 --> 00:38:34,338
For the love of it.

727
00:38:34,338 --> 00:38:37,771
People give donations afterwards,
but not to me, they give it to Dennis

728
00:38:37,771 --> 00:38:39,476
and the Treasurer.

729
00:38:39,476 --> 00:38:40,323
Over there.

730
00:38:40,323 --> 00:38:44,010
And it goes into supporting this place.

731
00:38:44,010 --> 00:38:46,792
But for monks and nuns,

732
00:38:46,792 --> 00:38:52,344
we do it just for the joy of it,
for the service of it, for the love of it.

733
00:38:52,344 --> 00:38:56,017
And you get so much 
happiness and joy back.

734
00:38:56,017 --> 00:39:00,554
That's one of the greatest
things, to have that service

735
00:39:00,554 --> 00:39:03,174
as your wealth.

736
00:39:03,174 --> 00:39:06,903
When people ask 'Who's the 
wealthiest people in this room?'

737
00:39:06,903 --> 00:39:10,094
They're sitting in the front seats, here.

738
00:39:10,094 --> 00:39:14,240
They're wealthy. And I've 
met some very wealthy people.

739
00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:18,008
I often mention this - billionaires.

740
00:39:18,008 --> 00:39:20,086
But those wealthy people had nothing.

741
00:39:20,086 --> 00:39:25,503
They're only wealthy
in the amount of worry they have.

742
00:39:25,503 --> 00:39:27,980
They've got lots of money in the bank,

743
00:39:27,980 --> 00:39:30,480
but they don't have 
the peace and happiness

744
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:34,083
which you see in your 
monks and nuns, here.

745
00:39:34,083 --> 00:39:36,220
They don't have that, because

746
00:39:36,220 --> 00:39:39,173
they're worried so much, they're not free.

747
00:39:39,173 --> 00:39:42,078
One of the great things about this life:

748
00:39:42,078 --> 00:39:45,638
you learn the meaning of freedom.

749
00:39:45,638 --> 00:39:48,868
It's not the freedom OF desires,
as I often say,

750
00:39:48,868 --> 00:39:50,895
it's the freedom FROM desires.

751
00:39:50,895 --> 00:39:53,242
You don't want anything,
you just want to give.

752
00:39:53,242 --> 00:39:54,868
What can I give you?

753
00:39:54,868 --> 00:39:56,067
What to do you want?

754
00:39:56,067 --> 00:39:59,034
How can I help? How can I serve?

755
00:39:59,034 --> 00:40:03,449
And that's such a great joy,
to be able to serve others.

756
00:40:03,449 --> 00:40:05,856
It's such a great joy to serve others,

757
00:40:05,856 --> 00:40:08,252
that's why even simple things,

758
00:40:08,252 --> 00:40:13,154
like opening the door to one of you,
when according to our rules and traditions

759
00:40:13,154 --> 00:40:15,441
you're supposed to open the door for ME.

760
00:40:15,441 --> 00:40:19,305
Simple thing, but I love doing that,
opening that door to people.

761
00:40:19,305 --> 00:40:24,283
And just doing whatever you can do,
to carry something for them, or whatever.

762
00:40:24,283 --> 00:40:26,465
However I can do

763
00:40:26,465 --> 00:40:28,219
to serve others,

764
00:40:28,219 --> 00:40:33,509
to be kind, put that kindness
into real good practice.

765
00:40:33,509 --> 00:40:37,663
And that record of service
you should build up over the years.

766
00:40:37,663 --> 00:40:38,856
The giving, the goodness,

767
00:40:38,856 --> 00:40:40,254
the helping others.

768
00:40:40,254 --> 00:40:42,711
Expecting nothing back in return.

769
00:40:42,711 --> 00:40:45,922
That gives you a huge wealth inside.

770
00:40:45,922 --> 00:40:48,094
A huge power.

771
00:40:48,094 --> 00:40:49,974
Spiritual power

772
00:40:49,974 --> 00:40:51,263
and even

773
00:40:51,263 --> 00:40:52,509
psychic power as well.

774
00:40:52,509 --> 00:40:55,397
I'm now sure, I'm sure the nuns

775
00:40:55,397 --> 00:40:58,894
did a lot of chanting to kick 
that bushfire out of their property.

776
00:40:58,894 --> 00:41:00,063
Certainly the monks did,

777
00:41:00,063 --> 00:41:02,289
certainly I did.

778
00:41:02,289 --> 00:41:03,710
You say you knew...

779
00:41:03,710 --> 00:41:08,052
Honestly, I knew that fire had 
no chance to get into Dhammasara.

780
00:41:08,052 --> 00:41:10,445
No chance in the world.

781
00:41:10,445 --> 00:41:12,427
Simply because

782
00:41:12,427 --> 00:41:17,405
there are such things as heavenly beings.

783
00:41:17,405 --> 00:41:19,477
Can I tell this story?

784
00:41:19,477 --> 00:41:21,821
I haven't told this story for a while.

785
00:41:21,821 --> 00:41:24,186
This is the heavenly-being-story.

786
00:41:24,186 --> 00:41:25,610
Real one.

787
00:41:25,610 --> 00:41:29,985
Of the monk...

788
00:41:29,985 --> 00:41:32,838
or actually he wasn't a monk yet.

789
00:41:32,838 --> 00:41:35,382
This American

790
00:41:35,382 --> 00:41:40,919
who met a heavenly being –
it's absolutely true story.

791
00:41:40,919 --> 00:41:43,312
And I've got to be careful 
saying this, because

792
00:41:43,312 --> 00:41:48,813
this happened in Thailand and there is
that very strict rule of lèse-majesté –

793
00:41:48,813 --> 00:41:52,133
you can't say anything bad about a king.

794
00:41:52,133 --> 00:41:55,626
Listen to this story
just to finish off with.

795
00:41:55,626 --> 00:41:59,156
I'm not saying anything bad at all,
but just saying something wonderful

796
00:41:59,156 --> 00:42:01,875
about one of the 
former kings of Thailand.

797
00:42:01,875 --> 00:42:04,624
This young man,

798
00:42:04,624 --> 00:42:06,593
he got over to Thailand

799
00:42:06,593 --> 00:42:09,558
to do Peace Corps work.

800
00:42:09,558 --> 00:42:11,640
So two years over in Thailand,

801
00:42:11,640 --> 00:42:13,495
doing Peace Corps work.

802
00:42:13,495 --> 00:42:15,891
And then, before he went
back to the United States

803
00:42:15,891 --> 00:42:16,629
and just...

804
00:42:16,629 --> 00:42:19,971
get a job, get married,
and all of that sort of stuff,

805
00:42:19,971 --> 00:42:22,248
he decided to try to be a monk.

806
00:42:22,248 --> 00:42:25,326
A Buddhist monk just for a short time.

807
00:42:25,326 --> 00:42:28,351
But he didn't know what to do.
How do you become a monk?

808
00:42:28,351 --> 00:42:30,656
In Thailand.

809
00:42:30,656 --> 00:42:33,069
And so, he was staying at a hotel

810
00:42:33,069 --> 00:42:35,470
on the outskirts of Bangkok,

811
00:42:35,470 --> 00:42:37,983
and he asked the concierge.

812
00:42:37,983 --> 00:42:42,338
The concierge knows other
places to send Americans,

813
00:42:42,338 --> 00:42:49,211
but not, sort of, monasteries.

814
00:42:49,211 --> 00:42:53,471
But he did hear that there was 
one monastery in the centre of Bangkok,

815
00:42:53,471 --> 00:42:55,017
Wat Bowon,

816
00:42:55,017 --> 00:42:59,026
which sometimes had Western monks.

817
00:42:59,026 --> 00:43:04,608
So he said: Go there, go to this place
Wat Bowon, in the centre of Bangkok,

818
00:43:04,608 --> 00:43:08,058
and go there early in 
the morning, take some food

819
00:43:08,058 --> 00:43:10,238
and wait for the monks to come out

820
00:43:10,238 --> 00:43:12,978
and put some food into 
one of the monks' bowls

821
00:43:12,978 --> 00:43:14,034
and just ask them.'

822
00:43:14,034 --> 00:43:16,138
He knew a little bit
of Thai, not that much.

823
00:43:16,138 --> 00:43:18,990
Ask them he wants to become a monk.

824
00:43:18,990 --> 00:43:20,706
So that's what he did.

825
00:43:20,706 --> 00:43:24,594
The advice wasn't very clear or precise.

826
00:43:24,594 --> 00:43:27,886
So he went there 
really early in the morning.

827
00:43:27,886 --> 00:43:30,709
About 4 o'clock, 
4:30 or something.

828
00:43:30,709 --> 00:43:33,248
And the monastery was all locked up.

829
00:43:33,248 --> 00:43:37,158
It was closed, no one was around.

830
00:43:37,158 --> 00:43:41,946
So he was walking up and down
outside this monastery Wat Bowon,

831
00:43:41,946 --> 00:43:44,099
not knowing what to do.

832
00:43:44,099 --> 00:43:47,938
And this Thai man came up to him

833
00:43:47,938 --> 00:43:51,444
and asked him: 
'Who are you? How can I help?'

834
00:43:51,444 --> 00:43:57,438
Because Thais are, certainly in those 
days, were very polite and very helpful.

835
00:43:57,438 --> 00:44:00,500
So he said he was American,
he wanted to become a monk,

836
00:44:00,500 --> 00:44:02,613
and the Thai man said: 
'You're really early,

837
00:44:02,613 --> 00:44:04,748
you've come a couple of hours too early.'

838
00:44:04,748 --> 00:44:09,727
But the Thai man said: 'Never mind.
I've got the keys, I can let you inside.'

839
00:44:09,727 --> 00:44:13,734
So he took this Westerner 
inside the monastery.

840
00:44:13,734 --> 00:44:17,209
He opened the doors, 
it was a metal door

841
00:44:17,209 --> 00:44:21,633
in front of the Uposatha hall, the boat.

842
00:44:21,633 --> 00:44:25,545
You're Thai, it's called the Royal Gate.

843
00:44:25,545 --> 00:44:28,310
I'll tell you why afterwards,
if you don't already know.

844
00:44:28,310 --> 00:44:32,153
And then went into the main hall,

845
00:44:32,153 --> 00:44:34,289
turned on the electric lights,

846
00:44:34,289 --> 00:44:37,076
he had the key, opened the main hall,

847
00:44:37,076 --> 00:44:38,811
the holy of holies there,

848
00:44:38,811 --> 00:44:46,125
and he described all the paintings,
all the murals on this 200-year-old hall.

849
00:44:46,125 --> 00:44:49,492
And who painted them, 
why they were painted,

850
00:44:49,492 --> 00:44:53,902
and the story which those murals told.

851
00:44:53,902 --> 00:44:57,272
And if you know that 
Thai art in those days,

852
00:44:57,272 --> 00:45:00,512
every one of those murals 
told a story, it's like a cartoon,

853
00:45:00,512 --> 00:45:03,851
but cartoons in the West 
they would start from the left

854
00:45:03,851 --> 00:45:06,405
and they go to the right, 
then the next level...

855
00:45:06,405 --> 00:45:11,076
These go around all sorts
of different... trajectories.

856
00:45:11,076 --> 00:45:14,392
If you know the story, you can 
actually tell what they are, but even

857
00:45:14,392 --> 00:45:17,363
sometimes I know those stories,
but I can't actually figure out

858
00:45:17,363 --> 00:45:19,935
how they all connect together.

859
00:45:19,935 --> 00:45:24,263
But the two hours went past so quickly.

860
00:45:24,263 --> 00:45:28,986
He was so fascinated by all this history

861
00:45:28,986 --> 00:45:32,540
of the temple that this Thai man knew.

862
00:45:32,540 --> 00:45:34,947
Then the Thai man said: 
'It's about time now, to...

863
00:45:34,947 --> 00:45:36,907
the monks will be coming out any minute,

864
00:45:36,907 --> 00:45:41,491
so go out the gate again, turn right, 
and then wait for this old monk –

865
00:45:41,491 --> 00:45:43,137
he's the one you should speak to.'

866
00:45:43,137 --> 00:45:45,776
That's what this Westerner did.

867
00:45:45,776 --> 00:45:47,908
This American.

868
00:45:47,908 --> 00:45:49,860
I know this American.

869
00:45:49,860 --> 00:45:51,388
It's a true story.

870
00:45:51,388 --> 00:45:54,269
Happened in my lifetime, in Thailand.

871
00:45:54,269 --> 00:45:55,991
And

872
00:45:55,991 --> 00:45:58,127
soon that monk came out

873
00:45:58,127 --> 00:46:02,137
and he put some food in the bowl,
asked him he wanted to become a monk,

874
00:46:02,137 --> 00:46:08,069
and this American was told to wait
and was taken to start the training,

875
00:46:08,069 --> 00:46:09,877
being a monk.

876
00:46:09,877 --> 00:46:10,933
And

877
00:46:10,933 --> 00:46:12,757
after a few days,

878
00:46:12,757 --> 00:46:15,367
the American said: 'Look,
the monk you've given me

879
00:46:15,367 --> 00:46:16,952
to teach me all the chanting,

880
00:46:16,952 --> 00:46:18,635
and the rules and stuff,

881
00:46:18,635 --> 00:46:23,894
I can't understand him, 
his English is no good.

882
00:46:23,894 --> 00:46:25,851
And the other monk said 'This is the best

883
00:46:25,851 --> 00:46:30,010
English speaker we've 
got in the whole monastery'.

884
00:46:30,010 --> 00:46:37,204
And that is where this American said:
'What about that temple attendant

885
00:46:37,204 --> 00:46:40,303
who I met on the first day?'

886
00:46:40,303 --> 00:46:43,786
'What temple attendant?'

887
00:46:43,786 --> 00:46:48,597
'The guy who opened the door for me.'

888
00:46:48,597 --> 00:46:50,946
'You can't go through that door.

889
00:46:50,946 --> 00:46:53,423
That gate is the Royal Gate.

890
00:46:53,423 --> 00:46:56,938
The only people allowed 
through that gate at Wat Bowon

891
00:46:56,938 --> 00:46:59,150
are members of the royal family.'

892
00:46:59,150 --> 00:47:03,222
You know how much 
they hold their tradition.

893
00:47:03,222 --> 00:47:06,709
And you can't turn 
the electricity on there.

894
00:47:06,709 --> 00:47:08,961
And, and...

895
00:47:08,961 --> 00:47:12,813
not even the Abbot knows all
the stories behind those paintings.

896
00:47:12,813 --> 00:47:14,563
They took him straight to the Abbot.

897
00:47:14,563 --> 00:47:16,563
That was Somdet Nyanasamvara.

898
00:47:16,563 --> 00:47:18,871
He became the Head Monk of Thailand.

899
00:47:18,871 --> 00:47:23,012
But at that time, he was 
the Abbot of the temple.

900
00:47:23,012 --> 00:47:27,079
The Abbot was listening to
all of this and stopped him.

901
00:47:27,079 --> 00:47:31,816
And said: 'Wait' and called in the
secretary, 'This needs to be recorded.'

902
00:47:31,816 --> 00:47:35,213
And this is pretty much a true story.

903
00:47:35,213 --> 00:47:39,128
I did tell this story in the Thai
Embassy in Singapore, once.

904
00:47:39,128 --> 00:47:42,070
And the Ambassador there, interrupted me.

905
00:47:42,070 --> 00:47:45,452
Eventually afterwards he said 
'Yes, I've seen that story written down,

906
00:47:45,452 --> 00:47:47,981
it's true, it actually happened.'

907
00:47:47,981 --> 00:47:50,412
But anyway, the Abbot wrote it all down.

908
00:47:50,412 --> 00:47:51,801
Or the secretary, rather.

909
00:47:51,801 --> 00:47:53,780
But the end of the story.

910
00:47:53,780 --> 00:47:56,558
Of course, they asked the question:

911
00:47:56,558 --> 00:47:58,122
'What did that man look like?

912
00:47:58,122 --> 00:48:00,897
That temple attendant 
we don't know, exists.

913
00:48:00,897 --> 00:48:04,781
The one who opened doors
which only royal family can open.'

914
00:48:04,781 --> 00:48:09,715
No one's got the key, no temple
attendant's got the key to the main hall.

915
00:48:09,715 --> 00:48:12,530
Only a couple of monks have that key.

916
00:48:12,530 --> 00:48:17,416
Not even the old Abbot knew all 
the stories behind the paintings.

917
00:48:17,416 --> 00:48:19,965
He said: 'What did he look like?'

918
00:48:19,965 --> 00:48:24,705
You know what happens when you
have to try and describe a person,

919
00:48:24,705 --> 00:48:26,959
especially if you're 
from a different country;

920
00:48:26,959 --> 00:48:29,599
'I don't know, he just... was Thai.'

921
00:48:29,599 --> 00:48:32,077
'He was wearing 
traditional Thai clothes,' he said.

922
00:48:32,077 --> 00:48:33,987
That was one interesting thing.

923
00:48:33,987 --> 00:48:36,159
Not modern clothes.

924
00:48:36,159 --> 00:48:38,118
Traditional Thai clothes.

925
00:48:38,118 --> 00:48:40,024
'But what did he look like?'

926
00:48:40,024 --> 00:48:46,049
And this American couldn't think
exactly what this guy looked like.

927
00:48:46,049 --> 00:48:49,621
So he was scratching his head, literally,
because that's what Westerners do,

928
00:48:49,621 --> 00:48:50,648
Thais don't do that.

929
00:48:50,648 --> 00:48:53,960
Scratching his head.

930
00:48:53,960 --> 00:48:56,016
And he stopped.

931
00:48:56,016 --> 00:48:59,905
He was looking at a portrait

932
00:48:59,905 --> 00:49:03,295
in the Abbot's office.

933
00:49:03,295 --> 00:49:05,334
'It's him!'

934
00:49:05,334 --> 00:49:07,365
'That's the one.'

935
00:49:07,365 --> 00:49:11,929
'That's the one I met'.

936
00:49:11,929 --> 00:49:14,317
That was a portrait

937
00:49:14,317 --> 00:49:16,862
of one of the sponsors of that temple

938
00:49:16,862 --> 00:49:18,868
when it was first built.

939
00:49:18,868 --> 00:49:23,098
His Majesty King Rama V

940
00:49:23,098 --> 00:49:24,919
who died

941
00:49:24,919 --> 00:49:30,506
about 150 years prior to that incident.

942
00:49:30,506 --> 00:49:33,716
That went down in the books.

943
00:49:33,716 --> 00:49:36,347
A heavenly being

944
00:49:36,347 --> 00:49:40,200
coming down to help a young man

945
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:44,393
become a monk.

946
00:49:44,393 --> 00:49:50,537
And that's one of those amazing 
real-life heavenly-being stories.

947
00:49:50,537 --> 00:49:53,306
You can imagine,
it's in the books, happened.

948
00:49:53,306 --> 00:49:57,302
That other guy, that monk,
lost contact with him a long time ago,

949
00:49:57,302 --> 00:50:00,453
he went back to America,
not sure where he went to.

950
00:50:00,453 --> 00:50:03,203
But this is amazing, what happens.

951
00:50:03,203 --> 00:50:08,653
So, when you're 
a good monk or a good nun,

952
00:50:08,653 --> 00:50:13,254
there are lots of other beings
who will look after you.

953
00:50:13,254 --> 00:50:17,752
Especially in a place 
like Dhammasara.

954
00:50:17,752 --> 00:50:19,828
I remember going there the first...

955
00:50:19,828 --> 00:50:22,016
goosebumps.

956
00:50:22,016 --> 00:50:24,653
I remember going there the first time

957
00:50:24,653 --> 00:50:28,507
with Ajahn Cittapalo's brother.

958
00:50:30,357 --> 00:50:31,548
When it was on auction.

959
00:50:31,548 --> 00:50:33,093
Going in there

960
00:50:33,093 --> 00:50:35,344
and chanting my heart out.

961
00:50:35,344 --> 00:50:37,601
To actually get that place

962
00:50:37,601 --> 00:50:41,105
for our Bhikkhuni Sangha.

963
00:50:41,105 --> 00:50:44,231
You can feel this energy in that place.

964
00:50:44,231 --> 00:50:46,358
Good beings looking after you.

965
00:50:46,358 --> 00:50:48,410
That's why

966
00:50:48,410 --> 00:50:50,188
we got it.

967
00:50:50,188 --> 00:50:51,363
That's why

968
00:50:51,363 --> 00:50:54,380
it's been a very 
successful, beautiful monastery.

969
00:50:54,380 --> 00:50:55,907
That is why –

970
00:50:55,907 --> 00:50:58,504
sorry, fire demons.

971
00:50:58,504 --> 00:51:01,104
You go find another place to burn.

972
00:51:01,104 --> 00:51:03,060
But not Dhammasara.

973
00:51:03,060 --> 00:51:04,272
That place

974
00:51:04,272 --> 00:51:06,860
is safe.

975
00:51:06,860 --> 00:51:08,849
Okay. There we go.

976
00:51:08,849 --> 00:51:11,006
I thought that was 
a rubbish talk tonight,

977
00:51:11,006 --> 00:51:12,787
but I started on rubbish

978
00:51:12,787 --> 00:51:14,095
and see where it went to.

979
00:51:14,095 --> 00:51:15,605
So thank you all for listening.

980
00:51:16,093 --> 00:51:20,223
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!
(all together)

981
00:51:21,702 --> 00:51:24,118
I don't know how many 
times I've told that story,

982
00:51:24,118 --> 00:51:30,626
I usually tell that story in retreats,
but it still gives me goosebumps as well.

983
00:51:30,626 --> 00:51:35,182
Ok, here we go for questions here today.

984
00:51:35,182 --> 00:51:38,420
This is first from New Zealand.

985
00:51:38,420 --> 00:51:40,787
'Many times my mind 
will recall a random memory

986
00:51:40,787 --> 00:51:42,622
that is embarrassing or painful.

987
00:51:42,622 --> 00:51:44,031
It causes me intense emotion.

988
00:51:44,031 --> 00:51:45,330
The past is often painful.

989
00:51:45,330 --> 00:51:47,047
Can you offer insight?'

990
00:51:47,047 --> 00:51:50,678
First of all, whatever 
that random memory is

991
00:51:50,678 --> 00:51:53,947
which causes you embarrassment or pain,

992
00:51:53,947 --> 00:51:59,699
if you can share that story as 
honestly you can with somebody you know

993
00:51:59,699 --> 00:52:01,631
and trust –

994
00:52:01,631 --> 00:52:04,574
because when it actually is not
inside of you, but it's outside,

995
00:52:04,574 --> 00:52:08,417
it becomes far smaller, 
less of a problem.

996
00:52:08,417 --> 00:52:11,200
I've seen that many times,
I told that story few weeks ago,

997
00:52:11,200 --> 00:52:13,017
about this woman, not far,

998
00:52:13,017 --> 00:52:14,817
in Tuart Hill somewhere.

999
00:52:15,027 --> 00:52:16,507
Tuart Hill, Dianella...

1000
00:52:17,197 --> 00:52:19,372
And she was dying.

1001
00:52:19,372 --> 00:52:22,643
And I asked her that once,
before she passed away:

1002
00:52:22,643 --> 00:52:25,039
'Is there anything 
you've done in your life

1003
00:52:25,039 --> 00:52:27,514
which you're very ashamed of?'

1004
00:52:27,514 --> 00:52:30,518
And of course it took a while 
to get her to confess to me.

1005
00:52:30,518 --> 00:52:33,982
And what she said 
was that once in her life

1006
00:52:33,982 --> 00:52:38,866
she'd kissed another woman's husband.

1007
00:52:38,866 --> 00:52:41,241
And I asked 'Is that all you've done?'

1008
00:52:41,241 --> 00:52:45,241
She said 'Yes, I was so ashamed 
of it, you're the first person I've told.'

1009
00:52:45,241 --> 00:52:47,299
So that's not bad, a whole life.

1010
00:52:47,299 --> 00:52:50,928
We can forgive you that one.

1011
00:52:50,928 --> 00:52:54,800
But for me, hearing that, 
that was a small thing.

1012
00:52:54,800 --> 00:52:57,739
But for her, it was the most 
terrible thing she'd ever done.

1013
00:52:57,739 --> 00:53:00,410
But once she actually 
confessed it, let somebody know,

1014
00:53:00,410 --> 00:53:03,753
she also realized it wasn't that bad.

1015
00:53:03,753 --> 00:53:07,760
So if you can tell a person you trust,

1016
00:53:07,760 --> 00:53:09,651
a person who's kind,

1017
00:53:09,651 --> 00:53:12,322
who'll give you forgiveness straight away,

1018
00:53:12,322 --> 00:53:14,238
then you'll put it more in perspective.

1019
00:53:14,238 --> 00:53:18,041
It's the old story - how big is my hand?
My hand is so big because it's too close.

1020
00:53:18,041 --> 00:53:20,277
You put it away, where 
other people can see it,

1021
00:53:20,277 --> 00:53:23,572
your hand is just of ordinary
size, it's not that big of a problem.

1022
00:53:23,572 --> 00:53:24,835
And then it will just...

1023
00:53:24,835 --> 00:53:27,963
the emotions will go away, 
it's not such a bad thing you've done.

1024
00:53:27,963 --> 00:53:30,987
Also, at least have some friends

1025
00:53:30,987 --> 00:53:32,849
or some spiritual path

1026
00:53:32,849 --> 00:53:36,511
where it's ok to make mistakes.

1027
00:53:36,511 --> 00:53:40,578
So you don't have to be so perfect.

1028
00:53:40,578 --> 00:53:42,282
So you can accept

1029
00:53:42,282 --> 00:53:43,402
when you made mistakes,

1030
00:53:43,402 --> 00:53:45,434
embarrassing, 
shameful things you've done.

1031
00:53:45,434 --> 00:53:47,297
And you learn from them.

1032
00:53:47,297 --> 00:53:50,643
You grow from them, 
you become a better person.

1033
00:53:50,643 --> 00:53:52,275
From Germany.

1034
00:53:52,275 --> 00:53:54,687
'I have the habit of 
collecting the garbage in me

1035
00:53:54,687 --> 00:53:57,374
and it doesn't fall though.

1036
00:53:57,374 --> 00:53:58,799
It disturbs or depressed me.

1037
00:53:58,799 --> 00:54:01,665
Can I do anything about that 
or make it vanish? Thank you.'

1038
00:54:01,665 --> 00:54:03,176
Of course you can.

1039
00:54:03,176 --> 00:54:07,114
You're a rubbish bin, but you 
forgot to put a hole in the bottom.

1040
00:54:07,114 --> 00:54:10,251
So see if you can just visualize...

1041
00:54:10,251 --> 00:54:11,497
visualize life.

1042
00:54:11,497 --> 00:54:14,923
It has some beautiful stuff,
and some unpleasant stuff.

1043
00:54:14,923 --> 00:54:18,938
And just have it so the beautiful stuff
goes in one side of the rubbish bin

1044
00:54:18,938 --> 00:54:20,047
and stays.

1045
00:54:20,047 --> 00:54:23,019
And the other part goes in 
the other part and just disappears,

1046
00:54:23,019 --> 00:54:25,831
down the bottom.

1047
00:54:25,831 --> 00:54:27,914
Can you do that?

1048
00:54:27,914 --> 00:54:31,233
Do some visualization,
sometimes that helps.

1049
00:54:31,233 --> 00:54:34,899
But don't collect the garbage in you.

1050
00:54:34,899 --> 00:54:36,675
For goodness grace, just...

1051
00:54:36,675 --> 00:54:39,553
allow it to just go through you.

1052
00:54:39,553 --> 00:54:40,928
And then,

1053
00:54:40,928 --> 00:54:42,484
it just goes back into the soil

1054
00:54:42,484 --> 00:54:49,974
and generates new flowers 
and fruits for another time.

1055
00:54:49,974 --> 00:54:51,848
But the garbage in you

1056
00:54:51,848 --> 00:54:54,225
is not worth collecting.

1057
00:54:54,225 --> 00:54:55,134
Now from Indonesia.

1058
00:54:55,134 --> 00:54:56,027
'Dear Ajahn Brahm,

1059
00:54:56,027 --> 00:54:58,993
Ajahn Chah emphasized his
teaching about impermanence.

1060
00:54:58,993 --> 00:55:00,340
How do we avoid feeling sad,

1061
00:55:00,340 --> 00:55:02,725
when we know our loved
ones are going to leave us?'

1062
00:55:02,725 --> 00:55:06,107
Because new loves ones 
are gonna come in to your life.

1063
00:55:06,107 --> 00:55:07,555
That's impermanence.

1064
00:55:07,555 --> 00:55:10,042
You don't feel sad that 
one concert is finished,

1065
00:55:10,042 --> 00:55:12,503
because you know this other band's coming

1066
00:55:12,503 --> 00:55:16,125
in a theatre close to you next week.

1067
00:55:16,125 --> 00:55:20,308
Yes, you do have many 
people you love and care for,

1068
00:55:20,308 --> 00:55:22,190
but when they pass away,

1069
00:55:22,190 --> 00:55:25,741
you have other people
you can love and care for.

1070
00:55:25,741 --> 00:55:28,101
And this is life.

1071
00:55:28,101 --> 00:55:30,005
What a wonderful thing it is.

1072
00:55:30,005 --> 00:55:32,016
We have so many more opportunities

1073
00:55:32,016 --> 00:55:35,964
to care and have real love –
love which doesn't own something.

1074
00:55:35,964 --> 00:55:38,299
Ones which enjoy their time together,

1075
00:55:38,299 --> 00:55:39,509
when the day is finished,

1076
00:55:39,509 --> 00:55:42,155
good night, we had 
a wonderful day together.

1077
00:55:42,155 --> 00:55:44,228
See you, maybe see someone else.

1078
00:55:44,228 --> 00:55:46,651
In your next life.

1079
00:55:46,651 --> 00:55:49,640
That's being truthful.

1080
00:55:49,640 --> 00:55:51,469
Realistic.

1081
00:55:51,469 --> 00:55:54,708
And it also means you're always open

1082
00:55:54,708 --> 00:56:00,310
to another person you can 
have a wonderful time with.

1083
00:56:00,310 --> 00:56:02,055
And lastly, from Russia:

1084
00:56:02,055 --> 00:56:05,820
'Dear Ajahn Brahm, what would you advise,
if a person who has strong aspiration

1085
00:56:05,820 --> 00:56:10,050
to the highest Buddhist 
achievement, but can't leave a lay life

1086
00:56:10,050 --> 00:56:12,221
because of commitments?

1087
00:56:12,221 --> 00:56:14,493
Having aspirations, 
I've mentioned this before,

1088
00:56:14,493 --> 00:56:17,721
if you start with an aspiration,

1089
00:56:17,721 --> 00:56:21,702
it then leads to desperation,
when you can't achieve your aspiration,

1090
00:56:21,702 --> 00:56:23,262
and expiration

1091
00:56:23,262 --> 00:56:26,304
when you expire.

1092
00:56:26,304 --> 00:56:29,753
So instead of having aspirations,

1093
00:56:29,753 --> 00:56:32,143
learn how to be content.

1094
00:56:32,143 --> 00:56:34,396
This is good enough.

1095
00:56:34,396 --> 00:56:36,704
I'm happy to be here.

1096
00:56:36,704 --> 00:56:39,286
As I mentioned to some of you, that

1097
00:56:39,286 --> 00:56:43,836
during the Covid lockdown,
this was in Bangkok apparently,

1098
00:56:43,836 --> 00:56:50,036
the Thai Rath newspaper, which is the
biggest newspaper, most read newspaper,

1099
00:56:50,036 --> 00:56:52,806
daily newspaper in Thailand.

1100
00:56:52,806 --> 00:56:55,305
They carried one of my stories,

1101
00:56:55,305 --> 00:56:59,910
about the difference between 
being free or being in prison.

1102
00:56:59,910 --> 00:57:02,914
And the only difference is that
any place you don't want to be

1103
00:57:02,914 --> 00:57:04,789
is called prison.

1104
00:57:04,789 --> 00:57:07,707
Any place you love 
to be is called freedom.

1105
00:57:07,707 --> 00:57:12,142
It doesn't matter if it's like
somewhere they call Bangkok jail

1106
00:57:12,142 --> 00:57:16,997
or it's something you 
call like Hilton 6-star hotel.

1107
00:57:16,997 --> 00:57:18,571
If you don't wanna be there,

1108
00:57:18,571 --> 00:57:20,963
that Hilton Hotel,

1109
00:57:20,963 --> 00:57:23,278
which many people get quarantined in,

1110
00:57:23,278 --> 00:57:25,419
it's like a prison.

1111
00:57:25,419 --> 00:57:27,282
It's really crazy, isn't it?

1112
00:57:27,282 --> 00:57:30,860
People spend some much money
trying to make these hotel rooms

1113
00:57:30,860 --> 00:57:34,172
or suites, whatever, just the most
comfortable thing in the world,

1114
00:57:34,172 --> 00:57:36,847
but if you don't wanna 
be there, because it's lockdown

1115
00:57:36,847 --> 00:57:38,550
or you're quarantine,

1116
00:57:38,550 --> 00:57:42,058
you perceive it as a prison.

1117
00:57:42,058 --> 00:57:46,548
Me, being in lockdown
for five days over in Serpentine:

1118
00:57:46,548 --> 00:57:49,418
'Yaaaay, free!'

1119
00:57:49,418 --> 00:57:52,070
Actually, you felt free there.

1120
00:57:52,070 --> 00:57:56,119
Didn't have to talk to people after lunch.

1121
00:57:56,119 --> 00:58:00,606
It was great, because after lunch,
I have to go, as senior monk,

1122
00:58:00,606 --> 00:58:04,171
I have to sit down and wait and talk 
to people about this and the other

1123
00:58:04,171 --> 00:58:07,922
same old stuff and same 
old jokes you hear from me, so...

1124
00:58:07,922 --> 00:58:11,565
But then, this time, 
as soon as I finished my meal,

1125
00:58:11,565 --> 00:58:12,860
I could go.

1126
00:58:12,860 --> 00:58:14,469
'Yaaaay, free!.'

1127
00:58:14,469 --> 00:58:16,470
You know what it's like, it's great!

1128
00:58:16,470 --> 00:58:18,072
So it's wonderful, lockdown,

1129
00:58:18,072 --> 00:58:19,404
it's more freedom

1130
00:58:19,404 --> 00:58:22,652
that I get when I'm in prison.

1131
00:58:22,652 --> 00:58:24,920
So what is prison?

1132
00:58:24,920 --> 00:58:26,987
So if you have a strong aspiration

1133
00:58:26,987 --> 00:58:29,501
to the highest Buddhist achievement,

1134
00:58:29,501 --> 00:58:31,574
just stop the aspiration.

1135
00:58:31,574 --> 00:58:33,989
All aspirations.

1136
00:58:33,989 --> 00:58:36,004
Learn how to be.

1137
00:58:36,004 --> 00:58:38,966
Learn how to be content.

1138
00:58:38,966 --> 00:58:41,620
Learn how to be kind.

1139
00:58:41,620 --> 00:58:44,388
These qualities,

1140
00:58:44,388 --> 00:58:48,039
those qualities, 
not aspirations but qualities,

1141
00:58:48,039 --> 00:58:50,138
developing kindness,

1142
00:58:50,138 --> 00:58:52,462
contentment,

1143
00:58:52,462 --> 00:58:55,634
learn how to be happy where you are,

1144
00:58:55,634 --> 00:58:57,404
to enjoy the moment

1145
00:58:57,404 --> 00:59:00,963
and be able to let it go
as soon as it finishes.

1146
00:59:00,963 --> 00:59:02,666
Being a rubbish bin with

1147
00:59:02,666 --> 00:59:04,522
no bottom at all.

1148
00:59:04,522 --> 00:59:06,714
Infinite rubbish bin.

1149
00:59:06,714 --> 00:59:08,211
Always empty.

1150
00:59:08,211 --> 00:59:10,815
Always able to receive things.

1151
00:59:10,815 --> 00:59:13,029
Those are really nice things

1152
00:59:13,029 --> 00:59:15,047
to develop.

1153
00:59:15,047 --> 00:59:17,734
But don't aspire for them.

1154
00:59:17,734 --> 00:59:20,246
Give up all the aspirations.

1155
00:59:20,246 --> 00:59:23,741
And then they come to you.

1156
00:59:23,741 --> 00:59:25,747
That was the last question, but

1157
00:59:25,747 --> 00:59:29,382
just to show how they do come 
to you, for those who don't know that,

1158
00:59:29,382 --> 00:59:33,910
I probably told it last week,
the donkey story?

1159
00:59:33,910 --> 00:59:35,745
Here we go, it's the old donkey story,

1160
00:59:35,745 --> 00:59:37,204
just to finish off with today.

1161
00:59:37,204 --> 00:59:40,179
Many of you know,
this is one of my favourites.

1162
00:59:40,179 --> 00:59:42,424
There was a donkey

1163
00:59:42,424 --> 00:59:45,563
and it just wouldn't pull the cart.

1164
00:59:45,563 --> 00:59:48,421
So the owner got a stick out
and tried to hit the donkey,

1165
00:59:48,421 --> 00:59:50,011
but the donkey wouldn't move.

1166
00:59:50,011 --> 00:59:51,074
But then

1167
00:59:51,074 --> 00:59:54,075
the owner figured out, how 
to get the donkey to pull the cart:

1168
00:59:54,075 --> 00:59:58,313
he tied the stick to the donkey's neck,

1169
00:59:58,313 --> 01:00:01,628
so the front of the stick was 
two foot in front of the donkey's head,

1170
01:00:01,628 --> 01:00:03,175
string on the end of the stick

1171
01:00:03,175 --> 01:00:06,830
and a carrot on the end of the string.

1172
01:00:06,830 --> 01:00:10,286
So the donkey saw
a carrot two foot in front of it.

1173
01:00:10,286 --> 01:00:11,425
Donkeys like carrots,

1174
01:00:11,425 --> 01:00:13,719
so the donkey went towards the carrot.

1175
01:00:13,719 --> 01:00:17,561
When the donkey went towards the carrot,
the carrot went away from the donkey.

1176
01:00:17,561 --> 01:00:19,559
Welcome to life.

1177
01:00:19,559 --> 01:00:22,554
I don't know how many carrots 
you've been chasing in your life

1178
01:00:22,554 --> 01:00:23,624
or this last week,

1179
01:00:23,624 --> 01:00:25,606
but I think you can relate to that story.

1180
01:00:25,606 --> 01:00:27,758
That's how they get 
donkeys to pull carts.

1181
01:00:27,758 --> 01:00:28,960
But,

1182
01:00:28,960 --> 01:00:31,115
when you come to this center,

1183
01:00:31,115 --> 01:00:33,050
you figure out how to catch the carrot.

1184
01:00:33,050 --> 01:00:35,636
Simple, really.

1185
01:00:35,636 --> 01:00:38,089
You run after that 
carrot as fast as you can.

1186
01:00:38,089 --> 01:00:39,849
Doesn't matter how fast you run,

1187
01:00:39,849 --> 01:00:43,416
that carrot is still 
two foot in front of you.

1188
01:00:43,416 --> 01:00:45,121
But then, you know how to...

1189
01:00:45,121 --> 01:00:47,266
stop.

1190
01:00:47,266 --> 01:00:49,522
Stop and let go.

1191
01:00:49,522 --> 01:00:52,631
So the little donkey stops
and the carrot goes further away.

1192
01:00:52,631 --> 01:00:55,347
Four foot away, never been 
as far away before, you think

1193
01:00:55,347 --> 01:00:58,687
it's not working, this is 
not working, it's not right.

1194
01:00:58,687 --> 01:01:02,415
You've got to aspire for something
and start chasing the carrot again.

1195
01:01:02,415 --> 01:01:04,921
But no, no, you have 
a bit of faith and confidence.

1196
01:01:04,921 --> 01:01:07,021
Four foot away the carrot goes,

1197
01:01:07,021 --> 01:01:08,431
and then,

1198
01:01:08,431 --> 01:01:11,669
the carrot comes swinging towards you.

1199
01:01:11,669 --> 01:01:15,064
And soon it's two foot in front 
as usual, but now coming at top speed,

1200
01:01:15,064 --> 01:01:18,283
it's never come as fast to you before.

1201
01:01:18,283 --> 01:01:21,475
And it comes and swings 
right close to your mouth,

1202
01:01:21,475 --> 01:01:23,430
but the last thing you have to remember,

1203
01:01:23,430 --> 01:01:26,266
what many Buddhists forget.

1204
01:01:26,266 --> 01:01:29,357
Kindness, compassion.

1205
01:01:29,357 --> 01:01:32,647
When that carrot comes 
right close to your mouth,

1206
01:01:32,647 --> 01:01:34,455
you have to remember

1207
01:01:34,455 --> 01:01:36,798
to say to that carrot:

1208
01:01:36,798 --> 01:01:41,726
'Carrot, the door of my 
mouth is open to you.'

1209
01:01:41,726 --> 01:01:44,286
Otherwise, it bounces off your teeth.

1210
01:01:44,286 --> 01:01:45,228
Okay.

1211
01:01:45,228 --> 01:01:47,183
That's enough for the questions.

1212
01:01:47,663 --> 01:01:51,173
Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

1213
01:01:51,683 --> 01:01:53,488
Okay.

1214
01:01:53,488 --> 01:01:54,395
There we go.

1215
01:01:54,395 --> 01:01:56,466
Was that a rubbish talk, tonight?

1216
01:01:58,306 --> 01:02:01,129
Okay, let's pay respect to the
Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha.