Buddhism and Dogs | Ajahn Brahm | 23 February 2018

so for this evenings talk I was like breaking new ground just going where no monk has gone before as I said last week so I'm gonna stop this is an appropriate for this time of year a little question for you to start this off so I'm looking for it here a question for you if you can start the day without needing caffeine if you can always be cheerful ignoring aches and pains if you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles and if you eat the same food every day and be grateful for it if you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time if you can take criticism criticism and blame without resentment at all if you can conquer tension without medical help and you can relax with our alcohol and if you can sleep without the aid of drugs who are you the answer is the dog [Laughter] and I'll read it again it's true listen to it again if you can start the day without needing caffeine dogs don't take caffeine they don't need it you can always be cheerful ignoring aches and pains have you ever seen a dose of complain if you can resist complaining of boring people with your troubles you can eat the same food every day be grateful for it you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time if you can take criticism blame without resentment bad dog bad dog they just sit there smiling wagging their tail really wise if you're good said without medical help but if you can relax without alcohol and you can sleep without the aid of drugs a dog okay okay head dog is on failure what is this world come to what is this world coming to when I was a young mark I never thought he'd dogs on Valley Oak goodness gracious me but anyway most dogs expression except for the president's friends dog there's always exceptions which prove the rule but the reason is that torque today was just the thought of a little ass moment because this is the year of dogs the dog this is Buddhism and DOX I've given this talk before likely in Buddhism and bananas before I'm just way amazing wise as you can find that online Buddhism Buddhism and coffins which is really amazing and it's just a little plug for her for Judy because you know I was asking about the arrangements Duty rushed forth you know who many of you if you saw her knows we coming here and meditating go to retreats very helpful but her family told me that she has doesn't want a big ceremony and that she just has already got doesn't want to casket Mitri a cardboard box but you can do that you know it's what was the genic so cardboard box much much better for the environment you don't need to impress your friends with how big your casket is you know I came from a really big home look at my mansion so my casket should be something up to that because what this happened once is all my my funeral stories nothing to do with dogs but anyway here we go but there was there was this piece excuse me Chinese funeral they really want to do their best no for their father who passed away and so they got the most expensive coffin the most expensive casket and had all these ornaments on the outside you know of the cut of the casket and now it was a a burial so I was doing the burial for it had so much stuff put on the outside every possible extra you know they've done you know because your father you've got to respect them and so when they lowered it into the hole it got stuck halfway down honestly it got stuck and they couldn't distort it they couldn't put it up they couldn't lower it down and I was remember this because I'm doing the funeral chanting he's you only asked for one minute I kept on the next first the next verse the next first as they were trying to put it up and lo it down and put up a low it I was getting hoarse so I was linking the next one gonna be in the box you know pick up fortunately they mostly slot at the last moment so you don't need to do that for goodness sake just know keep it simple so that's you know I've already given my sort of my last request to my monks and when I die that you know that I want to know forget about cardboard boxes I want to go in the mulcher the mouse don't know with thee with the leaves and the tweaks and go straight back to the earth very very quick so it's a good idea yeah very good idea come on anyway let's go back to dogs yeah so it's nice when you see that the dogs know they sometimes what we look down upon dogs but you know there's so many of the monks you know my old tradition used to say you learn from nature now you can learn from looking around you and just see just know how some of these the trees and flowers and plants how they work often say water the flowers don't water the weeds and uni seeds just the way the trees always been and crooked and they're the most beautiful ones and see the animals as well and so sometimes the dogs and there's so many beautiful qualities in the dog and there's another dog you know course you know they're always faithful and they don't have much stress it's amazing how these dogs were to out in evolution sometimes we think we're higher beings but they're much was how many dogs have to go to work on a Monday morning what do you think about it they just they just sleep around all day and I know some monks like that now don't put them down a very wise as smart they've evolved but don't they don't worry about other people stay about them lazy but isn't it the case they don't worry they're not really concerned other people think of them which is one of the great things you know about some of the animal world we are just so worried about our appearance you know about our reputation about why what other people think about our our fashion lovely things about being a mom you just don't have that we got fashion so this was no twenty five centuries ago and it's stuck like this is so wonderful because you just got one robe and you don't have to worry you don't need a wardrobe you just know it's all the same color and this is a very very practical practical because you know I'm not a dog so I have my cafe my cup of tea if I ever and I may be a cup of coffee if ever I spill anything on this you don't have to wash it because it's already brown that is the secret of why we have brown robes you know what probably started off white a long time ago but you know a nice bit of coffee here and tea there if you can't tell and also because I say that you know I had travel a lot until Monday I going to Hong Kong and when you travel a lot it means that you know that sometimes there are accidents on the air and so this is my power well just hold on till four ends it's a really big it's about three meters by 2 meters maybe one Landers no softly the real one but you just flow down and I think that's probably where they got the idea of levitating just floating down but anyway and also I mentioned it's because sometimes sometimes that you know what I think it was a single I know was it I'm lacing their lines before I got over was it Syria or Middle East or somewhere yeah Russia okay because now sometimes they say well you know if you okay I'm probably actually survivor landing if you're going over to the place like London or something and you get shot down over the Middle East what's gonna happen to you you know number one you're white number two you an infidel so what should I do and I were to all out straightaway what I need this robe is so practical a little split in here up on my head and it's my burka and no one ever knows just a little slit in here that's what I need so that's why it's very helpful in any way and it's also a mind when you sort of I've mentioned it to somebody just the other day that you know they were doing little interview about you know how Bodeen yarn has started to monastery down a serpentine and this know it was true the very first night when they would did some chanting but first night down I couldn't find where I was supposed to be sleeping wanted around and my flashlight just lost all its energy so I was really dark and so no no place to go just under a tree so I slept there and this was my little blanket didn't work very much but you know it was best I had so yes I knew this is my bed sheet as well so so practical and of course I think I told that last week about you know it's so practical that you know that so when I got the invitation to to the state dinner at Parliament House with Queen Elizabeth a second whew that was a very high-class invitation and and I was busy but you know when I told him people who know this is such a great invitation for the Buddha Society no it's a state parliament in Canberra and from no not States or Federal Parliament and the Grand Hall of Parliament House for dinner with her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second Wow and when I look to the invitation card there was a problem that's why you've got it dress code well Minister it's not like no going some McDonald's or something you know just having a bit of even going to Bodeen Jana monastery or get you gana you know very rarely see a dress code down there but anyway they came and I looked at the the invitation three choices the first one was black tie now I know I was a monk okay and I out of circulation for such a long time I didn't know what black tie mint I thought you know that's what it said black tie just go there with a black tie no shirt no trousers that's what it said and they tell me no no you get arrested if you do things like that a black tie is cold you know it's they say these things that means much more than that so black tie meant no the shirt the jacket the suit the whole works we haven't got a suit in monastery and third haven't got even a tie alone anything else like that so I couldn't go so choice number two you know what choice number two was military uniform you know this with pacifist you can't go into military uniform as a monk oh gosh what should I get next so now I will looked at choice number three yes I could go choice number three was long dress so this room is really helpful dress really good there's all these other sort of people are in their suits you know that one thing which I did too I should have I always kicking myself I should have had a donation in front I because you ain't know like anybody else into the toilets into the loo you know I was in the in the the urinal next to dr. Murdoch oh yeah I was in the toilet and I didn't have an a donation envelope all I find out so well he's good have been sold in just one in the space of one you I know meeting it's amazing who you meet these days well anyway this was I actually forgot that direction but anyway yes so I stopped at the security are you supposed to be here sir I flashed my card so I got in so that was good so so anyway so it's nice and simple you know when you learn from this life but now for dogs it's sometimes we we looked down upon dogs in some traditions because in its sound traditions now we say that you know we caught a person in a dirty dog or you know and this was one of attend Charles stories because when I first went to the Northeast Thailand it was 1974 when I became a monk and there was still the Vietnam War was still still happening and was a big United States Air Force Base close to who born nowhere at John Charles monastry was and so they were told a story there was an African American soldier who was in one of the old cycle rickshaws going from the base into town don't know what he was going to do and he was no the the drive was cycling along and that he passed like a roadside like a bar you know whether some of his mates were drinking no cheap whiskey and getting more and more settled and now when you take alcohol you always know you just lose you know your common sense and many other things as well and so they looked at this their friend driving this african-american soldier into town and now they do a really racist and the because they were drunk they said were you taking that dirty doctor pointing at the african-american and this was a soldier he's a big guy you know he could just no do a lot of damage to those drunken little type people and so the driver was very very scared he looked throughout you know this this soldier was just looking around smiling he obviously couldn't understand the local language so they said look out thirty years we're gonna take him into town and throw him in the river for a nice wash ha ha ha ha ha and the soldier just looking around smiling they thought they had a joke at his expense but when they got into town the driver got out lyric Shore and started walking away and the driver shout it out hey sir you got to pay me first and this African American soldier turned around and said in perfect that's hi dogs don't have money that's the way to deal with abuse you can always turn it around on the other person if you don't react the problem is with us known somebody abuses us coordinates names you know we react and we make it worse it's always something you can do session to turn the tables in your favor so because of that that's how I thought that's what lights no great insight is and when you can actually know people don't do the right thing and you can use your your wisdom right remember this person say this because it wasn't it wasn't our local counts I was got to be careful because there was new provision for this and permission for that but there was one of the friends over here he had a vehicle workshop know many people's cars in one of the suburbs of Perth but not city of study because I've got to be kind to city of Stirling because no just in case we need something for something or other but anyway in anyway he got to work on a Monday morning and there was a car illegally parked across his driveway and I can't even get my own car into the workshop let alone get any people any business cars coming in or or you know the fixed cars coming out so you rang up the local council a ranger came and it stuck a sticker on the car no report it says that are you gonna do said yeah that's the law you have to keep the sticker one after seven days so we can take it away after seven days I've got my business you mean I can't do any business works of law so sorry can nothing we can do about it so this was a very smart person always think outside the box don't get angry just be wise so what this guy did he got his car I couldn't get into his workshop anyway he went to the local shire council offices and part his car the driveway of the car park at which point they said come you can use your you can't park your car there it's illegal you know the the counselors can't come in now even though Mary can't come out and this guy said put a sticker on it really it's seven days and of course both cars would move pretty quickly after that so I thought that was actually pretty neat anyway maybe I'll get in trouble for that so don't you try that anyway about yeah the docks so this is what a gem characters in some cultures I say if you caught a person the dog that's really really sort of a offensive thing to do so what I try used to teach me because I remember this happened only last week I think somebody said that school the kid was being bullied and I kept calling him a dog so what happens if they call you a dog and now HR used to teach us if someone calls you a dog you got to look at your bottom see if you've got a tail if you haven't got a tail you know a dog and a problem it was a wonderful little way of dealing with criticism and abuse if someone criticizes you abuses you you know just have a look at your tail see if we don't you haven't got a you know a dog in the problem so instead of getting angry back it means you'd say to the person sorry sir you got it wrong I'm not a dog but going back to you know the the Buddhism and dogs you know sometimes maybe this is in Western culture that sometimes we have these animals who become icons of wisdom it's not just you know things like you know Winnie the Pooh which I often quote it says no other great dogs in Western culture and of course one of the greatest of those wise dogs of Western culture was snoopy you know snooping in peanuts cartoon and Charlie Brown why is it in peanuts yeah why is it the dogs in the cartoons always out with human beings are we really the pinnacle of evolution are we you know this this came to me I'm gonna get into trouble again with this but who cares I've always in enough trouble they know I'm leaving the country on Monday morning so I'm feel safe always I remember because what happened in Christianity they always said that that God created man in an image of himself now an image know God created man in His image if you look at any writing in a mirror you find the image is back to front G ot so back to front that must be doc that's an image isn't it so maybe we got it wrong the real are the dogs remember I know that's why the priests a word dog collars there must be something in there I would think about you this is breaking new ground seeing things that are different way so anyway but the dogs are very wise to say they just but there's something about you know the dog we can learn it just know just again just the unconditional love they have for the people who look after you I know sometimes that unconditional love which you can learn you know from animals especially you know I care you know it's just know that there's a princess you know needs to be sort of know pampered but a dog would do anything and that's something which is really quite impressive and there's all these wonderful cases you know the dogs who know stay by their person you know and sometimes even wake them up in the middle of night remember these stories there's a fire and the dog will wake you up to me sure that you escape the dog is sometimes incredibly wise and sometimes we do I reckon just underestimate know the the the wisdom you know of dogs especially the kindness the unconditional kindness you know of a dog and somebody asked me because it does happen that no the dogs get very sick and I remember this story because this was actually told to me by Judy you know do it they ceremony for on Sunday she was the one I often quote that she had a little dog and no had cancer and that dogs have cancer as well and this little dog he's your dog he look after it to the max she took it to the vet so many times she that cost a lot of money but eventually she took it to the vet and the vet told her nothing more we can do I've got to give it an injection euthanize it in other words killer now know for someone whose we don't have no need to be a Buddhist but just someone sensitive you know this is your your animal your friend your pair you know and to put it down like that to kill it it doesn't make any sense but you know you can't sort of afford to know to keep on looking after it and it just know reminded me of the other person who took their dog to the vet and the doctor one look at it and said look there's nothing I can do for your dog because your dog is dead it's not dead you know it's just meditating or something it can't be dead you know because when you know yeah you love something so much you know you just go into denial so the vet said look come here he put the doc just on the table and the dog was moving and he got a little cat out of one of the cages always been treated for some weather and he took this cat and put it right into the nose no the dog's nose the cat's nose almost touching and the cows go and the dog was just sexy not doing anything at all not reacting and that was really weird because no she said her dog was realesed us know very very antagonistic and violent to cats and so turned the dog upside down on his soft belly and put the cat we're on top of it the cat the dog never moved and they lastly put it down lifted up his tail and put the cat's nose right on the bottom of the the dog the cat - the dog was actually motionless and at that the owner said my dog would never allow that to happen to him if it was alive the dog must be dead that's the only way could convince him that the dog was dead and so fine put the cap back in the cage and gave him the bill one thousand and ten dollars one thousand ten dollars that's a bit much what's that for well ten dollars for just the the initial consultation and the thousand dollars for the cat scared Casca come or if you didn't expect there you should come to a joint anyway let's go back to to Paul Judy so her dog was alive but you know was dying so can we we euthanize it what would you do you love this okay what should I do so what she did she remembered something which I said to her because no Buddhist aren't supposed to kill animals so we in a moral dilemma you know should we break one precept and to know keep the young and kill the animal or should we just let the animals suffer compassion or precepts which one should we do and of course you can always there's a way of keeping it both those win-win so I told her before and this is what she did she took the cat that's kind of five minutes I can I have five minutes with my little pet dog and so of course you can and so just took it to a corner looked into the the dog's eyes looked into it and just asked the question are you ready to go do you want to die ask the question just like I mentioned to to your own legs you know are you comfortable down here because that's mindfulness that's connecting lets you know your mind intuition whenever you call it connecting to and if you're under legs this is to your animal you've loved you been with for such a long time and you'll know and she knew the dog didn't want to go the dog didn't want to die yet so what happened she went back to the vet and told of it nope I'm taking my dog home and over there really exploded a scolded you Buddhists you say your compassion you know you say these things we never do them you know you're just so selfish you know keeping this stupid precepts you know you stupid Buddhist get out of here you may upset her but then what happened was six months later she bought the dog back to the vet it made a full recovery and live many more years and of course the vet had a quick look at it the same dog and said wow your Buddhists are so wise [Music] but because of that I've said that so many times I remember giving that that's a group of lawyers in UWA and about two of them put their hand up yeah I heard you say that no year or two go I practiced that it works and it does don't underestimate you know an animal even I could know your dog you know you've been with that you should know know that what they where they are at and they know much better than you cuz a lot of times when putting it down is putting it out of your misery not putting out of the the dogs misery that dog make that call and once you learn that out of other things like dogs and cats this is not demeaning human beings we always think are human beings are just so much more more high more intelligent and more advanced if that's your mother or your father in a coma and the doctor you know says you have to make that decision should I turn off the life support should I keep it going it's your decision what would you do or rather how do you make that decision how you make that decision it's again you ask your father but they're in a coma doesn't matter you can still make that connection are you still there or are you gone you know a lot of times that the person their body may be just still going on ventilators and stuff but you should know whether they're still there their stream of consciousness their mind now whether that is still in there and it's not that hard to know and you'll be able to tell straight away they say no nothing there then turning off the life support systems is not killing they were already gone they're dead so it's a wonderful way which is clear to be practical I've done that many many times and it works so this is actually what we can learn from animals that they know what to do but if they do pass away because people are so equation kids ask that question you know when a dog dies what happens the dogs get reincarnated the dogs go to heaven with the good cats as well chasing each other around it's not much fun for the cats so what happens and I don't know if this lady's here but is one of the ladies who used to come to nollamara some years ago she told miss amazing story of a Ghost Dog well some people say oh come on ghost you know ajahn Brahm you just they do believe in aliens and goodness knows what else but you know I was theoretical physicist and I keep on mentioning one of my best friends who came to our conference Bernerd car student of Steven Hawkings we used to go hunting ghosts together they exist so this is not being someone who's just a crackpot don't tell crack pop jokes but this is not a joke so anyway this particular ghost I should just go back a bit this woman I think so I think she had a partner who passed away lived by herself with her dog and that wasn't it that was so close together every morning they go for a walk and they go up to the in the forest you know pray around have a good fun come back again I think in the evening well twice a day just now having a sort of taking the dog for a walk what happen often happens is you know the dog takes you for a walk and anyway there they were and one day when she came back from the walk she'd lost her fingering and she lost her fingering she went back you know with the dog it's a stupid thing to do because in a forest how can you find something like a finger ring and it makes all those those leaves and twigs all over the place but she gave it a try couldn't find it at all it was lost she knew roughly where it was lost but you know confide it at all so she gave up on trying to find her finger in few days later she forgot all about her fingering because her dog died and so the dog died and notice what she did with it but anyway she came and told me no here in this temple here she said weird thing happened four days afterwards she could hear the dog barking in her house and she knew that that was the sound of her dog and if you live with the dog for such a long time spend so much time with it of course you know that's you know the sound of your dog and but it was never in sight it was always in another room and of course he missed the dog so much he would run to the other room open the door nothing there and no couldn't hear any more barking she heard it so often but could never see the dog always says no and another room one step ahead of her until she said one day she heard the dog barking outside the front door of her house and she was on the other side it isn't maybe six inches but a big pane of wood in front in between her she quickly as far as you could open the door hoping it now she would find a glimpse of her dog dog wasn't there at all but in the very middle of her welcome that was her fingering and that's about she heard of her dog the darker that one last thing find the fingering for the person who loved her so much now that is a beautiful little story how these animals are they where the animals are we gonna say that it's way ahead of human beings are human beings way ahead of what you can learn so much from that it's the kindness and the the faithfulness know of some of these animals and you know sometimes that we've have you know mentioned he now you don't get upset you don't feel angry sometimes you don't feel guilty because that idea of guilt is something which is such a human emotion and sometimes it means we don't have that unconditional love which we can learn from animals and of course how that story is one thing which really impressed me with with when I first read about Buddhism we we just don't have punishment when you look at the rules for a Buddhist monk or nun you know there's no sort of real punishments there it's always you've heard this before acknowledge forgive learn I say that over in Australia AFL code you acknowledge what will happened if you made a mistake you forgive it forgiving means no punishment when you're not afraid of acknowledging because if you have some punishment you won't acknowledge you'll deny didn't happen it wasn't me I wasn't responsible but when we acknowledge because we know be forgiven then we have the opportunity of learning from mistakes we make at life so the story behind this which is like an animal story not really dogs but this was a cat story but dogs would do this was one of the young men training to be a monk in Bodeen yana monastery now remember those of you visit and sometimes you see some of the men in whites and ladies in white that's Robin is gonna ordain tomorrow as she's been an allegorical how long is it one year two years almost two years yeah but anyway what we usually do one year in white training to be a be a monk and then another year as a novice and then another year before you become a full monk so you know what we call that quality control to make sure okay you know because you know you expect a lot you know from the monks and the nuns and the ant agaricus you support and fair enough you should get that so anyway make sure we get the right sort of quality of people and they're now number one they have to sort of enjoy a lot as a monk they have to know listen to many many more bad jokes in UK here you only get it once every Friday night they get every every week but anyway um was that joke who's gonna say I forgot now anyway no probably captain be later on and this somebody is actually blocking me psychically from inflicting it on you anyway yeah this poor poor gentleman and one of our rules been not supposed to eat after noon at nighttime that's one of our major rules and this young trainee he came to see me early in the morning he said I haven't slept all night I feel so guilty I feel so bad I broken one of my precepts I was hungry last night and I went into the kitchen and there was no one there and and I made myself a sandwich I ate it he felt so bad so I told him straight away said listen wonderful well done you've actually owned up you know you told me that's a wonderful thing to do you make a mistake that people know number two sort of you know we can know you're forgiven that we can learn from this it is so many other allowables and you won't believe the sorts of things we can eat in the afternoon you know like chocolate and you can have honey you can have fruit juice where's can you go heaps of stuff and anyway so have some of those stuff you feel really hungry in the afternoon have that stuff and also eat more for lunch okay it's a good idea so you won't feel hungry so you don't have to break your precepts so a lot of time we don't just say you know don't break precess and it's a reason for it now why why this has happen let's just find the cause and then look at the cause and then the problems usually over so for him he said okay that's a good idea and I said okay you can go now he said what I mean there's no punishment you know goodness will make me clean the toilets or or you know do extra work of course there's no partition we don't do parish - what I mean loved about Buddhism you know no punishment so uh if you don't punish me he said i ported to the same again tonight you know some people are like that you know you got a sort of you know have some sort of penance they have some some deterrent otherwise you know they think they're gonna keep on doing bad stuff so he wanted some deterrent to say what are the punishment and so I had to really think on the spot how can you punish guys in Buddhist monastery me he just came to me because you know I'd was reading about the history of Australia and what they used to do to people who broke the law you know over two hundred years ago they'll be flocked with his brutal cat of nine tails I'd just been reading about that and so I looked at him and said well he was an Australian punishment a traditional one I'm going to give you sentence you to 50 strokes of the cat and this fella you know he didn't have any understanding what Buddhist it was his face went white even whiter than the clothes he was wearing and no slip started a quiver he knows people do when they're really afraid and he really thought that he was going to be whipped and so I told him what 50 strokes of the cat means in the Buddhist monastery at that time we had two cats find one of them they'll be very compliant and Stroke it one that's one stroke learn some compassion and kindness because that was the thing he was missing more than anything else so to this day the punishment for doing bad things is actually by the 50 strokes of the care if you can find the cat these days we don't ever need dogs but we do have many teddy bears so find a teddy bear give that 50 strokes same-same in other words there's some kindness so you don't need and that's what something which you can learn from a pet pet therapy which is why we have many dogs allowed permitted even encouraged once having a properly trained to go into hospitals to be able to you know just to be around a person who's suffering so people can actually stroke them pack them the compassion and kindness which that animal gives you has huge effects one of disciples you know over in in ps3 in Melbourne I summer maybe shouldn't say her name but when she had a dog a beautiful leopard or Snow she was a doctor and she decided you know that she saw this she was a Buddhist or a doctor and so she decided to get a dog and to train the dog you know to be one of these pet therapy and you know what she called her dog Kimmo short fur came both ever peak thank you there's a beautiful old dog and I would insist that I would always come and see me whenever I went to Melbourne and I saw no but I know what was Kim I went to you only possible I think last time last year last year yeah 16 or 17 years ago camera therapy beautiful Labrador I would always come out and last I was bit shaky but that dog made a lot of good karma so helping so many really nice people for such a long time so you know even dogs conduct you obviously they can do great stuff so Buddhism and a year of the doc so we don't just look at these animals as some sour and inferior but you know there can be great companions and they can teach us a lot about kindness and love and faithfulness and the ability that we can learn tuss from them just how to be faithful and not complain to be able to look at you this beautiful big doggy eyes and just just to give you this unconditional kindness enough and now if a dog can do that why can't you did a dog have to be trained to do that or is it something natural you know a lot of times you know in this world of ours we always know what to be trained come and trained how to do meditation go and train how to be wise come and train to be compassionate in a lot of times when we get rid of a lot of our fear and be a bit more natural at ease now sometimes and take a bit more time don't worry what other people think of you just sleep more that's a radical spiritual training training and just learn the great wisdom you know from one of our closest friends the dog man's woman's best friend could you even call them the old kalyana meter a good friend we can learn from it Sano Buddhist her so anyway pushing the envelope a little bit there we learning from nature learning and you know just finishing off there is there are rather many similarities between I'm getting in trouble this as well between marks and dogs and this came up because that's robbing and getting too much trouble for this and I go to gates people's traditions and understandings but sometimes we've got to think in different ways to make wisdom happen when the first monks went to UK no from Thailand one who was the the head of the English Sangha trust at the time he was a lecturer in economics in one of the big universities and also he was a I think a director of the Bank of England it was a top economist and so he was also no Buddhist so they asked him can we afford to look after monks and nuns they'll come to this country how much they cost so he wanted he did the crunching of the numbers and he came out with some mazing result he said looking after a monk and they're like a good forest monk a good nun you know living simply is much less cost than having a pet dock your dogs actually cost much more so every home should have one forget about dogs and cats you know have a pet mark or Pit none now we get the similarities you've seen where where monks live they're livin like well it's a bit bigger than a kennel but it's the same same idea you put him in the back of a car and monks nuns we eat out of bowls who wants tomorrow morning we go on an hour's round we go take you for a walk well you take us and we'll always wag our tails if we had one and always very very good and wise and lots of compassion and kindness as well so in this year of the dog we're not being critical I know that sometimes people are now the idea that dogs are really sort of lowered comparing the high monks to be like dogs that may be a bit sort of offensive to some people but please don't take offence and whatever simile you can always put it this way and put it that way just make sure that just you get the very very best the best simile is the best wisdom from somebody who you can actually be with and can teach you so much loving kindness and eventually when your dog passes away remember that wonderful time we've had together and you can have a beautiful a beautiful memory of all the things your animals has taught you wonderful thing to have okay so I think I can see the not the dogs now but some bigger animals coming in soon to celebrate the year of the dog and it's actually some lions but before we actually do that is there any quick questions before we start now do a quick once but yeah okay to answer that question you will have everything answered on Sunday where we do the suit across so one of the most amazing things in Buddhism is to be patient waits and then after a while it all be revealed to you on Sunday because it's not relevant to the the top this evening it was any any on the Internet but do those quickly and then we're gonna have the celebrating the with the lion dance great quick ones here now jumper from Joe it does a dog have buddha nature well it has a bark and within the bark there's the essence so woof of course it has buddha nature it can be kind us dogs don't need weapons for survival how can you must be wise and survive in a gun free of weapons free world thanks no cuz why didn't the dog sometimes he'd have a dog okay now that joke doesn't work okay this is a kids one what goes woof woof tick tick watchdog and a gun free weapons free well thank you again it's only when we have that trust and look sometimes that's a wonderful therapy you know which for people who are mentally disturbed or who remember just some of the great work which was done with people who have done some terrible crimes you know who even a bit psychotic sociopathic just training a dog now getting it from a puppy and learning from that puppy you know to have empathy empathy can be learned it's not something in your brain which is missing that's my understanding of it so how can we be wiser surviving a gun free of weapons free world is to be able to see if we can have more kindness more and we learn a lot of that from dogs and cats in a modern world there is so much affection towards dogs and cats welcome Buddhist to make people respect all animals the same is actually we don't have enough affection towards our dogs and cats and we look down upon them instead of learning from them so maybe look at nature learn from them and then maybe we can have a bit more respect for all beings it's not just all beings because sometimes you have people who are somehow different than us somehow they're stigmatize because of their color their race how they dress or just their age or any other what we call no disability and so I think that we can learn to be kind to all beings learn from one another so I'm rushing through those questions because now we have the Lions or waiting outside and if we keep the lines waiting for too long they make it a delay yeah okay 9:20 9:30 we're gonna wait okay okay so you got the the latest because remember Eddie I made you suggestion I think you should do this because we can't have the real lions dancing then I think Eddie you can imitate the lion dancing kick you make the best of it I thought they were outside they're so few okay not yet okay so how we can learn from dogs dogs are much wiser than people think because know when we don't discriminate between between people or animals these days that's where we had the story of the person who told me this they were working in the European Union in Brussels and in Brussels a European Union they have a very very straight non-discrimination policy didn't tell us last week did I no good they're not just if you need to go because the lines aren't coming for another half an hour so but be careful you might meet them on the road on the way here so if you do please look after otherwise anyway the European Union in Brussels no discrimination doesn't matter what religion doesn't matter what age any disability any gender as long as you can do the job you get the job so they were advertising for a secretary and a non-discrimination so a dog applied for the position and you know they said we don't employ dogs and the dog with its paw pointed non-discrimination if you can do the job you get the job so okay so they told him go and type a letter so this little dog he jumped up on the little office seat opened up the computer turned on Office Word and typed a perfect letter with his paws it was amazing you know a cat can do that be playing with the mouse all the time but the dog can I come on up I'll make it up as I go along give me a break anyway so the dog was the dog was taught a letter okay good but the next thing we need to a spreadsheet no four accounts so open up Microsoft Excel and it's perfect spreadsheet and say oh my goodness the other thing he said because this is Brussels Europe you have to be bilingual you have to speak a second language so the dog went meow Mia okay I'll try my best okay modern times the great dogs because they're their greatest sniffing things so they I don't know if these I'll make it up as quick as I go along before they come the dog I was gonna aircraft and it's sitting on the window seat and next to me was a gentleman and on the aisle seat was a dog and I've never seen that on an aircraft before having dogs on the aircraft and so you ask the machine next to me who was the handle of the dog he said this is security it's a security dog look I'll show you how it works and so he's sitting the dog down the aisle and they they sniffed you know this little backpacker and came back and bought once white its tail said oh that is a sign that fellow's carrying marijuana we'll catch him when we get to the other end and let's see what else we got then they went up to to business class and the dog sniffed another lady very well-dressed bark twice and where'd its tail I said oh that's cocaine you got a coke I smell smoke on it let's see what's on first class went out to first class and smell this is really well-dressed gentleman bark three times and wagged its tail really hard that is heroin we've got a heroin smuggler on here as well as amazing - this dog could smell anything they said what else has got so went into premium economy and smell another fellow and you know so I said okay spent another fellow and came back and didn't bark started whining put his tail between its legs and pooped on the chair here oh my goodness that's the sign as a bomb on the plane a Bob okay Poots wine okay okay the last dog joke the duck i really scraping the barrel doubt because these little eyes should be here by now if there were dogs they'd be on time so anyway then we're faithful so anyway this fellow he he passes okay because who's leaving now okay passes this fourth at contempo they gotta stay for this so that day he passes this ranking seven is this beautiful swear I could food fair lots of lots and lots of food but and they're two guys with their dogs no one had a Labrador the one who has the a chihuahua and they said wow let's get some of this not lovely delicious free food and of course the person said no I'm sorry no dogs about in the temple and the guy with the Labrador says this is my guide dog and I'm blind so oh okay you can go in so wet in there and had a beautiful delicious food and then the other guy said oh I'm gonna try this with this Chihuahua and I said you can't go in no dogs he said what's my my guide dog I'm blind oh come off it it's a chihuahua you said my goodness and they gave me a chihuahua you couldn't see it okay okay okay okay a cup of tea a cup of tea that's a good idea so well there's not going to be many people there for the Lions so you might might feed me to the Lions after this one so anyway but be careful if you do have a talk there's two photos so say no the dog is actually a good companion in life and he said oh yeah I think I'm getting a nice Labrador he said don't any dog but don't ever get a Labrador says why is that because haven't you noticed people to get Labradors go blind okay picked off okay well I think that's probably enough no because I'm running out of that but dog jokes and many of you are running out so so anyway we'll do what we can to see if we get any the Lions in so we do it's not my fault so please don't don't blame the establishment so anyway we can do notice compare respects the Buddha Dhamma and Sangha and then if we need to disappear we can and have a cup of tea if you wish if some of you can stay for the especially if you've got the kids because the kids really look forward to the the Alliance okay here we go sorry yeah we just they don't not Saito woof woof three whoops okay now that's this battery time and some samba de Paco are burdened by a one dark happy what a me so our car too far without a monomer sound Zuccotti panel burger water Sarkis angle Sangha I tried my best

Channel: Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Views: 29,916

Keywords: Buddhism, Dhamma, Dharma Talk, Ajahn Brahm, kindness, compassion, faithfulness, unconditional love, dog

Id: LfDRY2XNa_4

Length: 64min 12sec (3852 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2018