Discovering and Following Meaning in Your Life | Ajahn Brahm | 3 May 2019

and for this evenings talk we talk about the discovery and the following of meaning in your life it's one of those big problems what is the meaning of life one of the answers to that is the life has a meaning which you give to it straight away that that answer is not as if that life has some sort of meaning which is out there which some monk or nun or expert or a wise person just gives to you it's not as if like in life maybe your mother gave you life but to be able to find the meaning for that it's not something which is handed to you but it's something which though you work towards you find something which you learn throughout your whole life the meaning it's a lot of meaning which you give to your life not which you take from somewhere a lot of times that we depend upon others experts to tell us what to do to give us our entitlements and our rights we don't have a right to meaning we earn our understanding of meaning which is one the reasons is what we give to our life and of course that is a journey which just takes so many years and then we often say that if you think you know the meaning of your life then it's like you're dead you're not looking you're not discovering you're not opening to new understandings deeper messages of truth and they're just reiterating what I said during the meditation is now loving you're learning to stand in a way of truth it's just just so much like dying to this wonderful journey of discovery it is when you allow other two types of spirituality or religions or philosophy whatever you call them the first is where you allow your beliefs to actually to bend the truth and the other one is where the truth the experience what is right in front of you bends your beliefs whether that's in science or religion sometimes I was just listening only half half went through it it was a video someone gave me and apparently is from channel 9 about another boy with no brain a boy who was born with spina bifida and who's you know was this the encephalitis in his brain was so severe they were surprised that he had even survived birth but then only survived but his brain griller over two or three years stimulated by experience and learning and it was something which the parents just gave out of laughs and care it wasn't supposed to happen the boy was not supposed to last even a week or two then around I think it was four when they they stopped when they filmed this his incredible little journey and showed that the brain had grown almost the normal of those three or four years why could that was just dumbfounded doctors dumbfounded scientists they reminded me of my own science background there was threat ago physics at Cambridge University that's pretty hard physics but still there was so much which was weird & unexplained but sometimes you just the too difficult to put it in the anomaly basket but every now and again you got great scientists and those great scientists would never ever stop at their knowledge they would always push and challenge and see deeper and there was that saying I collect sayings to anchor my talks and comb my life the saying of I would love to know the name of this fellow was such a long time ago now he was the head of warp in Salford Hospital in Sydney head of the Medical School and I heard this from one of the the doctors who's taking me driving me to a retreat who said there are the beginning of his years as a as in medical school the head of the department giving the welcome speech to everybody who was gonna spend the next four years in war pins half-wit Hospital Medical School who said 50% of what we're going to teach you in the next four years is wrong this was the professor saying what we're gonna teach him next for you is 50% of it is wrong the problem is he said we're not quite sure which 50% it is and I always remember that saying as a great scientist was not dogmatic was not fixed was not saying this is true everything else is wrong so when are we looking for meaning in life we're actually finding out in our life it is a discovery which won't have an end or if you have an end and to get dogmatic and you get this is my policy this is my religion this is how it is and you better believe in it it's my way or the highway that sort of stuff you know there's a great rebellion which comes inside of you whenever you know you get forced or evil and has attempted cajoled bribed to really do something or believing something which you know doesn't make sense which to you hasn't got a meaning and such one of the reasons why that many times you find meaning in your life not by following other people do but maybe just getting in that profession getting on that journey but breaking new ground you never stayed in the shadows of your mentors of the people who inspire you of your leaders never stayed in the shadows you stand on top of their shoulders you go further it's one of the reasons why even as a Buddhist monk and then you see the Buddha you know about read and study and get taught about his life but you go further taking it in new ways new directions new languages new cultures in a way in which protects sometimes you think am I just being disrespectful am I being sad religious when I take it in two different ways but then something inside of you which is my compass the compass which you have to find meaning in life and when you do practice enough mindfulness enough awareness instead of just reading the books and looking at the documentaries you feel your reactions in your own heart and your mind and just you know just how things react with you and then there is something which is far more reliable and that is just it's very clear mindfulness and awareness of what is really useful and moral and ethical and good and meaningful and helpful in my helpful in life that is sometimes where you know they are saying again of your learning stand in the way of truth we are asked to make moral decisions often in our life and sometimes all of the the books all of the ethicists all the philosophy all the religions everything your mother or father or grandparents ever told you it's not enough and sometimes even when I knew being a supposed a leader I have to make a decision you stop you don't think about it because it's a thinking it's where we lose the plot we feel it before you what's right and what is very very dodgy very wrong you feeling and because you've been practicing as a monk meditating sometimes being rebellious and not following others trying to break new ground is one of the reasons why I became a scientist because I thought that that logical based on evidence research that will give you a very solid ground to find the meaning the truth of this existence it was weird isn't it and you taught how to do math you thought about the history you know what who did what but why did they do that where'd what did it achieve where did it go to the why and the wherefore and for those of you who just once I did a bit of deeper Buddhism we use the word called dumb my sometimes this place is called dumb Aloka the light of the dumber and dumber is it just the truth the Buddhism what is dumber and I mentioned this to the monks the other day this was a quote that might not quote so much but an argument a little essay from the great scholar bhikkhu bodhi and he was mentioning this experience this predicament where you are right now trace it back why did this happen where did this come from what the causes the conditions which make this said that is called dumber the causes understanding the why similar to during the meditation introduced is a bit teach no calling peace ometer kind of get something a bit more interesting than peace ometer because apparently i don't they still do this i remember when i was a kid watching elections had to swing or litter notice he was going to one political party the left or the right i still have that in elections other day anyway of the peace summit it gives an idea of just how peaceful but the whole point was why why do you get more peaceful why do we get agitated because that went back to the whole idea of science you get the courses their understanding of the whys and then that gives you some idea of just how we can make for a better world make healthy of human beings make more peaceful people why have terrorism attacks why we did what do they happen find the causes of these things so when we find the causes of these things that it gives us meaning sometimes sometimes the tragedies in life when a young person dies why why did a person die at such a young age he's trying to find meaning in a tragedy and again it's not that hard to find meaning why do these things happen and to give life some meaning how it gives life meaning I'm following this from I jump Amaury because he bought it for me we share everything so much stuff the meaning of when a person dies and he didn't have a cup across I got one right now and it was this came from ajahn Chah can you see the glass here can you see the crack in the glass do you see a crack in the glass this would that chance I would do to me and I can't see a crack I think my teachers cracked you know sometimes he'd be very innovative sometimes you do things remember the time when someone asked him why did you ordained ajahn Chah and yeah snow why did I join shall become a month you know the answer he said that when he was a kid in the villages of Northeast Thailand no just an ordinary dish poor they didn't have any computer games or any games or TVs or radios they just make up games like kids do in poor places of the world so one of the guys when they fed up with playing football or they would play like houses they play monks so one of the kids would volunteer to be the monk and said a giant child always volunteer to play the monk and what he would do he would find a rock he would sit on the rock he get some ground cloth around him and you sit there on the rock but it was only about four or five at the time and he'd ask all his friends to go get him something to eat we said ever since that's hot he always want to become a buck when he grew up of course is water in the devil is very funny and engaging and so when he was teaching us he wouldn't just know teets intellectual stuff the intellectual stuff was there but he would put it in a way which war you understood that the glass was quacks what do you mean he says the crack is in here this microscopic is called the crack of fragility in permanence it's not gonna last one day somebody's going to drop this one day it is care to see they're gonna knock it and it's gonna break and shatter it's fragile just each one of you one day it could be a car crash it could be traveling on on a was it 370 max I did check my flights in the next couple of days I don't think I'm traveling on one of those so I should be back here who know what we got this time but you're all fragile because you're fragile does that make life more bit I'm gonna die I know because this is fragile this is worth something it's why we care for it when we realize how fragile our relationships are our life is our planet everything even our buddhist society how fragile it is is correct it will break one day that is why we care for the people you live with do you take them for granted I think they always going to be there tomorrow the next day they're cracked make a fragile one day that crack will open up and there won't be here anymore so when we know that it means that when tragedies to happen we expected that you would have for one day we don't want it to happen we know that this does happen and number two it's because we know how fragile relationships are or how fragile life is how fragile health is that is why we care for it we care for it even more when we realize just how easy it is to break that is a meaning which we can get from tragedies it doesn't mean we cry too much doesn't mean we get negative or depress or even suicidal we look at the difficulties of life yes there's something to learn from this the next person we meet we're gonna care for them look after them it is if the tragedies and wife just make it more important just to be compassionate selfless look after others look after our life we give it meaning so this is where that in our life kindness to others service you find that people please excuse me but sometimes people who do get depressed they're looking at themselves what I need what I want how life has been difficult and tough to me but you look at somebody else to meet someone else have empathy towards somebody else to be able to get to know they were in this journey together we can't so separate and because of that we have this wonderful opportunity to look after somebody else to care for them to give to them to look after them why is it that sometimes that a little dog can take away just all the negativity all of the hurts we see little dog just even like a puppy just quoting on to your lap what this little characters rubbing against your your and these can be some very hard people in prisons some of those people in prisons are they be just so tough no murder is really tough guy these tats war over them and scars as well but then a little kitten will come into their cell and that kitten gets loved to bits and does it see these tough dice and they just get so soft towards a little animal somehow rather they got somebody to care for and to love and look after and that just takes away their own pain and difficulties we're saying here that sometimes we get great meaning in service great healing but not just thinking about ourselves and waiting for the cracked wall but we're just realizing that we are being kind and caring to others and then we also just by kind and caring to others a little bit of compassion which is just so important we don't know logically how it works this whole organization of Buddhist society West Australia goes here from just when we first came over 36 years ago to see this place grow how on earth do we have ever had a Grand Prix and just know how we're gonna do this just so every day every week mo year just it grows because we're trying to be kind so I'd look after one another not to be negative oh yes not to be negative about if you want to be but being kind opening the door of your heart to this moment it's never gonna be a perfect moment it's never gonna be a perfect Buddhist society maybe in Western Australia that's why you're always talking in our committees and executive meetings what we can do and how we can do it better and the precis of the same of arguments or so more discussions every week maybe the people change maybe the but it's always this and how can we make it business something so far but we do begin there slowly yeah but when we get there sometimes it's the case of have we cannot reach too far to get meaning one of those important moments you know when I was young buck and I was helping another teacher and this anecdote I'm not sure when the last time I told it but this happened in the fishing village of Oban in the northwest of Scotland it was not the summertime when it's really beautiful it was maybe spring time maybe about this time or maybe just February cold but we could hire a place to have a retreat as really have you been to the north west of Scotland is through modes it was peaceful just a fishing village and with her I thought as a hotel or something it was a nice retreat center there well steer but a place where people could come just to do some meditation and I was just listening to the same old stories again and again again again about not being able to meditate and not being good enough having problems with the family at the same old same old and then this woman came in and she really shook me out of my miletti dullness she said to the the teacher they'll come here to thank you for saving my life people can say that but when it's real when you really have a have had your life saved you know big time I just woke up with the power of where that came from and I was really interesting why what had happened what had happened with this woman she told her story interesting story that she was a student somewhere in middle England and she got a bit difficult with their studies with her social life with the pressures on any young woman trying to sort of achieve under pressure and she got a little bit depressed and the GP at the time just this was maybe 40 years ago GP at the time just gave her some volumes just no easy to take this pills but she got addicted got addicted to valium and sometimes that some things are very hard to break off their addiction to then I told the monks I think on Wednesday night I knew this gentleman who was addicted to brake fluid it's a brain fluid but he said he could he could stop at any time that was a joke addicted to brake fluid but he could stop at any time you fishing there what can we expect from our children anyway bingo serious dated the valium and when she comes on one of these retreats I have these things called no precepts especially the Five Precepts sometimes people listen and they don't really understand totally I needs Buddha's not supposed to take alcohol or drugs fifth precept and it wasn't explained to this means like Norma dissing all drugs like the recreational drugs nothing about sort of you know if you've been prescribed in medicine for by your doctors but she never understood that she got it wrong but on a retreat when it's nice and peaceful people aren't talking much to one another they're smiling they're kind everything is there there's no stress she could give up that valium for nine days it was hard but you know she could do it and she started to feel what it's like to be without that drug in their system not totally but then the problem came when they were treat finished and she thought I've done nine days this see if I can carry on without the valium so she decided to throw the pills away but she never realized that being in a retreat in a place of safety where people nice and kind you don't feel the people are threatening you or putting pressure on you to be anything but then she had to go through Glasgow to get back home and that meant going through Glasgow railway station you been through any terminus a station this is so distressing it soaked crazy it's just people all over the place running this way and and so noisy it's like a chaotic environment and she said that she almost has totally lost it and of course you can imagine when someone is that sensitive so actually it's a go through a railway station not like Perth Mint think more like like Sydney central or the Victoria Station in England or something it's crazy place and then she managed to get back home where she said that she spent the next I was a month I think just sitting in a chair hardly able to do anything as the effects of that works slowly wore off and it is not recommended for people to do such cold turkey it was just by mistake she did this because she started off misunderstanding about the precepts in Buddhism and had a supportive start and then just managed just to keep it together long enough to get back home and was this immobilized just sitting in a chair but she got through it and she said thank you because now she has her life back a life which is clear and free said thank you no she left and I was so impressed I remember that certainly the details that I made a resolution arrogant young monk I was said if I if I ever do that and hear someone say that because of how I've served whatever I've done I Tim Brom thank you for saving my life I think my life had found its meaning just one that's all I wanted just one and of course we're more than one but can you imagine how that feels when somebody says thank you what you've done really made a difference in my life but you really just you've saved my life you just turned it around in a different direction you you've helped me I know sometimes it's too easy those affects consequences the Karma which is hard work and compassion wisdom selflessness looking after others how when you've done that just the return is enormous forget about superannuation just super karma this is what really sort of makes your life worthwhile and half meaning caring and serving for others and you know it do what make gives you a big hit these not other things I'll talk by monks if ever you have to think I've got a big head just you know kick it remind me because sometimes as monks we sit up here so you can see me we don't sit up here because we think we're superior or better that's not the reason we we do this we here so it's easier to see and to actually to give more because what happens when you do get addictions addictions to serving together I don't know it's a good hire the good hi I'm actually helping other people that's a meaning well one of the problems is that you go so much so far in service volunteering carry going a bit extra even though you exhausted got a bit extra but then what happens you realize you can't continue like that just being exhausted and giving you need also to have life's meaning to find out where you can source the energy for me when it comes to time just wind you stop you care for yourself you give yourself the meaning this is sometimes when you allow this moment to be you appreciate just everything which is right here right now how peaceful and beautiful it is sometimes I spin my life a lot of my life when I'm in bodhinyana monastery making sure it's a beautiful monastery making sure that it's harmonious making sure it's well swept making sure is inviting but also peaceful made in shorts applet making shorts a place the mounts and they're novices can feel they can come and live their monastic life and grow and the plants can grow as well and people can grow who visit and stay you know sometimes I forget its recently just we had a the CEO of our local council shy just came for a visit and when he came out of the car and I just greeted him it was on business but he just stops and say wow this is such a beautiful place and I stopped and said yeah you're right you know how often because I live there I miss it too often just seeing just what a beautiful environment thirty-six years I think so many people giving caring sweeping offering funds to build I'll just build so much of that place myself but it's just everybody helping there all the people I've known it's a beautiful place it's not just a forest it's not just a building it's the whole history in the atmosphere and that's what a visitor could see which I dismissed too easily and that's why does all the good karma all your goodness and kindness and generosity and love and forgiveness and peace which every one of you has given over such a long time maybe a little bit here maybe other places and it's in your whole life sometimes you forget to value that see how important it is the little things which accumulate is where the greatest meaning could be seen and found it's easy to say oh yeah you know somebody you've discovered a cure for a cancer you discover just know how to to solve some of the biggest problems in the world you but those are just a big mountains amongst those small mountains and just the rocks and the rivers and the creeks and the flanimals who scurry around those valleys or the birds people everything there is also contributes it's too easy to see the great mountains without seeing just little hills and the valleys so easy to see the great monuments like a Taj Mahal not to see that little hearts of the people who built there for such a long time so sometimes many other things which you have done and given and served and helped often I say this you sometimes you have to wait wait until you're dead before you realize your faith which you have had on others way until speak the eulogies and if then you can't hear them which is one of the reasons why every time I go to a funeral service saying what a shame it is the person who's in the Box just know it can't hear just the meaning they gave to so many other people's lives so that's why that gentleman in the United States who decided okay this is a bit of a pattern but here it comes decided to think outside the box decided to have his funeral service when he was still alive just a week or two before he died what a wonderful thing to do now his death was gonna happen you know it was predicted and one was unstoppable some disease we decided a week or two before his demise to hold his funeral service so he could be there and listen to the effect which he had had on other people's lives and he could be there to listen so what a great idea that would be but he also said that is also he could see a she who turned up for his funeral what he still had time to adjust the will but as I just jumped you but still you can see that sometimes people have such low opinions of themselves people say oh just even some monks some nuns saying oh we can't teach we're not good enough my goodness you are good enough to teach just that they reset 9 day meditation retreat the Easter were to which I gave you know because I was too busy and can't do everything so I asked one of the nuns when will bonus orator to teach the Guardian meditations you were there she did a really great job so I can teach course you can teach give people the chance and so many people think they can't feed you teach can you serve can you be kind can you love can you forgive sometimes we think we can the face is like this encourage you to break those invisible meaning and meaningless barriers we stop here finding meaning in life it's great when people just go past boundaries and then when live when the doctor said they should have been dead they should not be able to achieve things they can't just learn to play the piano in this 6070 years of age and they just grated it whatever it is that sometimes our jobs is to encourage people just why can't you why not instead of no well I can't do this why can't you you know there's some people they come up to me and they say oh yeah I haven't got enough good karma you know to become a monk or become a nun or to do this that is that I know what I does Wow amazing that you know your past lives and your accumulated calm or over many lifetimes that you think you can't do this well you're amazing you're much wiser than I am what you're saying is why do we put barriers in front of ourselves which are just excuses just for not being courageous sometimes when I was a school teacher some kids were saying they can't do math account of physics they can't do science they can't do sports who said hey we call this one kid how does math school teacher before I became a monk in a high school an interesting time there and teaching math to one of the kids that this I was told that this kid came bottom the year before and in his mind he couldn't do maths he was hopeless of math he just was there just went through the motions in class but I was I want to find out is it such a case that someone can not do math or cannot do sport I cannot do this why so I just spent extra time with this kid after every lesson during the lessons you know I really got a problems to do I'd go by to his desk we need to understand that samosa this is sister oh yeah thank you I gave him extra support extra encouragement it was unfair it was bias because I gave him extra encouragement it means I couldn't give the same to every other kid in the class but just focusing I just wanted to find out for myself whether it's the case that a kid cannot do math he came top at the end of the year blew my mind from bottom so the number one in the class just need an encouragement and how often services but most importantly belief we could do it can you meditate that's also vital of course you can but sometimes you think you can't that's the trouble so a lot of the time to find meaning in life we do push the boundaries we do not in a negative way not out of selfishness just to see what's possible and to actually to to experience the unlikely it's not impossible the unexpected and there is one of the reasons why that life does become an adventure it's not oh no I know what's going to have her oh I know what's gonna happen next as a waste a time life is so depressing the world is gonna wind if it's not the third world war it's being overtaken by right-wing or left-wing or something we need both wings to be able to fly we're gonna be I don't know what's gonna happen next but all the negative the economy is going to bottom out and and what else is going to happen climate change yes climate change we're going to be invaded by aliens on the way you know but sometimes yeah these are important things we should consider but sometimes we get so negative with it it can't be changed of course it can be changed of course it can be healed it's not as if we take these things now without enough seriousness we take these things seriously but not with negativity but with hope with energy with courage with innovation innovation here we go is that my innovation example now is I like breaking new ground when I went South Korea a few years ago when I went in there was for the 2015 world computer Congress in Daejeon and I gave the keynote address what the hell I was doing there I didn't know the computer Congress a big one well computer Congress 2015 and I was there after the other presidents and the the ministers the politicians I gave all their speeches and then to set the scene or set the tone for the 2015 world computer Congress you've got the famous IT I was going to say idiot but don't put too much about computing as you sometimes no no then new Bhutto is the secretary sometimes then what was that case the ones I couldn't get things to work and so you turn it off here and then turn it on again and it worked perfectly so wow these guys know so much about computers so there I was if they didn't knew how much I knew about computing but that wasn't the point it's what I didn't know about computing that was why I was giving the keynote address the way you could see things from a different angle and that's when I held up he was actually we don't have this anymore a bottle a plastic bottle you know the old plastic bottles which we banned from this place now I held up like a glass of water and I asked them what is this and people were kind enough to actually answer they said you know there's a plastic bottle yeah what else is there and I pressed them they didn't know where I was going in this because they hadn't heard before and because you know I was different and because I was somehow rather the keynote address they took me seriously long enough to actually play along with me and they said this is glass it's two-thirds full it's shiny blah blah blah I carefully what else is that what else is it because what you're doing there is you're exhausting your knowledge everything you've been taught of what I was holding up in front of me until they we said everything we knew about this all the names all the labels have been used up you know a lot of times when I held this up they thought capacity bottles they they thought they got the right answer that's how I was gonna say yeah well done you've got the prize yes that's what it is sometimes that's not understanding a finding meaning as if oh you've got it well done now you get an A in in your meaning exam there's no answer to this there's no final truth you keep on looking as soon as you think you've got it you grab it you've understood it you stop looking deeper so what is this you keep on looking and looking and looking until you get to the point where you see in these things which you have no label for no description seams which you haven't been taught you haven't learnt in English language class you haven't learned from anywhere you're seeing it a new afresh you're learning going beyond what you've been taught and that's where you find meaning meaning it's not old stuff meaning it's new finding sort of new ways of looking new ways of understanding that's why the yeah Buddhism has got some sort form but sometimes man sometimes you look at something and you take it deeper your mind what does it keep looking I'm looking and looking and don't think you finish it look see what it is to be what it is to feel why and don't try and find some smart answers just keep looking deep here delving and to find the meaning of life it's not given to you that easy you search go deeper months like me you just to help you on the road and when you think you've known to give you a big kick in the bum to show you haven't and keep on going and see where you find the meaning of your life in some of the most unexpected places in tragedies and disappointments in happiness's places where you never thought that we can find some meaning so what's the reason for the talk like this is sometimes people give up depressed fed up negative this I hope shows you to keep on going there's not a case you can't do maths or anything in life it said there prove them wrong you keep on throwing that gives your life meaning thank you for this name that's where we break new ground with the three sorrows so let's do it a gig fine and suddenly I put so much effort into giving a talk we're not really but I pretend I do so give it everything you've got okay now one two three sorry thank you so much more meaning so we've got some questions from overseas first of all from Poland to UK and USA in order to give our life meaning we have to have some desire but doesn't Buddhism teach about stopping desires does it steep about teach about stopping desires they asking me you find out whether it see if you can take it deeper have some desires yeah you know that I have some desires I remember even the Buddha had some desires I know I change I had some desires because when he wanted to go to the toilet he didn't just say I'll go here just urinate where I'm sitting no he had desire that's only way he could actually get up and go to the toilet otherwise he'd have made a mess where he was sitting you take sometimes that we take these these ideas Buddhism is out desires Buddhism is always compassionate what is them look a bit deeper you just repeating just old knowledge it is true the Buddhism teaching us twice he investigated sighs what do you want desires for why that's what we look at a lot of times we let go and become really peaceful this is good enough it's so still delightful desire to stop then it's a time was she to get up you're not sitting still you walk to the loo no one else will carry you how does Buddhist concept a concept of emptiness relate to the meaning of life emptiness yeah there was a time when we empty our mind of our concepts so when you empty the mind of concept or awareness your concept of emptiness that too has been emptied so sometimes smart alecks I was going to say some art classes but I shouldn't really be to course it is true in different contexts we talk about emptiness the other times we have the meaning of life sometimes after I leave here I look at that donation box and I realize the concept of emptiness this race I'm gonna have no meaning he says so emptiness has is okay what was this Zen story there was a Zen monk who was wandering from place to place and he hadn't got any arms food for a couple of days he was really hungry and then somebody said well you know we haven't got any further so but you see there's a restaurant over there really famous restaurant and the owner of the restaurant is a very generous Buddhist she'll be able to give you something so he went to the restaurant and he asked to see the owner and the owner said our venerable monk so blessed will you come to my restaurant and as what can I do for you in his a world or a bit hungry said I'll but you have to teach some dumb man before you know I know you're a real monk so he stood up and said form is emptiness emptiness is form Sardis I decided she said sit down and he thought wow I've really my lucky day I'm gonna get a good meal today see how she liked that teaching and so she soon came this big platter huge platter so wonder what's underneath the cover which was keeping it warm and she presented that platter to the monk you don't skip half a days and the month lifting it up there's nothing there form is emptiness emptiness is for monk emptiness to veg out but so sometimes that we use the things there is such a thing as emptiness what do we mean by the emptiness the nothingness because when everything is empty then it's nothing which you're holding or keeping you're free you have no way to know burden no worries when you are empty you can always receive some more knowledge some more wisdom when my cup is full you can't put anything else in when is some space some emptiness you can always had some more things if you're four with your wisdom and knowledge then you can't receive anything is thinking about the meaning of life more important is having a peaceful day yeah I sometimes spend too much time thinking about my life I'm not having my life that's very good it's okay this the thinking is not meaning that's why not hold this up to understand what this is we have to go past sinking sinking old ideas sinking crates much of time thinking we get into negative thinking it's one of the reasons why instead of that story which I won't repeat here about pushing wheelbarrows seven days I've been pushing a wheelbarrow no because I can't shower Nachum Liam just they couldn't decide whether one of this bit of Earth I was working so hard on just one beer a day in the steaming mosquito ridden sweaty jungles of Northeast Thailand six days about 12 hours a day pushing wheelbarrows and I had enough why can't these monks decide they don't push well by outside of the junior max did I was really thin in those days I didn't need exercise in those days I needed a recipe to wash I needed to sleep what needs to meditate I got so upset I started complaining and that's when one of them I said pushing a wheelbarrow is easy thinking about it is the hard part and that famous wall that was such a great teacher whatever you do and I'm thinking about it's a hard part doing is easy thinking about the meaning of life don't think about the meaning of life just do it having a peaceful day sometimes it's in the peace of the day you find meaning where you least expect it you find great meaning it's too much time thinking about my life I agree what was it that John Lennon used to say life is what happens when you're busy planning something else so in our thinking now is a time for stopping any questions from the floor thank you no good great okay sorry sorry sorry so it's nine o'clock there so we came to just pay respects to Buddha Dharma Sangha and then those who have legitimate questions they can please come up and ask

Channel: Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Views: 84,544

Keywords: Buddhism, Dhamma, Dharma talk, Ajahn Brahm, meaning of life, caring, Buddha Dhamma, serving others

Id: -nYirce5Un0

Length: 59min 56sec (3596 seconds)

Published: Fri May 03 2019