Learn to be Silent | Ajahn Brahm | 13 April 2018

excellent so if you're sitting comfortably he then I'll begin if you're not sitting comfortably I'll begin anyway so as usual looking for subjects for tonight's talk it was a couple of days ago I was calling one of the the bhikkhuni monasteries and I have to give a little teaching once a fortnight his caller waters an old tradition and usually I get a verse from one of the scriptures called the Dhammapada it's very a couple of liners very deep very powerful but I couldn't find where I left the book so I was in trouble I didn't have anything to say but I did have a copy of my first book the long side published open the door of your heart and right in the front there was this wonderful poem which I put at the frontispiece to grad yourself a moment of peace and you'll realize how foolishly you've scurried about learn to be silent and you'll notice you talk too much and be kind he will understand just how your judgments of others was just too severe too tough and I thought wow that's a very nice little saying and but just because I remembered a few moments ago I thought well that's going to be the subject of this evening's talk there little old Chinese first which I read a long time ago and I don't know actually where it came from but there it's in the front of the book and even just learn to be gay pride yourself a moment of peace and you'll find how foolishly you've scared about because sometimes to make things happen in this world oh it takes us a lot of effort we run around this way of that way always thinking that we have to really work hard to get results and of course if you work hard the only result you get its tiredness sickness bird there must be another way and of course there is and he reminds me of even the story of that book opening of the door of your heart which I've shared with people that the last meditation retreat so the last couple of weeks I have been sitting here on a Friday night but I have been still giving talks at jhana Grove teaching a the East of meditation retreat for the PSW way so anyway that that particular book opened in the door of your heart the story behind it is really quite fascinating I mean it's a sort of story which is behind us just how things work in life this is how I found it works best in life so and I've been talking and giving these stories and tales for such a long time but of course never really written it down always believing that if everybody else could read the talks and read the stories they wouldn't need to actually come up here and listen to them life I'd have no more material for my talks I know people always say can you not find some more material add John Brown I'll come on give me a break so anyway just teaching some of those little anecdotes and stories and being able to sort of make a difference in some people's lives there was one lady in particular who was at our armidale group beautiful group over in Armadale kemp's got hospital been teaching there for such a long time and just no small group of people you know please don't think of going down there because it's always crowded we have like a limit of how many people can actually fit in that room so it's always pretty crowded and sometimes have to turn people away at the door because there's no fire and safety regulations but anyway I remember just one lady was no she was going through a very acrimonious very traumatizing divorce and those people have been through a divorce you notice how difficult it is and now painful it is destroying of your hopes and all the things which you build up and your dreams of the future will come crashing down you have to rebuild your life again and because of that now this lady she did tell me she was suicidal many times and the little stories which I told at Armadale grew up on a Tuesday evening it basically pulled her through and she survived maybe she came up to me and said at John Brown you must write those down there's a story to share them more widely I'm iris Bosworth now I'm too busy there's too much difficulty but you know this woman she was very smart she outwitted me totally because she said okay I'll write them down and so she wrote them down and said the first draft to me and it was terrible it was hopeless the English was just so poor and it didn't really grab the attention and it was a mess and so I said well if this is what you do I can't let this go by me I'll have to do it myself she caught me so I wrote them down myself and they weren't as hard as I thought because you know that when you you really can train your mind just to be peaceful to be still meditate first of all you just write these things down and they just flow but it's no it's easy it's not that hard when you you don't interrupt yourself you don't start judging oh this is not right I can find another one that just writes it so I'd always do it after I was meditating for an hour or two and I only give it one hour one hour just for a couple of stories write it down freehand couldn't use a computer didn't have any any laptops anything in those days just wrote it down by hand and someone someone's got that manuscript because it was actually hardly any mistake sir they're just nice and easy to see because when you you're meditating Yeti you focus and even your handwriting gets so beautiful I know that somebody who looked at it said oh I've never seen that font on Windows it's not all Windows it's in that John Brown's brain so just wrote it down very easily and then it took me I remember just two weeks that's only 14 days 14 hours to write the first half of the book straight through boom so it's really easy I couldn't believe how just easy it was I thought it would be hard to do things because when you have a moment of peace you don't scare you don't force it it flows I know that many athletes is not here this evening one of the old friends who were monk together a long time ago in Thailand you know he he married an Indian dancer you know he knows if he's ever here probably hearing this at home and I know she was one of the top dancers in India at the time classical Indian dancer he was a musician and he you know he's performed his works of Perth concert hall so it was very very highly qualified very successful musical family and when she came here you know first time I'd was asking how how on earth can you perform to such a high level you know to be on the front covers of the glossy magazines in Delhi and she said train train train train train train but when you perform you forget everything you just let it fly you cannot interrupt it you cannot control it and certainly you know you cannot just think you just let it flow I've seen many other people say that's like getting into the zone in gymnastics in sport even for Buddhist monk giving a talk or writing a book you get in the zone really peaceful is foolish to force it they just flows and of course once I finished the second half he got a book how an earth you find a publisher he know what happened to JK Rowling you know her books was it seven eight and nine because somebody just showed me one of her books a few moments ago seven eight nine publishers before someone accepted it I never needed to go through that she was trying too hard because I wrote it out hand remember just good old one story and somebody remember him he typed it all out for me and put it on one of these little CD discs and he gave it to me just before I was traveling to Melbourne to give a series of talks you know leave in the morning arrived in the afternoon straight sir I was Melbourne University to give a talk and just gave a nice talk and afterwards I had to see dear my back well young you see and then this person came up to me afterwards and said Oh wonderful talk I'm in the publishing industry if it's any thought any time you want me to publish a book just let me know so I put it out here that never happened to JK Rowling's no effort at all it has happened no need to post it to anybody it was there no rejection slips know that you just got it and another part of that story because I was mentioning because I saw they brought by by JK Rowling Harry Potter because you know that's been a very very very successful book and part of the success of that pokemans has been translated into many many languages and when I went to actually though when we were she can't see here when one of the disciples was visiting Indonesia she went into the biggest books or big book store in in Jakarta it was the grand media chain and she was was stunned because she saw me there she said I didn't but what are you doing in the bookshop in Jakarta you're supposed to be in in Perth that she did a double-take she looked and it was a cardboard copy cut out of me and she took a nice photo of it later what I went to visit there and see it was weird to see of a cardboard cutout of you look like me as well bit smaller or maybe I've grown since then but because supports did very well in Indonesia and when I went there I just saw they know they have opened a book shops you see notice the bestsellers and I saw they you know number two and the bestseller list was Harry Potter and number one was an Brahms I beat Harry Potter yay but anyway just why that happens you've got yourself those moments of peace and all that's going around all the forcing things you realize that that's not always the best way to do things not only that you garden yourself a moment of peace but we did and night you have to give it grad yourself it no one else will give it to you and it's not something the government will award you you have to sort of take that it's your responsibility it's your choice to say enough for now I'm going to rest my body I'm gonna rest my mind and give myself some peace and once you do give yourself some peace it's amazing just how your life goes more smoothly now when it comes to passing exams and this was well I don't know where I got some of this stuff from you know except no past lives and stuff but we won't go there at the moment but even when I was at the college doing final exams just talking about this in the car to someone just a couple of days ago it was weird why I had the courage in the house to actually to do this final exams at Cambridge and there we had to do three hour exam in the morning three hour exam in the afternoon on theoretical physics quantum physics astrophysics of the galaxy fundamental particle physics all sorts of sounds really interesting but you know it's pretty tough stuff and three hours in the morning three hours in the afternoon hour for lunch six days in a row Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday that was tough but I don't know why I did this I I had no lunch had big breakfast big dinner and then lunch time I just went back to my room I meditated for half an hour now 10 or 15 minutes to get back here were 10 or 15 minutes to go from your room back to the the exam hot room exam hall and I meditated and it was I was giving myself some peace and of course you know this is what you have to do to get some peace they get about the past that was the first thing which came into my mind what have I done in the morning exam did I do well did I pass did I fail however who knows but what I did know that there's no way in the world I could change those results I know these days some of you come to me you don't even example oh I'm not sure if I did well you come to get some chanting from me actually it's amazing just how sometimes that that works at least honestly I don't know if she's here today but there was a lady from Malaysia when she came up here 16 times she failed her die English exam to get sort of the the pr visa what's it called English okay whatever is right now to get your visas she failed it 16 times and so no she came in I've gotta go back to below you said this is really so what do you take it again what's the point 16 times I felt ah I said but you didn't get the chanting from a gendarme and of course I only tell the stories when it works thank you when we have half words so then Hyderabad City awarded it yes 78 I'm lucky she was really impressed my reputation went up but I don't rely on that because there's another lady okay okay BIA and she had some charting for exams the first year at university and she failed she never told me I never saw her again it's only from her friends she was a jump laughs no good he's not a really good mark he's a terrible mark and so some of the friends said look if that comes back to you I'd jump around I jump Rob's mother good night don't worry about it it's not your fault she never did any work never went to the lectures never went to the tutorial she was partying first year away from home and she doesn't know let loose very a certain amount chanting can do come on give me a break but anyway there's best actually no even chanting is is the best it's just learning how to be peaceful learning how to let go so in the morning that go over the past didn't worry about the future I needed to really prepare myself now and the best way of preparation you're not too scary about get the books out start with rising whatever the best way is just to relax it's an obvious thing because you're poor brain is tired it needs to re-energize to recharge it and you don't recharge it with caffeine because you'd put caffeine you just get even more Restless and more sort of scrambled or my favorite word you know discombobulated and you don't need to you don't need to look that up in the dictionary just say the word and you know what it means it's completely it I don't know what can bob related means but anyway this is the opposite of being calm populated this combo place so anyway let a B realize this that's not a way to get some energies to focus and some stillness because when you get peace and you feel peace any inside yourself and you know it you get used to it you can you can turn to it any time give yourself those moment you have to give it to yourself take it the surfer your so often some of the times which I've mentioned a totally different talk the the in-between moments of life when you've finished doing one thing we haven't started the next job or the next appointment yeah stuck in the traffic red light and you've got to just wait for her you can't go forward you can't go back you're in between you're waiting for for the talk to start you waiting for someone to actually to finish in a Toyota because you know you're right there right now and you can't do anything so you're in between things and those are the in-between moments of life where you can quiet yourself moments of peace just be and stop going somewhere only half an hour between exams and then you can actually really be any choice and when you do energize that means that afterwards all that worry and scurrying and working and struggling and striving you realize that sometimes that's useful but in these particular cases it's better just to be still to give yourself peace and it's a very wise way of being a high achiever being successful not just in work but in your relationships in life in just your own personal health and well-being peace many sicknesses many diseases all come because we haven't got enough peace in our life many arguments friends argue with one another disagreeing all become because we have no peace and at this point with arguments I come to one of the little jokes which is a nice segue which was Dennis is gone yes I sent it to you a few days ago and to some of the other committee members about the wise advice from a masters a whole series of little cartoons and the disciple asses wise master has some advice and the wise old master said I never argue with idiots and the disciples said I don't agree with that and the master replied yes you're right okay so learn to be silent and you know you've taught too much I don't know how many times talking has got me into trouble and other people into trouble and sometimes for myself I talked so much people are asking me for advice and so sometimes that you know when I say oh you should know they say no that's not good enough don't give me some advice and they are asking for my advice on their marriage problems come on I've never been married what would I know but what I do know when I told a few few time people today that because this is the it's a New Year celebration so I gave them a blessing I gave it to the blessing in time and at least know translated as oh you know may you be happy and successful just have good health and have a sort of good life and have enough money but not too much and because these were Thai women mostly married to Australia men and I said in May your husband never complain and they laughter there I must have hit the spot there but then one lady came up and said what I don't have a husband and I said well then you're free and all the other one said yes and I said how bad karma has now been exhausted to me but anyway so sometimes why'd you ask me those questions so sometimes silence learn to be silent and you know you talk too much because every time I say jokes and stories like that I usually get into trouble especially oh my goodness I just remembered now I don't know if they're here this evening but I'm doing a marriage blessing on Monday so please that doesn't refer to you I did that once I forget who it was I've told her marriage joke and they looked at me totally stone-faced and said Oh John Brown I'm going to Indonesia to get married tomorrow I thought oh my goodness what have I said so anyway so when you talk too much you always love to put your foot in your mouth and you've got bigger your mouth and more chance there is the what's going to go in there so and sometimes silence is very good because in silence is one of the little techniques which I have encouraged people whenever there is an argument is actually to have the five seconds of silence after someone has really shouted at you abused you ranted at you so somebody goes oh ma don't use the opportunity when they stop speaking to defend yourself and for you to say something back at them have a five seconds of silence because in those five seconds at pause when they're ranting their abuse they're sort of tirade at you has stopped if you speak next it means they won't have the opportunity to reflect on what they said and why they said it so just to give the five seconds of silence after someone has shouted out here means that there's nothing else they can contemplate reflect upon accept the inappropriateness of their words these are five seconds of mindfulness of reflection so sometimes that silence that gives amazing results much better than speaking back and so learn to be silent and one realizes one has spoken too much it's not just the outer speech as well it's the inner speech learn to be silent and sometimes all that commentary inside which is sometimes what disturbs us and can sometimes send us crazy the inner chatter the inner thoughts we can learn some silence and it puts that in a thought in perspective as you all know if you have read that book open the door of your heart was the story of my training as a monk wasn't just no listening to talks like this or study it was a lot of using life's experience and understanding from life's experience how this right attitude even silence works and that was when we were building the big hall over at where was it that whop up all nine days of hard work pushing wheelbarrows from lyon eating one meal a day in the morning finished by about nine o'clock and it was not nutritious at all it was this really basic village food and working in the jungles sweating being bitten by mosquitoes pushing wheelbarrows traveling that just nine days of hard labor we didn't have unions in those days although I was thinking of starting one sometimes CFMEU construction forestry monks but now we didn't have any unions there were toys was really hard work and I started getting upset this is not what I became a monk for I became a monk not to be exploited as a cheap labor you know I had a degree from university remember a good degree from a good university might be the story here in Australia about that graduate who got a job in any job you could get was in the supermarket and as soon as he went to the supermarket so the manager gave him a broom has told him to sweep the aisles and he said I'm a graduate I've got a bachelor's degree with honours and imagine supermarket said oh sorry sir I never really understood that here this is the way you sweep good you got that joke so that's what I was thinking pushing wheelbarrows I got angry and as I mentioned in the meditation you can read a person where they're angry or not just from their face this was written all over you and so I couldn't pretend I wasn't and that's when one of the other monks came out to me and they told me the game was wonderful teaching the whole purpose of me telling this anecdote and they said pushing a wheelbarrow is easy for nine days in the hop sir forest being bitten by mosquitoes well pushing a wheelbarrow is easy thinking about it is a hard part and that was a that was worth nine years pushing wheelbarrows if I had to just to get their understanding learn to be silent in your head and things become so easy thinking about it is a hard part always is even giving public talks thinking about it supports my seem possible doing it is easy when you stop thinking about it so this is one of the great reasons why when we have silence we just literally do go with the flow we don't disturb the flow and we do as you find whatever we have to do in life even going to the dentist even going to a committee meeting and AGM thinking about it even dying no dying is very easy thinking about is a hard part you don't believe me try it and afterwards if you become a ghost it can come on keep my backside I said no job are you told me was easy it's not and I was ever keeping my backside that way so it's obviously it's true so like forgiving forgiving is easy thinking about as a hard part when you think about it he just justified err they don't deserve to be forgiven there I can't forgive them yeah they should forgive me first of all whatever we were well that's what the hard part is doing it it's a hard part so doing is easy part thinking about it is easy part the other way around isn't it you see I told you the more I speak the more I'm gonna put my foot in the mouth doing it is easy thinking about it's a hard path that's why I grind yourself a moment of peace and you live and you learn how foolish you scared about just learn to be silent and you do talk too much we all do and it's not just here it's also insider inside our heads we just forgot the art that is being silent and just doing stuff without complaining inside and lastly it was learn to be kind compassion and you realize your judgment of others was far too severe because what kindness doesn't it okay Jesus just coins what kids do and it's wonderful you bring kids into this into this this talk because this is human this is life this is how this world is you can't control life you don't judge you accept you just embrace your learn to be kind you know when we kind this whole thing about kindness caring instead of curing when you're trying to cure a kid and say it stops speaking so interrupting this are how do you monk up there must be bad karma no don't do that that's trying to cure your kid of things which is natural try to cure your your husband your wife when things it's just natural no sometimes I know that a couple of Hannibal Buddha's friends were here went to school with them and the first thing I did was to awesome well you know what was real Moodle like when he was a school you know what sort of stuff did he get up to you know tell me that he was human because sometimes when you become like a monk or a nun sometimes think oh you must have been born with a bald head which I probably was oh you must have been born silent which I was not you know I still won in two years and then you started making and so sometimes all the bad things which I did when I was a kid I don't if I told you all the silly things and stupid things which I did as a kid but I need to say this because sometimes people think oh you know to be a monk to be a nun to ordain you have to be just so pure that you were born with a halo on your head and you never got up into any mischief or trouble so that's when I told the story about the last retreat and I was about eight or nine or 10 years of age I can't remember what when I gave my my my mother a birthday present have I told this here okay mm nah tomorrow that's anyway anyway so I gave my mother a birthday person Lee about eight and nine years of age maybe eight and so what I did was give a nice surprise so at that time in is in West London it was in Acton where I'll go up now right next to Shepherds Bush and so that's why I tell a lot of people when they say oh well you bore and I said I was born in the bush I grew up in the bush I said well he won't know what part of the bush you know was it up in Geraldton I was in in burka or birdsville or somewhere yeah Shepherds Bush but anyway that they had a craze like a food fad this was more than eight there 59 60 and it was jellied eels and mashed potato I'll come on have you ever had any deals on mashed potato how do you know that's right yeah that's what that's when I I went so this is going off on a tangent about this is learn to be kind and you realize you've judged too severely this is actually expanding on that because this one time I was invited to oldest own primary school long time ago so I think what am i naming it and I accept these invitations you know maybe I should be a bit more mindful and a swirl what class am I supposed to teach it was year once and year twos great one great to know one way to talk about Buddhism oh my goodness this is gonna be a chance how do you you teach like I think it was two classes all put together sixty kids of that age teach some Buddhism though the challenge but you know like challenges and of course the ones I I failed I never tell anybody but this one it worked again so what I did was I thought sixty kids they're really young the parents was hit in the back and I said okay put your hand up anyone who's ever eaten I know put your hand up if you like rice pudding rice pudding there's no well bestowed school and about two or three kids for the hand up they liked rice pudding oh no so no is the other way round so let's go back a bit put your hand up if you don't like rice pudding and two or three kids put their hand up they didn't like rice pudding now I think you can relate to this no group of five or six year olds the other kids looked around and a few other kids put their hand up you know because two or three kids started it yeah we don't like rice pudding and then after about three or four minutes the whole sixty kids they had all had their hands up they'd agreed they did not like rice pudding and then so we could put your hands down and then the next question was put your hands up if you've ever eaten rice pudding and about seven or eight kids put their hand up and everyone else laughed the kids laughed as well they got it that was actually amazing you could actually just think outside the box and teach kids about judgments of things you've never even tried learn to be kind and you find out your judgments of others were far too severe there weren't really correct so even like jelly deals of Matt how do you know when he went have you ever tried it after you were correct I agree with you is disgusting but but anyway so you know what naughty Satan the ajahn Brahm did as a kid at you oh I just went got some pocket money and I bought an eel a live one because no live one I could buy a live one they didn't ask me why I wanted it for so I already had the little shoebox and some wrapping paper really careful is mrs. about year old kid could do just make sure it's really nicely folded a nice little tape and even had the bowl to tie it up with a nice bow and a little gift card in a happy birthday to mommy on your birthday with love from your son pizza that's my name xxx and when I had it to my mother as a surprise oh she was just so heart was almost just exploding with with pride that's my little kid and he did it all by himself an amazing was I actually could pull it off you know that without sort of laughing and giving the game away what was inside and I remember my mother was almost cry with pride and joy if you get a nice present from a young little kid eight year old and wonder what's inside when she opened it up and I was looking at her what's inside I was surprised mommy if she was suppose the Boxee okay she screamed so loud that was where I understood what like an exit strategy was I'd already planned ahead for two hours so you know that was my upbringing as before I became about my poor well mother but I'm sure he get some nice stories about the other bugs where they were young it's just humanizing people learn to be kind and you realize your judgments of others were far too severe just the way we look at other people and just look the same as you we make mistakes you're not perfect that makes us human that's what kindness does it embraces people allows people in judgments is what pushes people out I know that time when I ordained our bhikkhunis they had to forfeit membership of what buy pong and many of my friends somebody was actually I remember the person dr. Yee far no she was from folk ranch answers you know really good value for money I don't know where she is but hope she's doing well I'll always remember her she sent me this little poem there was what was it again they drew a circle which pushed me out heretic troublemaker I think someone to flout but love like compassion and wisdom had the wit to win I drew a bigger circle which included them in and I'll add that one you know sometimes you get rejected they feel you don't belong other people but you you draw your self I don't know other people to other circle for you you know where you belong and just know if people just reject you but a bigger circle which pulls them all in the bigger the circle the better learn to be kind and you realize your circle is not big enough it's expand it make it bigger that's why for those people who who do go to things like the suitor class are going to Buddhism a little bit deeper they always call those those four they called the brahma vihara sea of hidings of the gods basically of no loving-kindness matter Karuna compassion mudita which is sympathetic joy and equanimity they always call them the the upper mana they the what would you call it without boundaries with our edges without limit and that's I think wonderful description of what sort of kindness forgiveness compassion sympathetic joy it doesn't have a circle of a specific radius it just keeps expanding that and so everything gets included in when there's actually no circle this can be no no measuring they cannot be any judging how many times have you been measured and judged by Facebook Google it's great not being being having a Facebook page at least I don't think so I've got a Facebook fan page or something yeah but anyway nothing to do with me I don't know that never built on to know anything about it that's wonderful thing because there's a monkey learn to be kind and your judgment of others actually it's not severe doesn't exist at all in a nice thought to be judged in other words how can you judge another person learn to be kind your judgment of others was too severe but it's also learn to be kind and your judgment of yourself was too severe as well that is the biggest problem is when we judge ourselves oh I'm not good I'm a failure I've what else can we say about ourselves oh I'm too fat learn to be kind and your judgment of yourself is too severe right actually I found her it's not fair this actually anorexia well it's true I looked it up in a book in the dictionary we said the definition of anorexia wish you you look in the mirror and you think you're fat wow that's me I got all these excuses [Laughter] it's just gravity so so so learn to be kind in your judgment of others is far too severe and also learn to be compassionate a new judgment of yourself it's far too harsh so this is learning how to have this wonderful wisdom and kindness and peace so that you can be free and be happy and you can just like dance through life with getting into the zone not pushing not forcing and amazing things happened so almost like this is a secret not really secrets a success I don't mean worldly success means success would be a peace and happy newer and skin happy alone and happy with others so you always find they both work together sometimes as a monk you spend a lot of time in solitude and people ask you do you ever feel lonely and the answer is honestly no because when I'm in a cave meditating there's always someone there my best friend me I'm kind to me my red eyes are not the best in the world but I'm kind to me so I embrace myself you know sometimes you know because sometimes monks sort of you know we don't really get into hugging but actually I do mmm my self [Laughter] if you wanna have you know there's someone else actually dead I won't trouble you might get into these days but you know you hack yourself you got no trouble at all you can't catch any disease you can't get into trouble with some abuse or whatever actually really works come on come on come on now you try it don't take out that stupid when you haven't tried it just like those kids who didn't like nice puddings they never tried it you know tried nasty works so sometimes people just what sort of Buddhist centre is this we want to come here to learn the fire Dumber there is a higher Dhamma that is something which you feel you experience not theories anymore things which actually do create this beautiful sense the peace freedom solve problems in this world increases your health grind yourself a moment of peace you realize you don't need to scroll around so much to be silent don't complain this is Robert doing this about sure shut up and feel it instead of just complaining about it life is quite easy when you don't think about it too much just do it oh you got to think about something and this is not just leaving your brain outside and getting abused or getting into a cult but you know sometimes we think too much and of course learn to be kind basic wonderful teachings we should don't really need a religion to teach you there just be kind compassionate forgiving and then you find you do judge others far too harshly you judge yourself too harshly as well so cut yourself some slack thank you for this thing sorry okey-dokey so what do we got here any judgments from before mmm-hmm no questions any questions anyone has two on the floor yes we have a question over there excellent and we have the questions for yes I said a question about when should we use our mind in our brain okay find the middle way why should we use our mind and brain certainly there is times to explore but sometimes that when we use our brain with thinking and we get stuck in old ways of looking there's what I did the other day no you you just hold up a graph a bottle what is this this is difference between contemplating and exploring contemplating ours is gospel environmentally good it is I've got some nice water in it it is I know how full it is yet at the bottom it is small at the top those are old thoughts so in order to get innovation deeper understanding we put it up and when we have exhausted all our old ideas well we can't give a name anymore when the thinking stops that's where we can see that's called exploit otherwise you're caught in always so maybe your partner our next partner or something and you've already sort of think I just know that is so self-centered they just so mean is so nasty vindictive this is whole stuff exhaustive that and then have a look at them keep on looking and you find you see something totally new which you never expected before learn to be kind and you realize your judgment of others was far too severe so if you really want to find out the truth be kind have some thinking but then go deeper than thinking okay here we go what is your perfect Sunday and what do you think of meditation programs people use on their mobile phones I don't have a perfect Sunday because there hasn't come yet all I've got is Friday evening so a perfect Sunday we will find out will it happens what do you think of meditation programs people use on their mobile phones don't think just do it from Germany as from Wales what does peace really feel like now that's a really good question is there a feeling or an attitude how to find peace when the body might affected by pain and burnout what does peace actually feel like I can't tell you that because if I'm telling you're not feeling it you're just believing it some idea from somebody else so after a while you did a bit of meditation you can actually feel peace okay I'll give you a little shortcut to peace this is from Germany so just it takes about two minutes to do this sort of exercise in close your eyes here and in German is a personalized this question if you're listening to this close your eyes and just see the reaction in your mind peace peace peace peace peace peace peace peace peace he's please excuse me for interrupting now the other like interrupting myself because did you notice when he said that word first of all the mind followed the direction he experienced a tiny bit of peace and I repeated it and repeated it and repeated it every time I repeated it your mind has went there until you felt peace the word was just a signpost but your mind automatically followed it until you could actually feel experience what that word means what peace is so that's how I answer the question by leading you to a teacher to be peace and the body of mind affected by pain and burnout you can still do that peace peace because the pain is in the body this goes even deeper than that can feel still front piece and anyway from UK how do we stop giving before we run out of energy I usually don't realize I've given too much until I exhaust myself by grounding yourself many moments of peace grab them take them and so no one else will give them to you but they're they're like the air to be breathed in it's free so you look for peace and when you have the chance you don't throw those chances away the in-between moments of life the Thai were many people feel they're bored and they look for something to interrupt themselves instead we pause and grant ourselves a moment of peace one of the other things is a lot of time people feel guilty they're not doing anything which is one of the reasons why it has to be a gift for yourself now I said that routine naughty thing I did to my mum but also that sometimes when people ask if there's anything you need it could be a a wedding anniversary it could be a birthday why not give yourself a gift like I give myself a hug if it is your birthday soon get a nice little box and put in that box a piece of paper and say peace on it why did out as beautifully as you can maybe with some symbol of what you feel peace is put it in the box wrap it up with some really nice wrapping paper put a nice little bow on it a nice little card and say to me with love from me and then put it aside it'd be even wonderful if you can post it to yourself and when it arrives or just hide it somewhere and discover it ah it's a principle it's for me and look at it to me with love for me ah isn't that sweet and then you open it up if you find inside there's a little message peace that's what I always wanted so it's just a little exercise to make so notice okay I grab myself a moment of peace do something which actually reinforces that mental message that an emotional gift they're giving yourself some piece a little box into all sorts of stuff in there you can put like forgiveness if you feel you've done something wrong you've mistreated other people and you put it now I forgive me oh just love if no one else allows you in this world put a little heart with a little error through it ajahn brahm loves a temper you know that's not as stupid as you think that is actually powerful I remind you oh yeah okay so whatever you need in life that's where you can give okay and that's how you stop giving before you run out of energy used whatever energy of course yeah what point is giving when you run out of energy so you've got nothing else to give anyway how do that and you know what happens when we give too much we run out of it as we get grumpy and we get angry we get negative it's just nature because because you've got no energy so give yourself a moment of peace be kind be silent and you also recharge too okay so thank you all for listening today now one of my own teachings and I'm going to be cited

Channel: Buddhist Society of Western Australia

Views: 79,901

Rating: 4.826087 out of 5

Keywords: Buddhism, Dhamma, Dharma Talk, Ajahn Brahm, Buddha Dhamma

Id: sw-RV0F1OJw

Length: 60min 5sec (3605 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 13 2018