Karuna Virus - How To Turn Crisis Into Blessings

In early January 2020, COVID-19, a highly infectious novel
coronavirus, began to spread and has since affected millions

of lives around the globe, causing hundreds of thousands of
KARUNA-VIRUS:
deaths across all continents. As this book is being prepared, the
numbers are still rising. Ajahn Brahm, a fully-ordained Buddhist
monk for over 45 years, reminds us that “this too will pass,”
because nothing is permanent. He encourages us to consider
KARUNA VIRUS
this global pandemic not as a crisis but rather as an opportunity
to care for and serve one another, especially those in need.
Inspired by Ajahn Brahm’s timeless teachings, the aim of this

book is twofold: first, to use 19 never-before-published stories
from Ajahn Brahm’s life to bring joy and give hope to anyone
OFFERING HOPE, LOVE, AND INSPIRATION AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

19 ORIGINAL STORIES ABOUT AJAHN BRAHM,
19 ORIGINAL STORIES
whose life has been affected by COVID-19; and second, to
present it as a gift to Ajahn Brahm on his 69th birthday, on 7
August 2020.
The title of this book, Karuna-virus, resonates with the

pronunciation of “coronavirus.” In Pali, an ancient Indian ABOUT AJAHN BRAHM ,
OFFERING HOPE, LOVE ,
language possibly used by the Buddha himself, the word karun.ā
means “compassion.” It is hoped that compassion, together with
kindness and wisdom, can replace greed, anger and ignorance
AND INSPIRATION
far and wide as the world continues to grapple with this global
pandemic.
AMID THE COVID-19

Ajahn Brahm, born in London and trained as a theoretical
physicist at Cambridge, is the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery
in Serpentine, Western Australia. He is a disciple of the late
PANDEMIC
Ajahn Chah, an eminent Thai forest monk regarded by many as
a meditation master.
KARUNA-VIRUS:
19 ORIGINAL STORIES
ABOUT AJAHN BRAHM,
OFFERING HOPE, LOVE, AND INSPIRATION
AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
If kindness is
imagined as a beautiful dove,
then wisdom is its wings.
Compassion without wisdom
never takes off.
AJAHN BRAHM
Copyright©2020 Ajahn Brahmavamso
All rights reserved
Permission to copy, reprint and distribute this publication is hereby given

provided no changes are made to the content or layout.
Reproduction in any way for commercial gain is prohibited.
ISBN 978-962-7287-32-2
Designed by Gary Ling, Pressroom Printer & Designer Limited

Cover Photo by Kung Isarankura
Printed in Australia by Daniels Printing Craftsmen

Printed in Hong Kong by Pressroom Printer & Designer Limited
First Edition
Bodhinyana International Foundation

www.bodhinyana.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS
6 Foreword by Ajahn Ganha

8 Foreword by Mr Dennis Sheppard
11 Introduction
14 The Bushfire
17 A Letter to a Young Monk
19 Advice to the Dying
21 A Bear Hug for a Beggar
23 The Dhamma of Socks
25 Ghost Business
27 The Nibbana Box
28 Enchanted Chanting
30 Holy Shit
32 Thinking for Yourself
34 Against the Grain
36 Batty About Caves
38 Inspired Dreaming
40 Giving, Always Giving
42 How to Run a Monastery
44 Wise Compassion
46 Club Med
48 Fun(d)raising
49 The Benefits of Being Antisocial
51 The Life of Ajahn Brahm: An Unauthorised Hagiography
74 Names & Terminology
77 Acknowledgements
FOREWORD
BY
A JA H N GA NH A 1
Abbot of Wat Pa Subthaweethammaram
Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand
December 2019
A jahn brahm is a good monk. He is a monk par excellence. He is very

precious – good-natured, responsible, and self-sacrificing.
Ajahn Brahm loves the Dhamma. He loves other people more than himself.
He was born to be a giver. He will always do everything he can to help
humankind. Whatever he does, he does it for the benefit of the public at
large. He does it for the happiness of all people, to truly end their suffering.
This is the right way to be!
People in the West have wisdom. They should develop the Dhamma to
keep up with the times. You should develop Bodhinyana Monastery in your
own way. You do not have to follow the way they do things at any other
monastery, even Wat Pa Pong. Just go straight to the model the Buddha
laid down and take that as your guiding principle. Embody the Dhamma.
Be your own person.
8 A JA H N B RA H M
You do not have to be under the authority of anyone. You are still disciples
of Ajahn Chah. You are still disciples of the Buddha. So, you, in Perth,
Ajahn Brahm, you have to be your own person. Be happy, be courageous,
be your best!
You have to act in this way. If you do things correctly, if you have the right
view and right practice, you will not have any doubts. And those who give
of themselves will always be accepted by everyone.
The monastery in Perth is a place to teach the Dhamma. You should teach
only about Nibbana. Teach about happiness and the ending of suffering
to the general populace. It is not right to take the Thai way of practice and
apply it in Australia because each country is different.
Although there are people who want to control Ajahn Brahm and the
monks in Perth, they cannot do it. Ajahn Brahm already is the embodiment
of the Dhamma. He has wisdom. How would they be able to dominate
him?
Spread the good message. Spread the Dhamma. From Perth to the entire
world!
1
Ajahn Ganha Sukhakāmo is Ajahn Chah’s nephew, and a highly respected monk in the Thai forest tradition. He is a
few years senior to Ajahn Brahm as a monk, and one year older. Ajahn Ganha and Ajahn Brahm have known each
other since the mid-1970s, when they were young monks together at Wat Pa Pong, Ajahn Chah’s main monastery
in Thailand. Ajahn Ganha also came to stay at Bodhinyana Monastery in Perth, for the rains retreat in 1987 and a
month in 1994, to offer support to the new monastery. This foreword is an edited version of remarks made by Ajahn
Ganha during a visit to his monastery in December 2019. Ajahn Ganha was asked to provide comments for the
occasion of Ajahn Brahm’s birthday.
KARUNA-V I RUS 9
FOREWORD
BY
M R DE NNIS SH E PPA R D
President of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia (BSWA)
Perth, Australia
June 2020
A jahn brahm has been a close friend since he arrived in Australia in

April 1983. Looking back, I reflect with much gratitude on the opportunity
I have had to share my life with him, especially as an office bearer of the
Buddhist Society of Western Australia (BSWA). I am blessed to be serving
as its President once again this term.
Ajahn Brahm arrived in Perth as a quiet, unassuming Monk and has

developed into one of the world’s most powerful voices and exemplars
of the Buddha-Dhamma. At the time of his arrival, Ajahn Jagaro was the
Spiritual Director of BSWA, and he said to me, “You just wait until you
meet him, Dennis. He is a Monk’s Monk.” So, we knew he was held in high
regard by his peers and we knew he was intelligent; after all, he had won
a scholarship to study theoretical physics at Cambridge. What the BSWA
had not figured out in those early years, when he was the quiet second
Monk, was that he had latent wisdom inside him that was being cultivated,
ready to explode into the world. Ajahn Brahm has an innate wit and sense
of fun. You can never get too intense with him because he will bring your
“well-constructed” ideas of how things are right back into the farce that
10 A JA H N B RA H M
accompanies our human conditioning. Having said this, he is also the
architect of the word “kindfulness” and will demonstrate this quality over
and over.
I have observed Ajahn Brahm closely over the years of his spiritual
development and can attest to his absolute commitment to the monastic
orders. When I say this, I am especially thinking of the way he held the
space open for our Nuns2 to be fully ordained back into the Theravada
tradition. The BSWA always had a policy to create a way for aspiring
females to become Theravadin Nuns, but it was Ajahn Brahm’s clarity of
insight that allowed the now “Famous Four” postulants to make it happen.
This happening was especially important for Theravada Buddhism
because, following the Buddha’s enlightenment, in an exchange with
Māra, the personification of delusion, the Buddha vowed that he would
not die until he had the four great assemblies in place. The assembly of
fully-ordained Monks, the assembly of fully-ordained Nuns, the assembly
of strong Laymen and the assembly of strong Laywomen. The assembly
of Nuns in the Theravada tradition had died out some centuries ago, and
Ajahn Brahm, with the help of others also skilled in the Pali language,
found a way to legally reinstate the order. We did this with the help of a
senior Nun who in 1997 had been given the full ordination as a Nun by Sri
Lankan Monks, who were the pioneers in re-establishing the order of Nuns
within Theravada. While most rejoiced, it is true to say that the ordination
was not accepted kindly in some of the more patriarchal parts of the
world. Throughout this time of change, the animosities and differences
have been managed by him with good humour and without any rancour.
“The Four Great Pillars or Assemblies of Buddhism” have been reinstated
in the world and they are once again alive, especially so at the BSWA under
his spiritual guidance.
Ajahn Brahm is a congruent man. What he is projecting, is how he is inside.

He is not a pretender. Ajahn Brahm is a man who loves himself equally with
others. It is an absolute joy to see how he projects this love into the way he
teaches the Dhamma. So often in the Western World, we have high ideals,
but it is rare to find someone who can embody those ideals, let alone the
2
In this book, “nun” is used for bhikkhunī and “monk” for bhikkhu, respectively a fully-ordained female and male
monastic.
KARUNA-V I RUS 11
purity of balance being pointed to by the Buddha. Notwithstanding, with
simple stories, sharp wit, and a wicked sense of humour, Ajahn Brahm
has empowered thousands, if not millions of people to understand why it
is necessary to practice the Buddha’s path. As conditioning has become
more sophisticated in the world, so too has its dualistic balance, forever
working to ensure that dukkha (suffering) will always be present. The Four
Noble Truths will always be relevant. Our being, and the world we are part
of, is beguiling. It is difficult to see past the delusion, past the desire and
aversion that keeps us bound into saṃsāra.
Ajahn Brahm is a man for the times, as the simple stories and anecdotes
that you will find in this book will demonstrate to you. It is a book put
together by his close associates who love and respect him. I commend
this book to you.
INTRODUCTION
I n early January 2020, COVID-19, a highly infectious novel coronavirus,

began to rapidly spread and has since affected millions of lives around
the globe, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths across all continents.
As this introduction is being prepared, the numbers are still rising. Our
teacher, Ajahn Brahm, a fully ordained Buddhist monk for over 45 years,
reminds us that “this too will pass” because nothing is permanent. He
encourages us to consider this global pandemic not as a crisis but rather
as an opportunity to care for and serve one another, especially those in
need.
Inspired by Ajahn Brahm’s timeless teachings, the aim of this book is

twofold: first, to use 19 never-before-published stories from Ajahn Brahm’s
life to bring joy and give hope to anyone whose life has been affected by
COVID-19; and second, to present it as a gift to Ajahn Brahm on his 69th
birthday, on 7 August 2020.
The title of this book, Karuna-virus, resonates with the pronunciation of

“coronavirus.” In Pali, an ancient Indian language possibly used by the
KARUNA-V I RUS 13
Buddha himself, the word karuṇā means “compassion.” We hope that
compassion, together with kindness and wisdom, can replace greed,
anger and ignorance far and wide as the world continues to grapple with
this global pandemic.
In early February 2020, a disciple from Hong Kong – one of the very first
places where COVID-19 had broken out – wrote to Ajahn Brahm and
literally begged him not to travel overseas to teach anymore, because he
had experienced first-hand how serious and terrible the situation was,
when the rest of the world was still largely unaware. Ajahn Brahm replied:
Thank you for your concern. I just received your email, in Bangkok. I arrived
an hour or two ago. Please do not worry. My immune system is strong and I
know how to rest deeply in meditation. I do not see any chance of an infection.
But I do see many chances of teaching the Dhamma and inspiring people to
meditate and increase their health.
In answering a question from a frontline doctor in Spain, who celebrated

her daughter’s 7th birthday recently, whilst attending an online retreat
organised by the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, Ajahn Brahm says:
Nature is so beautiful, but so destructive, too. It gives you your beautiful

daughter, but confronts you with so much raw suffering at your work. You may
regard yourself as a player in a big orchestra, performing to your highest ability,
but knowing that you do not control the process. Give in the moment, not
caring too much about the future. When you are with a patient, they become
part of you. You help as much as you are able and let them go with loving-
kindness in your heart. Show that metta on your face and with your eyes as you
bid them farewell. Death is not the end, just as the finale is not the end of all
concerts. You are participating in the seasons of life. After winter, always comes
the spring.3
May you find peace and comfort in the following 19 stories. May the
kindness, compassion and wisdom generated by them protect you and
your loved ones from COVID-19 and relieve any suffering it may have
already caused.
3
Quoted from the Buddhist Society of Western Australia’s website:
https://bswa.org/ajahn-brahms-message-healthcare-workers-covid-19-front-line/
The Bushfire
In many ways, the following story seems so mundane. Yet sometimes

gems of deep spiritual significance can be found hidden in the most
worldly of events.
It was late January 1991. After many weeks of a typically bone-dry Western
Australian summer, record-breaking temperatures coupled with strong
winds were fuelling a devastating bushfire a few kilometres south of
Bodhinyana Monastery. As the wind propelled the enormous fire, wiping
out hectares of bush in its wake, Ajahn Brahm and the rest of the monks
were gathered in the monastery’s main hall, discussing evacuation plans
with the fire brigade.
Australian forest fires are made worse by the prevalence of the highly
flammable eucalyptus trees, or gum trees, with their oil-filled leaves. As the
fire leapt from tree to tree on the strength of the wind, the trees exploded
in loud bangs as the oil caught fire. The greenery was incinerated, and all
that remained was a grey, desolate and barren landscape. The bare ground
was covered in ash and burnt remnants of branches and trees. It was as
bleak as the surface of the moon, not the usual delightful and calming
natural setting that monastery residents and visitors are so familiar with.
It was a frightening scene.
By the time the monks evacuated, there was no doubt that the fire would
reach the monastery. They knew the outcome would be devastating
because wood was an important construction material in the monastery
buildings, especially in the roofs. At that point, it was clear to Ajahn Brahm
that the monastery would be burned to the ground.
It is important to emphasize that, at that time, the building of Bodhinyana

Monastery had been the life work of Ajahn Brahm. For over seven full
years – whilst Ajahn Jagaro was the abbot and main teacher – Ajahn
Brahm had spent up to 12 hours a day, day in and day out, working to
build up the perfect Buddhist monastery. It was so much more than just
a set of buildings. For Ajahn Brahm, it had been a labour of love. At times,
he had even put his life on the line to ensure that everything was done to
the highest standard. Yet at that moment, as the blaze roared closer and
closer, Ajahn Brahm was sure everything would be destroyed in a matter
of minutes.
Imagine that for a moment. If it were you, and your home of many years, or
a project you had worked on for the best part of a decade, was about to be
wiped out by nature’s rage, what would you do? How would you feel? Most
people would sink into a bottomless pit of despair and anger. They would
probably question the injustice of it all, and perhaps even reject their belief
system, with the wail, “Why is this happening to me?”
But not Ajahn Brahm. “At that moment, I knew the monastery was going to
burn down. I knew it would be no more. But I also knew that the following
morning – with the fire gone and only ashes left – I would return and start
building it again from scratch.” Picture that – having the ability to let go so
completely and quickly of your life’s work! If there is a superhuman power,
it is this. Of all the superpowers we sometimes celebrate in Buddhism,
such as walking on water or flying through the air, this is surely far more
impressive. This is the sort of authentic spiritual power that has real
significance.
But how do such profound acts of renunciation actually happen? How

was Ajahn Brahm able to let go so utterly and completely in a matter of
seconds? His explanation is both surprising and interesting: “I was able
to let go because I was not interested in results. The outcome was not
the point. My main purpose had not been to build a beautiful monastery.
Instead, I did it because it was a good thing to do. I did it as an act of
generosity, as an act of compassion and kindness for the world. As soon as
it had burned down, I would be able to continue practicing that kindness
on the very next day by starting the rebuilding process. You see, the fire did
not take anything away from me because everything I had done, I had done
for a very different purpose. It was to build up good spiritual qualities inside.
KARUNA-V I RUS 17
Those qualities were still there. And I would have the chance to continue
building up the same good spiritual qualities on the following day.”
As we plough through life, it is so easy to lose sight of what truly matters.

Ajahn Brahm’s life philosophy is one we can all learn from: do not focus on
results. Focus instead on the process. In our troubled and uncontrollable
world, we need to remember what counts in the long run. We need to focus
on how we live our life, on how we deal with things, not on the outcomes.
Outcomes are always going to be beyond our control, as Ajahn Brahm
found out. But what we can control, at least to some extent, is the quality
of our heart, and the kindness and care we put into our actions.
In the end, the monastery did not actually burn down. And paradoxically,
that was a good outcome, at least for those of us who have benefited from
Ajahn Brahm’s generous teachings. For had it burned down, you might not
be reading these words now!
A Letter to a Young Monk
I n the early 1990s, Ajahn Brahm was becoming well-known among the
Western monastics of the Ajahn Chah tradition. He had the gift of being
able to explain deep aspects of meditation, especially the various stages of
jhāna, in a lucid and realistic manner. It is little wonder, then, that he began
to attract a sizeable following. A number of monks were starting to seek
his counsel. Amongst these was a young German, only recently ordained,
from a monastery in the UK.
In a letter to Ajahn Brahm, he asked questions about the profound and

abstruse Buddhist doctrine of Dependent Origination. Ajahn Brahm’s
response came in the form of a ten-page handwritten reply, which neatly
illustrated a number of his remarkable qualities.
The most obvious thing that stood out was the erudition of his reply.
As part of the process of coming to understand the monastic rules and
regulations, the Vinaya – of which Ajahn Brahm had been the foremost
expert amongst the Western disciples of Ajahn Chah – he had taught
himself the Pali language. The importance of proficiency in Pali for the
proper grasp of Early Buddhism cannot be overstated. Once mastered,
it opens up a whole new world of direct access to the discourses of the
Buddha, known as the Suttas, the source of the entire Buddhist tradition.
If you can read the Buddha’s words in their original language, you become
independent of often inaccurate translations.
Going straight to the earliest records of the Buddha’s teachings takes

one on the most direct route towards understanding his message.
In effect, one becomes a closer disciple of the Buddha. This is what
emerged so powerfully in Ajahn Brahm’s letter – his own deep meditative
experiences and insights were understood in relation to the authentic
teachings of the Buddha.
KARUNA-V I RUS 19
Then there was the precision of the handwriting. Each word – indeed,
each letter – was beautifully crafted and uniform in appearance to the
point of resembling a printed page. He had displayed similar handwriting
standards in penning (literally) his first book, Opening the Door of Your
Heart. The manuscript had been written entirely by hand with the same
exactitude, page after page. And despite being written with a ballpoint
pen, it was virtually free of errors. When you see it, you cannot help but
think that this sort of writing could only come from someone with a highly
developed mind. Only with such a mind would it be possible to sustain
the focus necessary for such a high level of precision, accuracy and
consistency over such a long period of time.
The crux of this story, however, is generosity and kindness. Even though he
was a senior monk who had already been ordained for over twenty years,
Ajahn Brahm had the generosity of heart and kindness of spirit to take the
time to reply to and inspire a newly ordained monk. He had even gone out
of his way to give a particularly thorough and detailed response. It is all
the more remarkable that this happened before the advent of the internet,
which meant all that work was only for the recipient and the few people
he may have shared the physical letter with. It was the kind of beautiful
gesture we so rarely see in the world.
There is, in fact, a strong connection between generosity and the profundity
of one’s spiritual qualities. The third of the Four Noble Truths, which
concerns the culmination of the spiritual path, is characterised by the
Buddha using a number of Pali words that relate closely to generosity. Thus
cāga, paṭinissagga and mutti all signify aspects of awakening, but are also
regularly employed in the Suttas to describe generosity.4 So wherever we
see exceptional generosity, we can expect deep spiritual qualities as well.
In one sense, it was just a letter. In another, it was so much more.
4
The three Pali words cāga, paṭinissagga and mutti can be rendered as “giving up,” “relinquishment” and “release,”
respectively.
Advice to the Dying
A jahn brahm may be many things to many people, but one of his
undeniable gifts is his ability to impart a unique take on life matters.
Among these is his uncommon perspective on death. Death is a scary
concept for most people. And yet, it is an unavoidable reality for every one
of us. Ajahn Brahm prefers to view death as an opportunity for release, a
positive journey forward.
He is able to spread some of this optimism at funeral ceremonies where he

may uplift the grievers by telling a joke or giving a humorous perspective
on a difficult situation. Telling jokes at a funeral service goes against what
is culturally acceptable. But when you dare to break the taboo, you find
that most people actually do laugh, no doubt glad to experience a bit of
relief during an emotionally difficult time.
Ajahn Brahm’s unconventional approach to death is not limited to funeral

services. On one occasion he was visiting a young disciple, a woman in her
twenties, who was dying of cancer in hospital. As he entered her hospital
room, he was met with a scene of crushing defeat. Her sorrowful parents
were sitting beside the young woman’s bed, lost in their own grief as they
awaited their daughter’s impending death.
Indeed, it was clear to everyone that there was no future for her. The
cancer had thoroughly ravaged her body. She was just a few hours, at
best a day or two, from the end of her life. And yet, despite such harrowing
circumstances, Ajahn Brahm was able to give valuable advice and,
perhaps more importantly, to lift the mood.
He started by explaining to her that her body was worn out and falling
apart. As she neared the end of her life, nothing more was required of her
except lying back, relaxing and enjoying the journey of letting go. He spoke
KARUNA-V I RUS 21
about how joyful it can be for a good person to let go of a sick body and
allowing the body to fade away. Now was the time to give up life’s burdens,
of which the body had become one of the most onerous. He encouraged
her to let it all go and savour the bliss that comes from releasing the heavy
baggage of this particular life.
Through the course of this conversation, something extraordinary

happened. The young woman began to beam. As she changed her attitude,
so did her parents. They realised that death need not be a tragic departure.
Looked at in the right way, it could be a beautiful junction in the evolution
of life. A simple change in perspective can make all the difference.
In this final meeting with his young disciple, Ajahn Brahm delivered an
important message: even the most challenging situations in life, including
death, can be turned into positive experiences. Of course, it does take
someone special to convey this philosophy. But thanks to his joyful, calm
and natural presence, combined with a wisdom that penetrates to the
essence of things, Ajahn Brahm is able to do just that.
A Bear Hug for a Beggar
M ost devout Buddhists aspire to travel to India at least once in their life
to visit the holy sites that have a special connection to the Buddha. Such
a pilgrimage not only gives you a richer and more direct understanding of
Buddhism, but also leaves memorable impressions that inspire you for a
lifetime.
Ajahn Brahm likes to say that the real holy places of Buddhism are actually
found within us: namely, the four jhānas, or the four stages of deep
samādhi. Yet for the vast majority of Buddhists, who are unable to access
such profound meditation experiences, a pilgrimage to India is still hugely
worthwhile. Indeed, Ajahn Brahm has himself visited India a number of
times. It was on one of these trips that something extraordinary happened
– an occasion on which he vividly manifested the embracing quality of
compassion.
Despite India’s rapid economic progress in recent decades, acute poverty

remains. One fallout from this is the prevalence of beggars. Marginalised
people are often exploited by gangs who deliberately maim or disfigure
them before sending them out to beg. At day’s end, they are forced to
hand over most of their earnings to the ringleader, trapping them in a
hopeless situation of dependency on criminals. From train stations to
city centres, from tourist sites to places of worship, the sight of beggars
hassling visitors and the well-to-do is common. Even monks and nuns,
many of whom carry money despite the monastic precepts prohibiting
this, are seen as attractive targets.
Ajahn Brahm was on his way to Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha’s
awakening under the Bodhi tree, when a beggar approached him.
Deformed and bedraggled, he followed Ajahn Brahm around and was
unrelenting in his request for money. Little did he know that Ajahn Brahm
KARUNA-V I RUS 23
is the rare kind of monk who follows the monastic rules scrupulously and
does not use money. There was no way he was going to get money from
Ajahn Brahm. Yet once these beggars have chosen you as a target, it is
virtually impossible to evade them.
Now, for most people, this is an uncomfortable and unnerving situation,

where you tend to waver between sympathy and fear, between pity and
resentment. But not for Ajahn Brahm. He likes to think out of the box.
When he saw this beggar, he did not see a foul-smelling, unkempt and
crippled nuisance. Rather, he saw a human being. Instead of trying to send
the beggar off or ignoring him, Ajahn Brahm embraced him – figuratively
and literally.
You see, Ajahn Brahm was able to look beyond the superficial. He saw that
the beggar had most likely been abused and manipulated by a powerful
force behind the scenes and was suffering intensely. So he picked the
beggar up right off the ground and gave him a good bear hug before
putting him back down again. The beggar was astonished and happy, all
at the same time. Never in his life as a beggar had this happened before.
Someone actually hugged him! He probably had not experienced such
warmth and care from another human being for a very long time. Because
he could see the compassion and kindness coming from Ajahn Brahm, he
felt he should leave Ajahn Brahm alone. Completely unintentionally, Ajahn
Brahm had discovered what was probably the only way that would cause
the beggar to leave him in peace.
The compassion shown by Ajahn Brahm went beyond empathy. He had

a genuine desire to alleviate another’s suffering. And when the beggar
departed, he immediately experienced an unforeseen benefit from his
kind action.
Kindness is the path. Kindness works. Never underestimate its power,

even in the most challenging situations.
The Dhamma of Socks
In his daily interactions with people, Ajahn Brahm exemplifies the

essence of generosity: the desire to do the big and little things to make
people around him happy, and to provide them with a sense of meaning
and purpose in life.
On one occasion Ajahn Brahm was visiting a long-standing disciple, an

elderly Sri Lankan lady, in a hospital in Melbourne. After a heart-warming
visit filled with his usual jokes and uplifting stories, he left her room.
Because it was a cold day, he put on a pair of socks that this very disciple
had given him some time before. Once he was outside the building, he
looked up and saw the old lady standing at her second-floor window
waving him good-bye. Intentionally but inconspicuously, he pulled up his
robe and walked a little slower so that she could see him wearing the socks
she had made him a few months earlier. She beamed when she saw Ajahn
Brahm making use of her beautiful gift.
At another time, when Ajahn Brahm was giving a Dhamma talk at the
Dhammaloka Centre in Perth, he happened to be wearing a pair of socks
knitted for him by a member of the audience. As he was speaking, Ajahn
Brahm spotted her. Wanting to show his appreciation for the gift, he
discreetly pulled back his robe and stuck out his foot just enough for her
to see that he was wearing her socks. In a hushed but excited voice, she
exclaimed to her friend, “Look, he’s wearing my socks!”
KARUNA-V I RUS 25
Indeed, it is possible to show gratitude in so many different ways. Often
people bring special food to the monastery specifically for Ajahn Brahm.
Typically he will wait until the donor is looking and then take an extra-large
helping, perhaps even sniffing the food and making a facial expression of
appreciation. Invariably the donors will smile when they see Ajahn Brahm’s
enthusiasm for their gift.
In the smallest of ways, Ajahn Brahm demonstrates that anyone can

show generosity of spirit at any time and in any place. Even just reminding
someone else of their own kindness creates a lot of joy in the world.
Ghost Business
W hen Ajahn Brahm was still a young monk in Thailand, he enjoyed a

period of what is known in Thai as tudong, a lifestyle of wandering on foot
in search of places conducive for meditation. Tudong is often undertaken
by forest monks to challenge and test themselves after an initial period of
training in a monastery.
As he was criss-crossing the country, Ajahn Brahm would often ask the
locals for suitable places to stay. An abbot at a monastery where he
had been staying recommended a special cave as his next meditation
stop. There was only one problem. According to the locals, the cave was
haunted by a malevolent ghost, and as a result no monks wanted to stay
there. For Ajahn Brahm, however, this was a bonus, because it meant he
would have the cave all to himself. Moreover, the prospect of meeting a
ghost excited him. Whilst he was still a student at Cambridge University,
he had been on a number of ghost-hunting expeditions with the Society
for Psychical Research, but he had never yet had a proper encounter. Now
he saw another opportunity!
The villagers in the area were at first reluctant to show Ajahn Brahm the
cave. They were terrified of this haunted place and warned him not to
go. Apparently, a monk had died in that very cave. When Ajahn Brahm
insisted, however, the villagers finally took him there. But since the ghost
was expected to appear after dark and the sun was about to set, they all
left in a hurry, leaving Ajahn Brahm all by himself.
KARUNA-V I RUS 27
The cave was beautiful. It was secluded and peaceful, the perfect place
for meditation. Ajahn Brahm went about halfway in, prepared his seat and
started meditating, whilst waiting for nightfall and the arrival of the ghost.
He waited and waited, but nothing happened. Perhaps this “ghost” had
been a mere figment of the locals’ imagination. Eventually, he decided
there was little point waiting any longer, so he lay down to get some sleep.
As soon as Ajahn Brahm reclined, something started to happen. He heard

the sound of running, which grew louder and louder. Whatever it was, it
was coming towards him. Just as it was about to reach him, it came to a
screeching halt. But the ghost had missed its chance. If you want to haunt
someone, you have to know your victim and pick the right time. By now
Ajahn Brahm was tired and fed up with waiting for the ghost. So he said to
his visitor, “You’re too late. I’m tired. Just go away.” The ghost disappeared
and Ajahn Brahm fell into a deep sleep.
Later, Ajahn Brahm discovered that deeper inside that cave lay the
skeleton of a monk. Perhaps that monk had not been as keen on meeting
ghosts as Ajahn Brahm had; perhaps he was literally scared to death!
As for Ajahn Brahm, it was just another experience. He knew that one need
not be afraid of ghosts because they normally have neither the wish nor
the power to harm you.
The Nibbana Box
W hat is Nibbana? The most profound truths of life can be hard to

understand intellectually. It is often better to approach them through the
use of similes and metaphors.
It was Ajahn Brahm’s birthday. Usually this is a big occasion at Bodhinyana

Monastery, and this day was no exception. People brought all sorts of
delicious food to offer, as well as the odd gift.
Now, Ajahn Brahm is not particularly interested in gifts. He is a simple

monk who prefers a simple life. Unless he really needs something, which is
rare, he considers possessions as clutter that is best avoided. Meditation
succeeds when you let go, not when you accumulate.
Yet on this occasion Ajahn Brahm was given that rare gift that he actually
really valued. When he unwrapped the gift, he found a perfect cube-
shaped box with a single switch on the side. He put the box down and
flicked the switch to the “on” position. The top of the box opened up. Out
emerged a mechanical hand, which then bent around the side of the box,
flicked the switch into the “off” position, and then retreated back into
the box, after which the box closed up. That was it! The box only had one
purpose, to turn itself off.
That is Nibbana. You discover that “switch” and turn your(non)self off.
Things come to an end. What a brilliant metaphor for the Buddhist
spiritual path!
KARUNA-V I RUS 29
Enchanted Chanting
A nyone who has seen Ajahn Brahm in action at a Dhamma talk,

Buddhist ceremony, or indeed any mundane situation, has likely been
treated to a quick-witted riposte, funny anecdote or amusing prank. It is
fair to say Ajahn Brahm does not take life too seriously.
He has woven much of this good cheer into the life of Bodhinyana
Monastery. One such example is the way the monks sometimes chant the
anumodanā, the blessing given in appreciation of any offering of food. It is
probably unlike anything you have heard before. The chant rises in volume
and pitch, reaching a crescendo at the very end. It is hard not to laugh at
the silliness of it all.
Ajahn Brahm first picked up this unique way of chanting early on in

his life as a monk, when, during his tudong years in the early 1980s, he
encountered an exceptional monk named Ajahn Singtong, the abbot of a
monastery in the Northeast of Thailand. Ajahn Brahm found he had much
in common with Ajahn Singtong. They shared a sense of humour and
approached life with a lively sense of fun. Ajahn Brahm admired the way
Ajahn Singtong interacted with people, and how effortlessly he made them
laugh. He seemed to enjoy whatever he was doing, whilst bringing about a
sense of ease in the people around him.
Ajahn Singtong’s humour made him extremely popular with the local
villagers. One of his trademarks was his outlandish way of chanting the
anumodanā. As Ajahn Brahm witnessed first-hand, the chanting grew
progressively louder and louder, rounding off with a big roar at the end. It
was both hilarious and daring at the same time, going, as it did, against the
culturally accepted norms. At a deep level the villagers probably realised
that the best sort of humour is not merely funny, but subversive.
A few months after Ajahn Brahm met him, Ajahn Singtong’s life was
cut tragically short in a plane crash. He was one of three highly-revered
monks who were killed in the accident. It was another reminder of the
impermanence of life and how quickly anything can change. One of the
brightest lights of Thai Buddhism had been extinguished.
To this day, however, Ajahn Brahm likes to tell the story of how Ajahn
Singtong had once even played a prank on Ajahn Maha Boowa, who during
his heyday was widely considered one of Thailand’s fiercest and most
austere forest monks. For most people, he was not a monk to be messed
with. But not so for Ajahn Singtong. One morning, when Ajahn Singtong
was staying at Ajahn Maha Boowa’s monastery, he overslept. Now, there
was a monastery rule that if you did not make it for the early morning
group meditation, you could not go on almsround, and hence you could
not eat that day. But, thought the cheeky Ajahn Singtong, maybe there
was a way around this.
He walked off into the forest, got hold of a wild chicken – in itself no mean
feat – tied a string around its neck and dragged it back to the monastery.
As they arrived, the chicken was crowing at full volume for the whole
monastery to hear. Ajahn Singtong then released the chicken, entered the
hall and told the gathering that he had come before the chicken. Everyone
burst out laughing. In the Thai idiom, to “come before the chicken” means
you have arrived early in the morning. Ajahn Maha Boowa threw his hands
up and told him he had earned his right to eat.
At Bodhinyana Monastery today, there is a picture of a grinning Ajahn

Singtong on the wall of the dining hall. It reminds everyone of the many
qualities of a special monk. And of how, in life and in Dhamma practice, it is
better not to be too serious: just relax and enjoy the journey.
KARUNA-V I RUS 31
Holy Shit
A jahn brahm has that rare and elusive combination of intellectual

capacity and down-to-earth practical sense. When he puts the two
together, he sometimes comes up with ingenious contrivances using very
simple means.
Wat Pa Nanachat, the International Forest Monastery in the Northeast

of Thailand, was established by Ajahn Chah in early 1975. Ajahn Brahm
was part of a pioneering group of Western monks who moved to the new
monastery. In those early days, life there was simple, without access to
even the most basic of modern amenities such as electricity. If the monks
wanted to boil water, for instance, they had to gather wood and light a fire.
Even just making a hot drink was a time-consuming and arduous process.
When considering this inconvenient state of affairs, it occurred to Ajahn
Brahm that there was an alternative source of energy close at hand:
methane emitted from human waste.
The monastery toilet was already connected to a large concrete cylinder

that received the waste product. Ajahn Brahm decided to put together a
system whereby the emitted methane would be collected and used for
boiling water. He rolled a sheet of tin into a cylinder that fitted snuggly into
the septic container. He then fitted an airtight lid onto the tin cylinder and
drilled a small hole, to which he connected a rubber hose with a valve. The
other end of the rubber hose went straight to the kitchen, where it was
connected to a home-made gas burner. After collecting methane for 24
hours, you could turn the little valve, light the gas burner, and voila – you
had enough energy to boil a full kettle of water!
This improvised contraption was much appreciated by the monks. After
the long almsround in the early morning, when they had not eaten for
twenty-four hours, they could now all have a hot drink before the meal. It
may not seem like much, but given the austerity of their lifestyle, it was
tantamount to luxury.
After a couple of years of operation, the human waste was no longer

adequate. The monks now needed to collect manure for the device to
produce enough methane. This proved to be too much work, so they
abandoned the project.
But while it lasted, the clever device gave much joy to the whole
community. If you have a special ability or knowledge in a particular field,
the best way to use it is to provide a service to others.
KARUNA-V I RUS 33
Thinking for Yourself
A jahn brahm has never shied away from doing things differently. In
fact, he has earned a reputation for fearless independence. For him, being
subject to criticism is no reason to shrink from doing what you believe is
morally right.
Indeed, the Buddha was himself a revolutionary. He challenged the

religious practices and dogmas of his time to discover the truth that he
later proclaimed to the world. His unique insight into the nature of the
mind would not have been possible had he not dared to reject ideas
current at the time.
Many great monks and nuns have taken a similarly independent-minded

approach, challenging often ossified institutions to establish a new and
vibrant direction for an ancient teaching by getting as close as possible to
its authentic roots. Obvious examples from Thailand include the founder
of the modern Thai Forest Tradition, Ajahn Mun, and Ajahn Brahm’s own
teacher, Ajahn Chah. What such venerated monastics have in common
is their concern for preserving and passing on the true Dhamma, not the
superficial features of Buddhist culture. If the mainstream tradition has it
wrong, going against core elements of what the Buddha taught, they have
the courage to go against the establishment and the generally accepted
norms. As a result, they are often regarded as rebels, sometimes even as
outcasts. Frequently, their contribution to Buddhism is fully appreciated
only later in life, and sometimes only after their death.
Ajahn Brahm relates how Ajahn Chah emphasized to his disciples the
importance of thinking for themselves. He used the simile of a mother crab
that limped because she had a bad leg. As a result of simply mimicking
their mother, all her baby crabs limped too, even though their legs were
perfectly fine. Applying this simile to the issue of authentic Buddhist
teachings versus tradition, if we blindly follow the way things have been
done by past generations of monastics, we might end up “limping” through
our monastic lives, potentially doing harm to Buddhism in the process.
The most obvious example of Ajahn Brahm’s independent mindset was

his decision in 2009 to help ordain bhikkhunīs. Less known, but perhaps
equally significant, was his willingness to break with precedent and teach
the practice of deep meditation, samādhi. Although he had recognised the
importance of these profound states of mind, there had been a persistent
bias against teaching them in many meditation circles. There were only a
few independent teachers who bucked the prevailing trend. In the Western
World, one of the most prominent of these was the bhikkhunī Ayya Khemā.
When Ayya Khemā happened to visit Bodhinyana Monastery in 1992, she

was invited to give a talk to the monks, and to Ajahn Brahm’s delight she
talked about the jhānas, the special states of deep samādhi described
in the Suttas. It was an eye-opener for Ajahn Brahm. He realised he did
not need to limit himself to the cultural norm. From then on he started
teaching about this neglected but crucial aspect of Buddhist practice,
sometimes at great personal cost.
Ajahn Brahm encourages the same attitude of independence in his

disciples. At Bodhinyana Monastery it is perfectly acceptable to disagree
with the teacher. And you are never punished or given a cold shoulder for
such dissent. If a decision to be made concerns the whole community, it
will usually go to a vote, in which case everyone, Ajahn Brahm included, is
obliged to abide by the outcome. But perhaps most significant of all, Ajahn
Brahm always tells his students that, in the final analysis, they should take
the Buddha as their teacher.
Going along with accumulated historical precedents without any critical

evaluation leads to stagnation and even decline. Independent thinking and
questioning allows for the continuous renewal that is necessary to keep
any tradition, including Buddhism, alive and relevant.
KARUNA-V I RUS 35
Against the Grain
A jahn brahm has always been rebellious. Whether it was his long hair
as a teenager, his giving up of alcohol as a student, or his embrace of
Buddhism at the tender age of sixteen, he has never been satisfied with
mainstream thinking and received wisdom. This sense of non-conformism
is evident throughout his spiritual journey as a monk.
On one occasion, as a young monk at Wat Pa Nanachat, he had been

invited by the abbot to give the evening Dhamma talk. The monks, as
well as all the laypeople, had arrived at the main hall and taken their
seats. Ajahn Brahm then rose from his seat, bowed down to the abbot,
and ascended the high Dhamma seat. He then closed his eyes to focus
his mind, as is customary before giving a talk. Except this time, he
never opened his eyes. He just sat there quietly with closed eyes for a
full hour! That was his “talk.” Uh-oh. The abbot was not impressed. This
was not what a junior monk was supposed to do when asked to give
a talk. But from Ajahn Brahm’s perspective, he was offering a lesson
in understanding expectation. It was not the lack of a talk that was a
problem, but the expectation of one. So much suffering in life comes from
having expectations.
Ajahn Brahm liked to challenge convention also in his personal practice,

such as by meditating in charnel grounds where corpses are taken to be
burned in the open air. For the average Thai, this is almost unthinkable.
In Thai culture, charnel grounds are closely associated with ghosts.
Moreover, as most Thais are brought up on a steady diet of ghost stories,
many are terrified at the prospect of encountering one. It takes a brave
Thai monk to meditate overnight in a charnel ground, and only the boldest
of forest monks would do it. When Ajahn Brahm said he was going, some
of the monks tried to dissuade him, saying, “Don’t go. Stay with us. You’ll
be safe here.” But to no avail.
For a Westerner, Ajahn Brahm thought, charnel grounds are not scary. So
he found a suitable place, set up his little platform and started to meditate,
waiting for the dark to arrive. But to his consternation, as the light faded,
his imagination started to play tricks on him.
In tropical forests, there is a constant backdrop of noise. At night, when the

sense of hearing gets more acute, these noises seem to intensify. And so,
as Ajahn Brahm was sitting there, he started to hear sounds. It must be a
small animal moving through the forest, he thought. As the light faded, the
sound grew louder, coming closer and closer. Perhaps it was not a small
animal, after all. Perhaps it was a cat or a dog. By the time it was pitch
black, the sound was extremely loud and very close by. Oh no, it must be a
tiger! He finally opened his eyes. The “tiger” turned out to be a tiny mouse
sitting next to him on the platform.
Maybe charnel grounds are scary for Westerners after all. But the real
lesson was that sometimes you need to go against the stream to make
progress on the path. In this case, Ajahn Brahm made an important
discovery about the power of the imagination. Through one’s own
fabrications, things often appear far worse than they really are.
As with most things in life, there is a right and a wrong way to be rebellious.
Used wisely, it opens up new avenues for learning. To achieve uncommon
wisdom, by definition, you need to go against the grain.
KARUNA-V I RUS 37
Batty About Caves
S ince the time of the Buddha, Buddhist monastics have been drawn
to caves. The Suttas mention caves among the standard places for
monastics to seek seclusion, even citing a few caves by name, such as the
Pippali Cave outside Rājagaha, used by one of the Buddha’s most famous
disciples, Venerable Mahākassapa. In the centuries after the Buddha’s
lifetime, the Sangha built vast complexes of caves at the now famous sites
of Ajanta and Ellora, a few hundred kilometres to the northeast of present-
day Mumbai. Caves have continued to be sought out by forest monastics
up to the present day. Many of the most well-known Thai forest monks,
including Ajahn Mun and Ajahn Chah, spent periods of time in caves
during their formative years.
Caves are great places to meditate. Not only do they provide protection
from the weather, but they are usually quiet and dark, with a pleasant and
stable temperature. A good cave is a spartan one, ideally containing no
more than a basic platform for sitting and lying down on. Life in such caves
is simple, almost perfectly suited to meditation. For anyone seeking to
deepen their practice, caves tend to provide the optimal environment.
It is no surprise, then, that Ajahn Brahm too likes caves. Indeed, some of
his fondest memories from Thailand are of the times he stayed in these
natural cathedrals to meditation. Unlike brick-and-mortar cathedrals,
however, caves are inhabited by all sorts of animals, including, quite often,
whole colonies of bats. Sharing a cave with bats is no problem provided
you are able to tolerate the smell of bat faeces. But Ajahn Brahm did one
better: he not only tolerated it, he developed a veritable love of bat poo.
He associated its smell – or should we say, aroma – with the profound
happiness and peace of meditation. To Ajahn Brahm, bat poo is a most
delightful substance.
Many years later, after he had moved to Perth, two of his monks built a
cave for him at Bodhinyana Monastery to try to simulate the conditions
that had facilitated his deep meditation experiences in Thailand. After two
years of hard work, they presented Ajahn Brahm with a cave built to virtual
perfection. There was only one thing missing: bat poo. They thought at
length of how they might import it into Australia, even considering the
option of smuggling it in to circumvent the strict Australian biosecurity
laws. After being momentarily tempted by the prospect of solitary
confinement in prison, they came to their senses. Hard as it was to accept,
Ajahn Brahm would have to live without bat poo. The cave was eventually
decorated with a black-and-white toy bat and, as a homage to Ajahn
Brahm’s penchant for puns, a cricket bat!
With or without bat poo, Ajahn Brahm loves his cave. All he does there is
meditate and rest. If there is a holy place at Bodhinyana Monastery, this is it.
KARUNA-V I RUS 39
Inspired Dreaming
A jahn brahm’s monkhood is built on strong faith and inspiration,

rooted in his deep respect for the Buddha. He takes the Suttas and the
Vinaya – the word of the Buddha – as his guides for how to live the monastic
life. And he has great veneration for those who practise the Buddha’s
path with integrity and, to all appearances, achieve profound results.
Such masters of meditation demonstrate their deep understanding of the
Dhamma through their exceptional kindness, peaceful presence and wise
counsel.
If one’s faith is genuine, it will manifest as inspiration and joy. This can arise
at almost any time – surprisingly, perhaps, even during sleep.
On one occasion, Ajahn Brahm dreamt that his teacher, Ajahn Chah, was
giving him an inspiring Dhamma talk. At that point in time, Ajahn Chah
was, in actuality, severely ill back in Thailand, and had not given a Dhamma
talk for several years. Ajahn Brahm was overawed at meeting his teacher
again after many years apart and receiving the gift of the Dhamma. Yet
he also realised that he was dreaming and made a determination to recall
Ajahn Chah’s powerful message after waking up. Because of the delight
of meeting his teacher and the joy of hearing the Dhamma, he woke up
almost instantly. Straightaway his mind was clear, bright and joyful, but he
could not for his life remember the contents of the talk! He reflected how
strange it was that one could be so inspired, yet only have a vague idea of
what caused it.
On another occasion, Ajahn Brahm dreamt about Ajahn Tate, another great
amongst the famous meditation masters from the Northeast of Thailand.
In the dream, as he was bowing down to Ajahn Tate, he was overcome by
a feeling of sheer bliss. The bliss was so strong that he literally burst out of
the dream into the waking world. He sat up, his mind luminous and radiant.
Effortlessly, he was drawn into a state of deep meditation.
Inspiration and bliss are often closer than you think. And when inspiration
is strong, samādhi is never far away.
KARUNA-V I RUS 41
Giving, Always Giving
F or Ajahn Brahm, kindness is at the core of the spiritual life. Kindness

and generosity are threads that run through his entire monastic life,
stretching back all the way to his earliest days as a monk.
Ajahn Brahm actively seeks out opportunities to be kind, often in small

and unusual ways. As a young monk at Wat Pa Nanachat, one day he
promised one of his fellow monks to bring him a mug of tea before the
early morning meditation meeting the next day. Since the meeting started
at 3.30 a.m., he needed to get up at 2.30 to boil the water and prepare the
tea. In a simple monastery like Wat Pa Nanachat, these tasks were quite
involved, including the making of an actual fire. No wonder his fellow monk
was surprised when Ajahn Brahm actually showed up at his kuṭi at 3.00
a.m., tea in hand. He had been sceptical about Ajahn Brahm making it, but
Ajahn Brahm always did his best to keep his promises. He felt such little
gestures of goodwill were good ways of showing care and compassion to
his fellow monks.
Ajahn Brahm has continued in the same manner throughout his monastic
life. Even as the abbot and by far the most senior monk of Bodhinyana
Monastery, he still treats everyone with kindness and respect, regardless
of their age or seniority. From holding the door for a junior monk to helping
unload a car full of food donations, he is always on the lookout for ways
to help out and participate in community life. He never sets himself above
or apart from anyone else. Rather, he understands that harmony and a
well-functioning community come from everyone working together with
kindness and care for each other.
Of course, his kindness also extends beyond the doors of his monastery,
to the Buddhist lay community and indeed to anyone who crosses his
path. On one occasion when he was visiting Christmas Island, he was
approached by a couple who were extremely worried about their gravely
ill baby. Ajahn Brahm gave them his old robe, saying, “Take this robe
and put it around the baby. It will improve its chances of pulling through
the illness.” Many Buddhists will consider such a cloth to have special
healing properties because of its long association with a highly esteemed
monastic. The couple were immensely grateful. They did as told, and the
baby recovered.
On another occasion, Ajahn Brahm gave special attention to a disciple

in Hong Kong whose father was seriously ill with scleroderma, an
autoimmune rheumatic disease. In spite of his hectic schedule, Ajahn
Brahm took the time to visit the man and give him a blessing. Later, as
he was leaving for the airport, he pulled out one of the very few personal
possessions he had with him, a woolly beanie, and asked his attendant to
pass it on to the daughter of the sick man, saying, “Take this beanie and
give it to his daughter. Tell her to put it on her father so he can feel the
warmth and compassion of a good monk. That will support him through
this difficult time.”
His disciple did just that, and her father wore the beanie both at home and
in hospital. And although he died a few months later, the family remained
forever grateful to Ajahn Brahm for this act of kindness. The beanie even
went with the man into his grave so as to allow Ajahn Brahm’s care to
comfort him even beyond this life.
Giving, caring and being compassionate are fundamental to the spiritual

life. Spiritual maturity can be gauged by how deeply these qualities are
embedded in one’s psyche.
KARUNA-V I RUS 43
How to Run a Monastery
M any people enter monastic life because of a love of meditation. They

seek the solitude and support that monastic life provides for meditators.
It is quite paradoxical, then, that the same people, Ajahn Brahm included,
often end up running monasteries and being in charge of communities. So
how do these natural hermits run a monastery?
Ajahn Brahm applies principles of leadership that he picked up from his

teachers in Thailand, especially Ajahn Chah. Some of these ideas are
quite different from what most people are used to in general society. For
instance, Ajahn Chah was sometimes criticised for being inconsistent
in his teaching style, at times saying one thing on one day and the exact
opposite the next. He explained his approach in this way: if a person is
veering too far to the left then you need to push them to the right, whereas
if they are veering too far to the right then you need to push them to the
left. In other words, what is right at any particular time depends entirely on
the circumstances. Being inconsistent is not necessarily wrong.
Another lesson for Ajahn Brahm was seeing the importance of knowing
how to let go. He tells the story of what happened at Ajahn Chah’s funeral.
Ajahn Liem, the new abbot of Wat Pa Pong, had constructed the stupa
within which Ajahn Chah’s body was to be cremated. The body was
contained in an iron casket, which was placed inside the stupa, whereupon
the fire was lit. Unfortunately, the engineering details were not up to
scratch. As the flames grew out of control, it looked as if the whole stupa
might burn down. Ajahn Liem took one look at it, then calmly went back to
his kuṭi to have a rest. He had done his duty in building the stupa to the best
of his ability. He could leave this unforeseen problem for someone else to
solve. What may seem irresponsible to an ordinary person is probably just
a selfless act of letting go to someone with a higher level of wisdom.
Ajahn Brahm took these lessons to heart and added a few ideas of his
own. From this emerged his own unique management style. On a typical
day at Bodhinyana Monastery, he might walk around inspecting what
the various monks are doing during the work period. He might see one
monk sweeping, another chopping wood, and a third preparing for the
installation of a funeral plaque. In each case, he would probably crack
a joke before saying, “Very good, carry on.” One of the hallmarks of his
leadership style is gentle encouragement without fault-finding.
Ajahn Brahm encourages everyone at the monastery to take responsibility

for themselves. He recognises that true spiritual progress comes when you
are self-motived, not when you are pushed from the outside to do the right
thing. For this reason, there are no group meditation meetings at Bodhinyana
Monastery. In fact, the interaction between the monks is kept to a minimum,
in line with Ajahn Brahm’s idea that a good monastery is not just a spiritual
community, but a community of hermits. The monks are, therefore, allowed
ample time for personal meditation retreats. Based on the general guidance
given by Ajahn Brahm, it is for everyone to decide for themselves what they
need to do to make the best possible use of their time.
When it comes to deciding who should be allowed to ordain, Ajahn Brahm

always prefers to give everyone a chance. He has learnt from experience
that it is very hard to predict who will make a good monk. It is better to
have someone ordain and then disrobe than not to give the opportunity to
a person who might turn out to be an exemplary monastic. And if someone
turns out to be difficult to live with, it becomes a learning experience for
everyone to develop patience, kindness and compassion.
Indeed, Ajahn Brahm prefers to motivate rather than to criticise, to

inspire rather than to control. He trusts his disciples to do the right thing.
More often than not, the trust pays off with the monks mostly living the
monastic life to a high standard. Ajahn Brahm’s management style is really
just an extension of the principles he uses in his meditation practice: be
kind, make peace and let go. And if you uphold such high principles, there
is no need to worry about being inconsistent!
KARUNA-V I RUS 45
Wise Compassion
A jahn brahm is altruistic by nature. He loves teaching the Dhamma

and helping people. But he also knows that sometimes people are beyond
help. Understanding when you can help and when you cannot help is an
important aspect of wise compassion.
A few years ago, a young couple came to Bodhinyana Monastery to seek

Ajahn Brahm’s advice. They were about to get married, but wanted to
sort out a few potential problems beforehand. They asked him about
anger management, and Ajahn Brahm obliged with a long, meaningful
and deeply moving response. He then carried on in the same vein about
general relationship issues. By the end of the talk, both visitors were
moved to tears by Ajahn Brahm’s care and compassion. They had been
ready to hear the Dhamma.
As the couple was leaving, Ajahn Brahm saw a man just behind them
pacing restlessly up and down. He said, “If you wish to speak with me,
now is a good time.” The man came up and asked for a blessing for good
fortune and material wealth. Ajahn Brahm gave him a short blessing. The
man then left straightaway.
Once he was gone, Ajahn Brahm turned to his attendant monk and said,
“He would not be able to see a real treasure.” Ajahn Brahm had realised
that for a man like this, who was looking only for good luck and riches, you
can only do so much. This was a good example of someone who was not
reachable, at least for the time being.
On another occasion, Ajahn Brahm had to deal with a visiting monk
who had broken some of the most fundamental of the monastic rules.
Ajahn Brahm did not berate him for his transgressions. The monk, who
was already distraught and crying, did not need someone to make him
feel worse; he needed understanding and care. Ajahn Brahm not only
sympathised with him, but tried to find a way out that might save his
monastic life. He left almost no stone unturned in his search for a solution
to this monk’s difficult predicament. Yet, sometimes, it is just too hard.
Despite Ajahn Brahm’s best efforts, the monk ended up disrobing. Wise
compassion is knowing that even if you do your best to help, you may not
achieve the ideal outcome.
Nonetheless, this incident exemplifies his approach to issues of Vinaya,

the rules of the monastic life laid down by the Buddha. These are always
to be applied with the underlying principle of compassion. One should not
jump to conclusions and presume guilt too quickly. Instead, one should try
to find reasons why the person may not be guilty after all. When one takes
all extenuating circumstances into account, one often finds that the issue
is less serious than it may have appeared at first sight.
Compassion is also at the forefront of Bodhinyana Monastery’s set of

“house rules,” which lay out the behaviour and etiquette expected of the
monks. Ajahn Brahm made sure to make the very first rule “Be kind at
all times and non-judgmental. Focus on your own practice of these rules,
not the practice of other people.” This makes it absolutely clear that the
purpose of these rules is to guide new monks and to make the monastery
run smoothly, not to provide grounds for fault-finding. When people make
mistakes, we should either just let it be or approach them to talk about it
with compassion and understanding.
We are all fallible and easily led astray by our weaknesses and old habits.
It is when we are given compassion and understanding that we have the
best possible basis for abandoning our unskilful tendencies and moving
on to new heights of spiritual development.
KARUNA-V I RUS 47
Club Med
A jahn brahm is renowned for his love of meditation, with lifetime

membership in what he jokingly calls “Club Med.” In 2002, he undertook a
six-month solitary retreat in strict silence. Apart from occasionally reading
Suttas from The Middle-Length Discourses of the Buddha, all he did during
this period was to meditate. When he emerged after half a year, he gave
one of his most memorable talks, entitled “Six months of bliss.”
Ajahn Brahm’s started meditating as a layperson, but his practice truly

flourished after he was ordained as a monk. During his early years as a
monk, whilst he was wandering on tudong in Thailand, he visited some
of the most famous Thai meditation masters. One late afternoon, he
arrived at a certain monastery, exhausted from hours of travel. Almost as
soon as he had arrived, he was told that all the monks, visitors included,
were required to join a three-hour meditation session. Instinctively,
Ajahn Brahm baulked at the notion, for up to this point it had been his
experience that meditation, especially for long hours, is very hard when
the body is exhausted. But then a bit of wisdom kicked in. He realised
that complaining was only going to make matters worse. So instead, he
embraced the task at hand. He redirected his mind to access the mental
energy beyond the physical body. He ended up having a wonderful three
hours of meditation. When the bell rang slightly early, he was disappointed
that he had been cheated of the full three hours.
On another occasion, a monk sitting next to Ajahn Brahm at a meditation
retreat noticed several mosquitos swirling around him. They seemed to
be endlessly revolving, as if they could not quite decide what to do. Now,
mosquitos are typically attracted to the carbon dioxide emissions of
humans. In deep meditation, however, breathing, and therefore carbon
dioxide emissions, is greatly reduced, even entirely eliminated. This must
have been the reason why the mosquitos were so confused around Ajahn
Brahm. There was perhaps a residue of carbon dioxide, but it was so little
that they could not decide whether he was a tree, a rock or a sentient being!
On yet another occasion, Ajahn Brahm was at Wat Pa Nanachat on the

uposatha, the Buddhist observance day of the full or new moon. A large
number of monks and laypeople had taken their seats in the hall for the all-
night meditation session. As the hours passed and people got tired, they
started leaving the hall, until eventually there were only two people left:
Ajahn Brahm and an old Thai lady. She was an old-school rural woman,
who had grown up with sitting on the floor. There was almost no limit to
how long she could sit cross-legged, even on the bare concrete. From time
to time, she glanced up at Ajahn Brahm, observing how he was sitting
perfectly still. There was literally no movement, not even any discernible
breath. After seeing no change for several hours, she got up and went
outside. She found a monk and told him, “There is a dead monk sitting in
the hall!”
What Ajahn Brahm can do, we can all do. Ajahn Brahm’s experiences
should serve as an inspiration for all of us that powerful states of
meditation are available to anyone who practices the path fully.
KARUNA-V I RUS 49
Fun(d)raising
A part from the time spent on his own meditation practice, Ajahn
Brahm lives to spread the Dhamma, including building monasteries and
travelling to bring the teachings of the Buddha to all corners of the globe.
Everything he does is aimed at serving this higher goal.
Ajahn Brahm’s disciples have discovered that a fun and effective way of
fundraising to support these Dhamma endeavours is to auction off his
possessions. Many people consider these personal requisites as precious
or even powerful, or at the very least as personal reminders of their
teacher. Ajahn Brahm allows the auction organisers into his cave and office
to identify items that might be auctioned off. Over the years, many of his
most private and personal effects have been sold off. These include his
meditation cushion, old robes, handwritten manuscripts of his books, and
even his toilet seat. Nothing is too private, with the possible exception of
his favourite tea. In some countries, even the contents of a famous monk’s
toilet are sometimes regarded as collectors’ items by his disciples! Ajahn
Brahm’s auctions have yet to reach that stage, but it is amazing – verging
on concerning – what sometimes goes on in the Buddhist world.
From Ajahn Brahm’s point of view, auctioning off his possessions is a

wonderful way of serving the greater good of the Dhamma. To ensure
there is no conflict of interest, Ajahn Brahm makes it a policy to only
attend fundraising events for projects unrelated to his own monastery.
One of the fundamental principles of Buddhist morality is selflessness,
which includes avoiding corruption and vested interests.
In the life of a Buddhist monastic, or of any Buddhist really, the overarching

goals are to develop one’s own mind and to help others. The most meaningful
use of personal possessions is in the pursuit of these spiritual ends.
The Benefits of Being Antisocial
A t his public appearances, Ajahn Brahm normally comes across as

friendly, entertaining, and even gregarious. Deep down, however, he
actually prefers his own company. By nature, he is a lover of solitude.
Ajahn Brahm likes to spend as much time as he can in his cave or on his
walking path. He will attend to any business that requires his attention, he
may even joke around with his fellow monks to lighten up the atmosphere,
but he will never waste any time with pointless socialising. He will head
back to his cave at the earliest opportunity. On one occasion, one of
the anagarikas at the monastery was taken aback when Ajahn Brahm
actually said something to him other than a polite greeting. Apart from the
occasional scheduled meeting, this was the first time Ajahn Brahm had
spoken to him in over a year.
When he is being driven to any of his many appointments, Ajahn Brahm

prefers to sit quietly, preparing himself for his next event by accessing the
clarity of mind that comes from inner stillness. He does not like to chat,
and he prefers fellow passengers also to remain quiet. When he travels by
airplane on one of his numerous trips overseas, he always travels alone,
even though bringing along an attendant is the customary practice among
monastics. This allows him the opportunity to sit down, close his eyes
and enjoy the peace at any time without having to consider the needs of a
companion. As he likes to joke, attendants need to be attended to.
In his early days as a monk in Thailand, life was basic and simple. The
Western monks at Wat Pa Nanachat had very little interaction with the
outside world – no newspapers, magazines or radios, and few visitors
apart from the local villagers. At one point Ajahn Brahm had actually
forgotten what year it was! The monks lived in a timeless sphere of
minimum interaction with anyone, which is the ideal setting for developing
KARUNA-V I RUS 51
the mind. Counterintuitive as it may seem, the qualities of compassion
and kindness are in many respects best developed in seclusion.
Ajahn Brahm truly delights in solitude. His preference for being alone
goes hand in hand with his love of meditation. Even for an experienced
meditator like Ajahn Brahm, talking and socialising affects his meditation
practice. He is sociable when necessary only out of compassion for others
and because he desires to share the healing message of the Dhamma. In
fact, it is precisely his genuine love of solitude that enables him to impart
this message so powerfully and authentically, especially at times when
it is needed so much, either because of the COVID-19 pandemic or the
innumerable other problems that afflict humanity.
The Life of Ajahn Brahm:
An Unauthorised Hagiography5
CHILDHOOD
London, 7th August 1951: it was probably a wet and gloomy day. But then
into the gloom came a ray of light. Ajahn Brahm, then known as baby Betts
– his parents had wished for a daughter and had no name at hand for a
boy – had entered the human world.
Where did the baby come from? Later on, he would be given the name
Brahmavamso, “He of Brahma’s lineage.” Some have suggested that this
name was no coincidence. As the events of his life unfolded, it became
clear that there was something special about this child. Perhaps he really
had descended from the lofty Brahma realms; perhaps his name was a
reflection of a greater truth. But the name Brahmavamso was still far away
in the future. In the meantime the nurse at the maternity ward suggested
to the child’s parents that Peter would be a suitable name. It was thus that
Peter Betts came into our midst.
5
Revised and updated excerpt from Emptiness and Stillness: A Tribute to Venerable Ajahn Brahmavamso on the
Occasion of His 60th Birthday, pages 1 to 32. The original version was written by Ajahn Brahmali. Grateful thanks to
the Buddhist Society of Western Australia (BSWA) for permission to reprint.
KARUNA-V I RUS 53
Peter had been born into a working class family in post-war London, a time
of relative hardship for many people, including the Betts family. They lived
in a council flat, a kind of subsidised housing designated for people with
limited means. One day, whilst the family was watching TV, a gust of wind
caught a £1 note and carried it into the fireplace. His father rushed to it,
but it was too late. He only succeeded in burning his hand. Peter’s mother
wept, for even this was a financial setback for the family.
Despite the lack of material wealth, the Betts family home was a good
place for a young child to grow up. Peter’s paternal grandfather had been a
strict disciplinarian, and Peter’s father had made a firm determination that
he would be different. Peter thus grew up in a caring and loving household.
It was in this household that Peter’s father famously told the young
adolescent, “The door of my house is always open to you, no matter what
you do in life.”6
Peter was also close to his maternal grandparents. When he visited his
grandmother, she would usually make him a big portion of chips. He would
happily gobble it down. Those who know Ajahn Brahm’s taste in food will
realise that some things in saṃsāra are less impermanent than others.
So for those who think Ajahn Brahm eats too much greasy food, it was all
conditioned by his grandmother’s affection. Tout comprendre c’est tout
pardonner.7
One Christmas, Peter was given a fishing rod by his grandfather. Before the
youngster got the opportunity to make any bad kamma, his father decided
he first needed to test the rod. Testing … testing … break! The fishing rod
was no more. Grandfather was upset, and Peter was furious. Only later did
he understand his good fortune in being saved from killing animals.
From early on it was apparent that the young Peter was not quite like other
children. When his school had the occasional half-day holiday for well-
behaved children, Peter would finish his homework and then delight in
having absolutely nothing to do. These were the most memorable times
of his childhood. While most children would delight in activity, Peter would
6
This is perhaps the most widely told story by Ajahn Brahm in his talks. The full version can be found in his book
Opening the Door of Your Heart and Other Buddhist Tales of Happiness.
7
French phrase which means “to understand all is to forgive all.”
delight in doing absolutely nothing. The seeds of samādhi were clearly
there from the very beginning.
It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the adolescent Peter would resonate
with the Buddhist teachings when he first came across them at 16. He
had won an academic prize through his excellent O-level exam results,
and he used the prize money to buy Christmas Humphreys’ pioneering
book on Buddhism. He quickly recognised that, in fact, he was already a
Buddhist. But not being content with partial research, he decided to study
other religions as well. Only when he felt satisfied that he understood the
alternatives, did he call himself a Buddhist. Thus at the age of 16 he had
made the most important choice in his life.
It was fortunate for him that he had the Buddhist teachings for support
during this period, because this was also the time when his father died.
One night Peter’s mother came into his room and said she was unable
to wake up his father. Peter went into his parents’ bedroom, shook his
father, and realised straight away that he was dead. Most people would get
upset by such a discovery, but Peter instead remembered the Buddhist
Teachings: the difference between grief and non-grief is in how you
perceive the situation. If you focus on the loss, you grieve. If instead you
focus on how the departed person has enriched your life, you feel a sense
of gratitude.
AT CA M B R I D G E U N I V E RS I T Y
In October 1969, Peter entered Emmanuel College at Cambridge

University with a scholarship to study theoretical physics. There, he joined
the Buddhist Society, whose president, Bernard Carr, became a lifelong
friend. Bernard would later become a student and colleague of the world
renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking. Both Peter and Bernard were
members of the Society for Psychical Research, where they conducted
all manner of unorthodox research, including genuine ghost-hunting
expeditions.
Peter’s first teacher at the Society was the abbot of the recently
established Thai temple in London, Wat Buddhapadipa. He proved to be
KARUNA-V I RUS 55
adept at explaining Buddhism and Buddhist meditation, and Peter was
inspired. After Peter had attended his talks two or three times, the monk
stopped coming. He had disrobed, and was going to get married to an
English girl. Peter was shocked. It dawned on him that being an articulate
and inspiring teacher is quite different from having a deep appreciation of
the teachings.
His next teacher was Nai Boonman, a Thai lay Buddhist who had been one
of the founders of the Samatha Society, perhaps the most successful of
all British meditation societies. Peter soon became a serious practitioner
of samatha meditation, a type of meditation for which Ajahn Brahm would
later become well-known. Peter also took up other aspects of Buddhist
practice. After an alcohol-fuelled party where he had too much to drink,
he decided to give up alcohol. He never looked back. He also became a
vegetarian at this time, a practice that ironically he had to give up when
he became a monk, since there was no such thing as vegetarian food in
the Northeast of Thailand in the mid-1970s. But sometimes his idealism
went too far: when his girlfriend prepared a delicious non-vegetarian meal
for him, he refused to eat it. He later realised that sometimes kindness
and compassion for your fellows is more important than strict adherence
to principles.
He also cultivated generosity. He volunteered at a home for people with

intellectual disabilities. He gave £10 to a Tibetan orphanage, even though
this meant he had to go without food. When one of his Christian friends
decided to fast, not to be outdone, he too went on a fast. Every day he
would cycle past the fish and chips shop to test his resolve! Anyone who
knows Ajahn Brahm well knows that he has an iron will, although it is rarely
on display. And of course, he easily outlasted his Christian mate.
It was at Cambridge that he discovered that intelligence and wisdom are

very different things. He looked carefully at the Cambridge faculty, which
included a significant number of Nobel laureates, and he realised that
even the brightest of people could have miserable private lives. Some had
domestic problems, some were painfully socially inept, and others just
plain unhappy. Intelligence may make you academically successful, but
not necessarily successful in life. Peter had understood that real “success”
was not of the academic variety.
He would spend the summer holidays working and travelling the world.
He went to such places as North Africa and Central America, and in 1973
to India on his first Buddhist pilgrimage. It was during his time in Central
America, whilst visiting one of the Mayan pyramids on the Yucatan
peninsula, that he had one of his insights about the nature of samādhi.
He realised that the experience of deep samādhi is similar to climbing
one of those ancient pyramids: just as when climbing a pyramid you get
out of the jungle and get a proper perspective on the landscape below, so
too, with the experience of samādhi, you emerge from the “jungle” of the
sensual world and for the first time understand it properly.
But as always Peter was at his happiest when he had absolutely nothing
to do. One of his most memorable moments at Cambridge was sitting in
the back of a punt that someone else was rowing. Once again, there was
nothing to do in the whole world – the bliss of complete contentment.
It was also at Cambridge that Peter attended his first meditation retreat,
and it was at this retreat that he experienced deep meditation for the first
time. His mind was so peaceful that when he went out into the gardens
he would sit for hours just staring at a clump of bamboo. He had never
realised that bamboo could be so beautiful.
It was the power of his meditation that helped Peter achieve academic
distinction. At Cambridge, exams were done during a single week, with
one exam in the morning and another in the afternoon. Most students
would go for lunch between the morning and afternoon exams, but Peter
would instead meditate. When he again met his fellow students just before
the afternoon exam, he was so bright and cheery that his friends were
wondering what sort of drug he was on. With the help of meditation he
achieved the highest academic distinction – first class honours.
WO R K I N G AS A T E AC H E R
Whilst at Cambridge, Peter decided to become a teacher. To qualify, he

spent one year at Durham University near Newcastle. He then got a job at
a secondary school in Devon, teaching maths and science.
Always questioning the way things appear to be, he set out to improve
KARUNA-V I RUS 57
the results of the students who were performing the worst. He reasoned
that, if instead of neglecting the poor performers – which seems to be a
common problem in education – he gave them extra attention, he might
be able to prove that “dummies” aren’t necessarily stupid. Of course, he
was right. The extra attention did prove that a poor academic record is
not always due to lack of ability. But Peter’s proudest achievement as a
teacher was teaching meditation to 650 students at the school assembly.
If a single student had started to giggle, it could have been a complete
flop. But to his astonishment all the children followed his instructions and
became dead quiet. After 5 minutes of meditation, he got a spontaneous
ovation. Many years later he accidentally met one of his former students
who told him that that short session of meditation had changed his life.
For those who think that Ajahn Brahm was born a saint, it may come as
a surprise to learn that he also indulged in worldly pursuits. He had loved
music from an early age, anything from rock and roll to classical. One of
his favourites was the American guitarist Jimi Hendrix, and as a teenager
he would compete in the volume stakes with his father who was playing
Frank Sinatra. Later on he would frequent the London music scene, which
in those days was the avant-garde of rock and roll. He sported a beard, long
hair and green velvet trousers. He played the guitar and had a girlfriend. It
is good to know that no one – not even the Buddha before his awakening –
starts out as a perfect saint. It gives hope to all the rest of us.
TA K I N G O R D I N AT I O N AS A B H I K K H U
It was while he was working as teacher that Peter decided to try out
monastic life. After completing a year of teaching in Devon, he returned to
London and was told by the monks at Wat Buddhapadipa to go to Thailand
for ordination. Whilst he was waiting for the right time to leave, every
day he would rise early and ride his motorbike to Wat Buddhapadipa to
attend the morning chanting and meditation. He was so keen, and would
sometimes arrive so early, that he had to wake up the resident monks
before the chanting could begin.
When Peter arrived in Bangkok, his taxi driver refused to believe that a
foreigner wanted to go to a temple and kept insisting on taking him to a
hotel instead. The taxi driver was at his wit’s end when Peter told him he
wanted to become a monk. In those days in Thailand, the West was looked
upon as “the land of plenty,” and surely no Westerner in his right mind
would seek ordination as a Buddhist monk in Thailand! Despite his taxi
driver’s insistence, Peter eventually made it to Wat Saket, one of the most
famous temples in Bangkok.
Wat Saket is generally regarded as the head monastery of the entire Maha
Nikaya order, the branch of the Thai Sangha which has by far the largest
number of monks. Ajahn Brahm’s ordination preceptor was none other
than the monk who was later to become the acting head of the entire Thai
Sangha, Somdet Phra Buddhajahn. Such a close connection to a high-
ranking Sangha member in Thailand can be very useful, particularly when
one needs support in difficult circumstances. During the brouhaha after
the Perth bhikkhunī ordination, Ajahn Brahm got private and personal
support from the very top of the Thai Sangha.8
In December 1974 Peter made the transition to Venerable Brahmavamso,

and later, Ajahn Brahm. Once he had been ordained, he knew he would
never again be a lay Buddhist. His worst nightmare in those early months
was dreaming that he was no longer a monk. He would wake up in a sweat
and breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the brown robes next to him.
Although Wat Saket was a city temple, Ajahn Brahm diligently continued
his meditation practice. As a young monk with few responsibilities, his
meditation continued to improve. But city life is never ideal for a meditation
monk. After three months at Wat Saket, he met Ajahn Sumedho who was in
Bangkok to extend his Thai visa. Ajahn Sumedho told him about Ajahn Chah
and Wat Pa Pong, and Ajahn Brahm knew that this was his future as a monk.
AT WAT PA P O N G
Wat Pa Pong was an ascetic meditation monastery. The food was simple,
often just glutinous rice and insects, and sometimes perhaps half a boiled
frog. The climate was hot and humid, particularly for Westerners used to
8
A detailed account of what had happened from Ajahn Brahm’s perspective can be found in the chapter titled “Moving
Toward Life – No Matter How Difficult” in his book Falling is Flying: The Dharma of Facing Adversity.
KARUNA-V I RUS 59
colder climes. The monastery routine was usually gruelling, with chanting
and group meditation beginning at 3.30 a.m. But Wat Pa Pong had one
thing that set it apart from other monasteries: Ajahn Chah.
Soon after he arrived at Wat Pa Pong in January 1975, Ajahn Brahm

overheard a conversation between Ajahn Chah and one of the Western
monks. As the conversation progressed, Ajahn Brahm would mentally
formulate his own question. To his astonishment, what Ajahn Chah
said next seemed to be tailored to his query. Ajahn Brahm would then
formulate another question in his mind, and the same thing happened
again … and again … and again. After the interview was over, the Western
monk who had been asking the questions told Ajahn Brahm that he could
not make any sense of Ajahn Chah’s answers. It was this experience that
cemented Ajahn Brahm’s decision to become an Ajahn Chah disciple.
One of Ajahn Chah’s famous teaching methods was the use of ascetic
practices, toraman, the purpose of which were to teach the monks that
desire is the cause of suffering. Not long after Ajahn Brahm’s arrival, but
before he was allowed to take part in the monastic meetings, he witnessed
how Ajahn Chah gave an all-night talk to the Sangha, speaking for perhaps
6 or 7 hours. One of the monks was particularly displeased, telling the new
arrival that, “Ajahn Chah is just crazy!”
Another of Ajahn Chah’s toraman techniques was getting the monks to

sit meditation in an old tin shed in the middle of the day when the heat
was at its most oppressive. Participation was compulsory but, as Ajahn
Brahm now jokes, wearing blankets was voluntary. For most monks such
tough practices were plainly a matter of endurance. But for Ajahn Brahm
it was the right opportunity for learning how to let go of the body. In those
situations, you either suffer terribly or you enter the world of the mind.
Sometimes Ajahn Chah would send his monks to a branch monastery

almost without notice. On one occasion Ajahn Brahm didn’t even
have time to collect his toothbrush before he was sent off to a remote
hermitage on the border with Laos. He learned to improvise. He found new
ways of cleaning his teeth. From Ajahn Chah’s point of view such exercises
were simply lessons in impermanence.
Supplies of anything were very limited. Sometimes the monks had to
walk barefoot because there were no sandals. When Ajahn Brahm went to
see Ajahn Chah to ask for new batteries for his torch – and this was after
squeezing out virtually every single electron from his existing batteries –
he was told there weren’t any. When walking at night in snake-infested Wat
Pa Pong, there was only one possibility: develop your mindfulness to the
maximum. And sure enough, Ajahn Brahm proved to himself that even in
the dark of night in the snake-ridden jungles of Thailand it was possible to
walk barefoot and still not be bitten.
AT WAT PA N A N AC H AT
After Ajahn Brahm had stayed at Wat Pa Pong for about two months, the
Western monks were invited to start a separate monastery near Bung
Wai village, the monastery which is now known as Wat Pa Nanachat, the
International Forest Monastery. It was a rough group of monks that set out
from Wat Pa Pong, many of them American veterans from the Vietnam
War. And apart from their experiences at Wat Pa Pong, their understanding
of Buddhist monasticism was still very limited.
Ajahn Brahm realised the importance of improving the Western Sangha’s

appreciation of Buddhist monasticism. He set out to study the monastic
Vinaya with his considerable analytical powers. Although the resources at
Wat Nanachat were very limited, he was soon recognised as the in-house
Vinaya master. He continued his studies of the Vinaya for the next 15 years,
and by the early 1990s, he was generally regarded as the foremost Vinaya
expert in the international Ajahn Chah Sangha, and even beyond.
Apart from studies, Ajahn Brahm took an interest in the practical side of
running the monastery. In 1978, when he became the second monk at Wat
Nanachat, he took on the job of building supervisor. Although he had no
experience with building work, he was energetic and always willing to help
out. The local villagers would do most of the manual labour, and Ajahn
Brahm would ensure that the quality of their work was up to scratch; after
all, they were rice farmers, not builders.
He was also a good friend to his monastic companions. On one occasion
KARUNA-V I RUS 61
one of his fellow monks told him how he would love a cup of tea in the
morning before the meditation at 3.30 a.m. Ajahn Brahm thought he would
surprise the monk, and the next morning he brought him a cup of tea at 3.00
a.m. It was an attitude that had a powerful effect on his meditation.
More significantly, he would spend much time teaching the anagarikas

to sew robes. One evening when the ordainees were exhausted after
spending long hours preparing to dye their new robes, Ajahn Brahm told
them that he would look after the robes and that they could all take a rest.
Ajahn Brahm didn’t sleep at all that night, yet the following morning his
meditation was particularly blissful. On the morning alms round through
Bung Wai village he asked Ajahn Sumedho how this was possible. Ajahn
Sumedho told him that it was the fruit of his sitting up all night to help
others. Perhaps more than any other event in his life, this showed Ajahn
Brahm the importance of service and generosity, not just for lay Buddhists
but for monastics.
Despite his efforts at being a good community member, for Ajahn Brahm
meditation has always been the core aspect of monastic life. Although
he had been a gifted meditator since he started practicing, he did have
problems with dullness and drowsiness in those early days at Wat
Nanachat. Initially he tried to fight the tiredness, but over the years he
gradually learned that fighting just makes matters worse and that the
proper response is to allow the tiredness to be. The idea of letting things
be, rather than exerting will-power, has in later years become an important
aspect of Ajahn Brahm’s meditation teachings.
Of course, at times Ajahn Brahm’s meditation would be very powerful.

Whilst doing walking meditation on the concrete floor in the hall at Wat
Nanachat, he became so peaceful that his perception of the concrete
would undergo mind-boggling transformations. What used to be a dull,
grey surface became an explosion of colour, in the most beautiful of
shapes. Ever since those experiences Ajahn Brahm has had a veritable
love affair with concrete, wanting concrete here and there and everywhere,
sometimes driving his fellow monks to the edge of despair.
On one occasion when Ajahn Brahm’s meditation was particularly deep,

his body became so still for such a long time that the monk sitting next
to him quite literally thought he had died. At another time he had an
unbearably painful toothache. He didn’t know what to do with himself –
he could neither sit still nor focus on anything – when he realised that
craving was the problem. The realisation brought about a full embracing of
the painful feeling. The result was complete contentment and the painful
feeling just vanished. It was an almost unreal reminder of the power of
insight. On yet another occasion Ajahn Brahm was hospitalised with
typhus fever. He was so ill that he was unable to walk without supporting
himself. When Ajahn Chah visited him in hospital and saw his condition, he
famously said, “You’ll either get better or you’ll die.” Yet in spite of his dire
condition, Ajahn Brahm was able to let go of the body and enter samādhi.
One of Ajahn Brahm’s most important personal experiences occurred one

evening when Ajahn Chah was visiting Wat Nanachat for his weekly sauna.
Since there was an abundance of monks looking after the ageing Master,
Ajahn Brahm decided to do some meditation instead. After his meditation,
he walked in the direction of the sauna to see if he could assist Ajahn Chah
in any way. Ajahn Chah had already finished and was walking in Ajahn
Brahm’s direction. Straight away he could see that Ajahn Brahm was very
peaceful and so he decided to give him a teaching. He asked, “Why?” – “I
don’t know.” – “I’ll tell you why. There is nothing. Do you understand?” –
“Yes.” – “No, you don’t!” And he walked away. Only later did Ajahn Brahm
understand that he had been given a profound teaching on anattā, nonself.
At Wat Pa Pong and its branch monasteries it has generally been the
custom for monks to go wandering – tudong – after their fifth rains
retreat, and so it was for Ajahn Brahm. When he first suggested to Ajahn
Chah that he might go on tudong, Ajahn Chah told him to just walk round
and round the perimeter of the monastery. This wasn’t exactly what he
had had in mind, but soon afterwards he got his chance to wander around
the Northeast of Thailand.
During his tudong months he visited many of the most famous meditation
masters, including Ajahn Tate and Ajahn Maha Boowa. Ajahn Brahm had
a special affinity for Ajahn Tate and he found him to be one of the most
selfless (in the higher sense of the world) and peaceful of all the monks he
had ever met. Meeting someone truly special can be enough to inspire you
for a lifetime.
KARUNA-V I RUS 63
At one point, whilst walking between villages, he became particularly
thirsty but there was nothing suitable to drink. He then thought to
himself, “I’m a good monk. If there are any devas out there, can you please
ensure I get a Pepsi in the next village?” Ajahn Brahm soon entered the
next village and walked past the village store. Then, just as he was about
to give up hope, a lady came running out of the store and said, “Venerable,
may I offer you a Pepsi?” Then another person came, then another, then
another … until he had nine bottles of Pepsi. That’s right, nine bottles of
Pepsi, and nothing else.
During his tudong months Ajahn Brahm spent a lot of time by himself
on remote mountains and in isolated forests, just practicing meditation.
This time his greatest hindrance was not dullness and drowsiness but too
much sensual thinking. He tried to use force to silence the thoughts, but
to his dismay the thinking got worse. He then realised that the use of force
makes the mind rebel, and thus it is counterproductive. So he decided to
set aside a full hour every day just for thinking. His mind went dead quiet!
Once again he had seen that force and control are not the path to success
in meditation.
During this period he discovered a small area of pristine jungle, with

beautiful clear ponds, enormous trees, and wildlife in abundance. He
realised what the Northeast of Thailand once must have looked like.
However, even whilst Ajahn Brahm was staying in that forest, the villagers
decided to burn it down and convert it to farmland. Ajahn Brahm was
upset, since he knew this was probably the last piece of real jungle in the
entire Northeast. He then caught himself and realised the foolishness
of getting angry: this was just the course of nature, and there was truly
nothing he could do to prevent it.
G O I N G TO P E RT H
When he had been in Thailand for seven years, Ajahn Brahm decided it
was time to visit his family. Arriving in England was a real culture shock,
but he usually found the right answers to any difficult situations. As he
walked past a group of menacing teenagers, he jokingly did a few kungfu
moves. The kids ran a mile; they must have thought he was a real Shaolin
kungfu master. Whilst he was staying at his mother’s flat, a gypsy woman
came to beg for money. She said she would curse Ajahn Brahm’s mother if
she didn’t give anything. Then Ajahn Brahm came to the door and told the
gypsy woman that Buddhist curses were much stronger than hers. The
gypsy woman fled on the spot. While visiting Stoke-on-Trent he couldn’t
figure out why people kept pointing at him and laughing, until he realised
there was a circus in town. Apparently people had thought he was a clown!
Not long after he returned to Wat Nanachat, Ajahn Sumedho asked Ajahn
Brahm to go to Perth. Ajahn Jagaro, an Australian monk who had also
trained at Wat Nanachat, had already been in Perth for about four months,
but his second monk Ajahn Puriso was returning to Thailand. Ajahn Brahm
was going to be Ajahn Jagaro’s new lieutenant.
Ajahn Brahm used his impending transfer as a spur in his practice. Instead
of the usual rest after the meal in the hottest part of the day, he decided
to put forth extra effort in meditation for the benefit of the people he was
going to serve in Australia.
In April 1983 Ajahn Brahm flew from Thailand and moved into the small
vihāra in Magnolia Street owned by the Buddhist Society of Western
Australia (BSWA). The two resident monks closely followed the way of
running a monastery they had learned in Thailand. This meant that Ajahn
Jagaro did the teaching and the counselling of the lay Buddhists, whilst
Ajahn Brahm fulfilled the more anonymous role of second monk. Indeed,
Ajahn Brahm was so good at staying in the background that when he had
to speak because Ajahn Jagaro was away, someone exclaimed, “You can
speak! I had thought you were demented or something.”
Because Ajahn Brahm had few teaching duties, he used his spare time to
further his study of the Vinaya. As part of this effort, he taught himself Pali,
the ancient Indian language of the Buddhist scriptures, since a thorough
understanding of the Vinaya requires a good knowledge of Pali. And once
you know Pali, you also have direct access to the Buddhist Suttas. Thus
Ajahn Brahm gained an access to the Buddha’s teachings shared by few
other Western monks trained in Thailand.
KARUNA-V I RUS 65
ESTA B L I S H I N G B O D H I N YA N A M O N AST E RY
The Magnolia Street vihāra was never intended as a permanent monastic

residence, and the Buddhist Society had long wished to establish a
proper forest monastery. After the rains retreat of 1983, the two monks
set out in earnest to find a suitable property. They considered several
options, and Ajahn Brahm pushed for the property that would stretch
the Buddhist Society’s finances the most. He maintained that instead of
settling for a smaller property with limited prospects, the Buddhist Society
should envisage where one day they hoped to be. Since they agreed that
they hoped for a large and thriving Sangha, they would require a large
and secluded property. It was thus that Bodhinyana Monastery was
established on 97 acres of bushland on Kingsbury Drive in Serpentine,
about an hour’s drive south of Perth.
Despite the lack of facilities, the two monks moved to Serpentine straight
away in November 1983. An old sheep shearer’s shed became the dining
hall. Ajahn Brahm’s first kuṭi was an old door with bricks for legs. One
evening he wasn’t able to find his door and had to curl up under a tree for
the night. As the monastery gradually developed, Ajahn Brahm moved into
a tent and then half a water tank. The water tank was fitted with walls, a
window and a door. Luxury! Unfortunately it was located in a gully where
a small stream would run in winter. His mattress was soaking wet. If he
moved too abruptly on the mattress, water would literally flow out of it. This
is how Ajahn Brahm spent his first rains retreat at Bodhinyana. The shell
of that half water tank kuṭi is still in the monastery, and it helps remind the
rest of the Sangha of the high standard of their present dwellings.
During the early years at Serpentine, support from Thailand was essential
for the development of the monastery. Not only did the bulk of financial
support come from Thailand, but senior Thai monks such as the late Luang
Por Paññānanda played a critical role in generating support, consecrating
the Main Hall, and acting as preceptor at ordination ceremonies. It was the
new monastery’s close association with Ajahn Chah and Wat Pa Pong that
ensured such generous support from Thailand.
Nevertheless, in the earliest period the monastery’s financial situation was

very tight. Having spent all – and more – of the Buddhist Society’s money
on the land, there was nothing left for buildings. They could barely afford
building materials, and for the most part had to do completely without
hired manpower. Since Ajahn Brahm had been in charge of building at Wat
Nanachat, he naturally became the builder of Bodhinyana Monastery. He
learned how to lay concrete and bricks, how to erect roofs and fit ceilings,
how to do carpentry work and lay pipes. The workmanship was invariably
of a very high standard, the sort of standard that is achievable only with a
very focused mind.
But even a master builder makes mistakes. In one of the first buildings
he built, Ajahn Brahm discovered to his horror that two of the bricks had
not been laid to perfection. Thus his well-known story of the two bad
bricks was born.9 Many years later people began asking to see the by
now famous two bad bricks. But Ajahn Brahm could no longer remember
where they were. He was simply practicing what he was preaching: he had
completely let go of those bricks.
On a potentially fateful day he decided he was going to lay the bricks

for the gable of the Main Hall, the highest point of any building in the
monastery. He had no scaffolding and no ropes, and the recently built
brick wall was entirely unsupported. All Ajahn Brahm had was an eight-
metre long ladder, which he extended to the max. He then took a few
bricks in one hand and a bucket with mortar in the other, and proceeded
up the ladder. When he reached the top, he laid the bricks and then came
down for more. By all appearances he was putting his life on the line to get
the Monastery Hall completed.
A more indirect danger of being the builder is that you tend to focus
on faults. What needs to be repaired? How can the buildings be made
safe from bushfires? What are the further needs of the monastery? To
counter this fault-finding tendency, Ajahn Brahm began walking round the
monastery deliberately just focusing on what had already been achieved.
By rejoicing in what he had already done, he further developed the
contentment that is so important for success in meditation.
9
“Two bad bricks” is the first story in Ajahn Brahm’s book Opening the Door of Your Heart and Other Buddhist Tales of
Happiness.
KARUNA-V I RUS 67
Ajahn Brahm has continued doing building work all along. As his 69th
birthday is approaching, he is still involved, often walking round our
building sites, helping out with the manual work and checking that
everything is OK. He is not beyond getting dirty for the sake of the
monastery. Despite the fame and the accolades, he is a humble monk, and
he understands the power of service.
Apart from the building work, which in the 1980s and early 90s would
take up about 8 hours on a normal day, Ajahn Brahm continued his efforts
in meditation. Although he sometimes felt there was too much work, he
made a determination not to complain until he had properly utilised every
single minute of his free time. So he never complained.
He became adept at using all his hard work to boost his meditation, thus using
the method the Buddha called cāgānussati.10 Such recollection generates joy,
which in turn quickly takes the mind to samādhi. This is another technique
that has been a hallmark of Ajahn Brahm’s meditation methodology.
He also started practicing samādhi more systematically, in accordance

with the instructions found in the Suttas (see, for example, AN 9.35).11 His
samādhi became more stable and then developed further, and along with
the samādhi came profound insights. “For one who has samādhi, knowing
and seeing things according to reality is not to be done through an act
of will. It is natural that one who has samādhi knows and sees things
according to reality” (AN 10.2).
When the mind has been properly prepared by samādhi, insight can
happen in seemingly unlikely situations. One day after giving a Dhamma
talk, he decided to listen to one of his own talks from a few years before.
To his astonishment, the two talks were almost verbatim the same. Ajahn
Brahm had thought that the previous evening’s talk was the result of his
freely choosing what to talk about. He had had a clear sense that his will
was entirely free. But when he then listened to the older talk, he was forced
to conclude the exact opposite: his will was entirely conditioned. It is the
sort of insight that leads to the ending of saṃsāra.
10
Literally, “recollection of (one’s) generosity.”
11
“AN” is the abbreviation of Aṅguttara Nikāya, “The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha.” Free online access to this
can be found at https://suttacentral.net.
In 2002 Ajahn Brahm entered a 6-month meditation retreat. He didn’t
speak to a single person for six months; he even picked up his food from a
box. All he did was meditate and read the occasional sutta in the Majjhima
Nikāya.12 Most people would go nuts. After the six months Ajahn Brahm was
beaming. His mind had been so peaceful for so long that for the first few
days after the retreat he was virtually unable to speak. After he regained his
powers of speech, he gave a talk to the Sangha called “Six months of bliss.”
Not everything Ajahn Brahm did was successful. His early talks at the
Buddhist Society were considered by many as hopeless. Some said he had
the style of a schoolteacher lecturing his audience, others that his jokes
were lame and badly delivered. One man, after attending a retreat with
Ajahn Brahm, swore that he would never again go to any of his talks. A lady
said the talks were poor, but she would “front up” anyway just to show her
support for the Buddhist cause.
But being persistent and irrepressible by nature, Ajahn Brahm gradually

learned the ropes of public speaking. By the mid-1990s, he was beginning
to show the qualities that would make him one of the most popular
speakers on Buddhism in large parts of the Buddhist world. He became
more compassionate in his style and learned how to connect better with
his audience. His comic timing improved to virtual perfection, although
his jokes were occasionally still a bit weak. And importantly, he started to
tackle difficult but contemporary issues – euthanasia, abortion, human
rights – and was thus able to make Buddhism much more relevant for his
audience. In language and content he was relating directly to the audience,
but his inspiration and clarity came from a deep understanding of the
Buddhist Suttas and his own profound meditation.
B EC O M I N G T H E A B B OT O F B O D H I N YA N A M O N AST E RY
In late 1993, Ajahn Jagaro went on sabbatical leave to get away from his
usual duties and increase his efforts in meditation. At around the same
time, Ajahn Brahm’s reputation as a meditation master was gradually
“The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha” which is abbreviated as “MN.” Free online access to this can be found
12
at https://suttacentral.net.
KARUNA-V I RUS 69
taking hold. Monks and laypeople who wanted Ajahn Brahm as their
teacher started to arrive at Bodhinyana Monastery.
Ajahn Jagaro eventually returned to Bodhinyana in March 1995. By that

time he had concluded that Ajahn Brahm was better qualified to be the
abbot, and the two of them agreed that Ajahn Brahm would now take
over. Ajahn Jagaro stayed on for about a month before he headed for
Melbourne. Then came the sad news for the Buddhist Society: he was
going to disrobe. Ajahn Brahm immediately flew to Melbourne to dissuade
him, as did Ajahn Sumedho, but to no avail.
As abbot Ajahn Brahm was quite different from Ajahn Jagaro. Where Ajahn
Jagaro had been committed to the Thai way of doing things, Ajahn Brahm
had a more independent streak. He had already argued that some of the
practices pursued at Wat Pa Pong were not suitable at Bodhinyana. At
one point he lost all his energy, apparently due to lack of nutrition. Since
the physical work at Bodhinyana was particularly arduous, Ajahn Brahm
argued that a strict one meal a day practice was inappropriate and that a
small breakfast would be helpful. Ajahn Jagaro eventually agreed.
In the area of community life, too, Ajahn Brahm had a different outlook
from most of the other senior monks affiliated with Wat Pa Pong. Most Wat
Pa Pong monasteries had compulsory all-night group meditation on the
uposatha days twice a month. In Ajahn Brahm’s estimation such practices
tended to lead to dullness and drowsiness. Another Wat Pa Pong custom
was group chanting and meditation in the early morning and evening.
Ajahn Brahm argued that deep meditation is much easier to access in
solitude, and he used the Suttas to support his argument. Gradually
Ajahn Brahm was able to convince the resident Sangha, and Bodhinyana
Monastery became more closely aligned with the ideals of the Suttas and
less so with the practices current at Wat Pa Pong.
ESTA B L I S H I N G D H A M M ASA RA N U N S ’ M O N AST E RY
The Buddhist Society had been established to cater for both monks and
nuns. When the Serpentine property was purchased, the idea had been to
divide the land into a monks’ section and a nuns’ section. After the basic
infrastructure was in place, a nun’s kuṭi was built on the far side of the
monastery creek.
However, by the early 1990s it had become clear that men and women
living together in the same monastery was far from ideal. Long-term
female guests would occasionally fall in love with Ajahn Jagaro. This is
not exactly helpful for celibacy. Indeed, after he disrobed Ajahn Jagaro
went on to live with one of the most persistent of his female admirers,
and her advances had clearly been a factor (among many) in his decision
to disrobe. In 1997, a couple of years after Ajahn Brahm had become the
new abbot, the Buddhist Society decided to look for another property to
establish an independent and separate nuns’ monastery.
The Buddhist Society had been looking at several properties when a

large block of almost 600 acres came onto the market in the locality of
Gidgegannup to the east of Perth, over one hour’s drive from Bodhinyana.
Many thought it would be too large and too expensive, but not Ajahn
Brahm. Ajahn Brahm argued that the property would give a nuns’
monastery a high degree of independence, since it was so large that
regardless of what happened on the adjacent land it would have minimal
impact on monastery residents. The Buddhist Society committee agreed
to bid a maximum of AU$600,000 at the upcoming auction, and the
Buddhist Society treasurer, together with Ajahn Brahm, was dispatched
to do the bidding. The Buddhist Society held the bid at AU$600,000
when someone else bid AU$625,000. Was the limit given by the Buddhist
Society absolutely binding, or was it more of a guideline? Ajahn Brahm
thought it was the latter, and the Buddhist Society treasurer promptly bid
AU$650,000. The deal was done. The mood at the Buddhist Society was
jubilant, and Ajahn Brahm and the treasurer were the heroes of the day.
From the beginning Ajahn Brahm’s policy was to avoid interfering with the
running of Dhammasara. He reckoned that a strong and sustainable nuns’
community comes from independence and a sense of being in charge of
one’s own affairs. There was no need for any “patriarchal” oversight. At the
same time Ajahn Brahm would make himself available if the nuns needed
advice or guidance: after all, he was very experienced in building and
running monasteries. In this way Dhammasara gradually developed under
the pioneering leadership and capable hands of the abbot, Ajahn Vāyāmā.
KARUNA-V I RUS 71
B H I K K H U N Ī O R D I N AT I O N
Possibly the most momentous event in the history of the Buddhist

Society, the full consequences of which will take a long time to become
fully apparent, was the decision by the four Dhammasara nuns to take
the full bhikkhunī ordination in October 2009. The event was later listed
by an American Buddhist pundit as the third most significant event in
the entire Buddhist world in 2009. The groundwork had been laid by
Buddhist scholars, including Ajahn Brahm, who had successfully argued
that bhikkhunī ordination was fully possible within the constraints of the
monastic Vinaya. Once this hurdle had been cleared, there were no serious
barriers left to the full ordination of women. The Buddhist lay community
in Perth was keen on the idea, the nuns at Dhammasara were slowly
forming the opinion that this was the future of Buddhist monasticism for
women, and the monks at Bodhinyana were supportive. The ordination
was a fait accompli. Though it was a potentially controversial decision,
the subsequent feedback from around the world has mostly been very
positive.
Almost a decade after the pioneering bhikkhunī ordination, its positive

consequences continued to be felt. In June 2019, Ajahn Brahm was
appointed a Member of the Order of Australia, an honour bestowed by Queen
Elizabeth, “for significant service to Buddhism, and to gender equality.”
BU I L D I N G T H E R E T R E AT C E N T R E
In 2001 the Buddhist Society acquired a property diagonally across

Kingsbury Drive from Bodhinyana Monastery. Not long after the purchase,
money was donated with the express purpose of building a dedicated
retreat kuṭi. The Sangha decided that a kuṭi with all facilities, enabling
long-term and independent retreats, would be built on the new land. The
kuṭi was built and has since housed a number of monastics, both male and
female, both locally resident and visiting.
Around 2003 Ajahn Brahm first suggested that the new property would
be suitable for a retreat centre. The Buddhist Society had been renting
premises for its retreats for a couple of decades and a dedicated Buddhist
retreat centre was considered by many as highly desirable. The new
property was seen as an ideal location for many reasons: it was secluded
and quiet, with beautiful natural bushlands; it was close to Bodhinyana
Monastery, which would allow Ajahn Brahm to teach retreatants while
simultaneously keeping an eye on the monastery; and the Buddhist
Society did not need to look for another piece of land. Ajahn Brahm’s very
first estimate for the building cost was AU$1 million. Among irrepressible
optimists, Ajahn Brahm is the supreme leader!
Gradually the plans became more concrete and the cost estimates
started to rise. After Ajahn Brahm had made the first rough sketch of the
required buildings, he acknowledged that AU$2 million was closer to the
mark. A pamphlet with a computerised drawing of the envisaged centre
was produced to help people get some idea of what they were donating
towards. By this stage the cost estimate was AU$3 million. An architect
was hired, detailed drawings produced, and a professional cost estimator
hired. Cost: about AU$6.5 million. Ajahn Brahm would have none of it, but
conceded that the final bill would probably amount to AU$5 million. To
make a long story short, the final cost was in excess of AU$5 million. But
if the discount received from the builder is included, the figure is closer to
AU$7 million. Of course, if it hadn’t been for Ajahn Brahm’s optimism, the
Buddhist Society might never have had a retreat centre.
What really made the retreat centre possible was Ajahn Brahm’s large
support base in a number of countries. When the news of the project
gradually spread, donors came forward because of their confidence
in Ajahn Brahm. Large donations were received from Singapore and
Malaysia, and Thai Buddhists also made an important contribution. In
addition, significant donations were received from around the world. But
perhaps most auspicious of all – with an eye on the future of Buddhism
in Australia – was that an important part of the funding came from local
Australians, including donations from the immigrant Buddhist population
and the generous builder who, by forgoing any profit, in effect donated
almost AU$1.5 million.
When the building work started in November 2007 the naysayers were in
rapid retreat. By the end of 2008 the retreat centre was fully financed and
the building work, despite delays, was making good progress. Geoff Gallop,
KARUNA-V I RUS 73
the ex-premier of Western Australia, was asked to become the patron of
the centre. He had received advice from Ajahn Brahm a few years earlier
whilst he was going through a difficult period. He readily accepted.
The opening ceremony was held in April 2009. Geoff Gallop was present,
as were several local and state politicians. Some of the monks had been
working until the early hours of the morning to help finish the building
work. Beautiful stupas and carved lions that were gifts from Indonesia
were all in place. The ceremony itself had been thoughtfully and
professionally put together by Buddhist Society volunteers. The name of
the centre, Jhana Grove, had been suggested by one of Ajahn Brahm’s
disciples to honour his style of teaching. It was a proud moment.
As soon as the opening ceremony was over the first retreat started. There
were, of course, teething problems, but the centre has proved outstanding
for meditation retreats. Since then Jhana Grove has been the venue for a
large number of retreats. The centre is open to any Buddhist group, and
there is no fixed charge. It is thus a resource not just for the Buddhist
Society but for all Buddhists, both in Perth and elsewhere. As the BSWA
marked the centre’s ten-year anniversary in April 2019, it was running at
close to full capacity.
T I R E L ES S LY S P R E A D I N G T H E D H A M M A
Ajahn Brahm has almost unlimited energy for teaching the Dhamma. He
has a deep conviction that he has an important message to deliver, and
his audience can usually sense that they are receiving the genuine article.
Add his remarkable wit and sense of humour, and it is easy to see why he
is such a popular teacher and speaker.
One of the first countries outside of Australia where he gained great

popularity was Singapore. The Singaporeans marketed him with great
zeal: his talks were advertised in the newspapers and on posters on the
back of buses. Soon he attracted crowds in the thousands. In Malaysia
the story was similar, but because the country has a Muslim majority the
promotion was more low key. Nonetheless, as he goes from city to city on
one of his typical Dhamma tours, the crowds are always large. In Thailand,
where the language barrier is a significant obstacle, he has reached large
parts of the population principally because of the Thai translations of his
books. He has become well-known among the English speaking population
of Hong Kong, and in Indonesia his books are bestsellers, on par with
Indonesian translations of Dan Brown thrillers and the Harry Potter series.
But perhaps his greatest following is in Sri Lanka, where he speaks on
national television, gives private teachings to the President, and is greeted
on the streets by ordinary Sri Lankans as if he were a movie star.
Ajahn Brahm’s teachings have resonated not just in Asia but also in the
West. His first book, Opening the Door of Your Heart, has been translated
into 15 different European languages. His second book, Mindfulness, Bliss,
and Beyond, is often quoted in meditation circles as an authoritative guide
on meditation. He has a large following in Europe and North America.
In the end, the most important reasons for Ajahn Brahm’s success as
a teacher are simply his high energy levels and his willingness to work
inhumane hours. Typically, Ajahn Brahm will give a Friday night talk at the
Buddhist Society city centre in Nollamara. He will then speak to people
until about 10 p.m., at which point he rushes off to the airport in a car. He
then takes the overnight flight to Singapore, where he has breakfast with
a large number of disciples. He continues teaching non-stop until perhaps
11 p.m. The next morning he might be off on a 6-night Dhamma tour of
Indonesia, with a similar daily schedule, before he flies back to Perth,
arriving 3 or 4 hours before the next Friday night talk. You get the idea.
How does he do it? By being at ease and relaxed in virtually all situations,
and by enjoying what he does. And by not taking himself at all seriously.
Waiting at the airport in Kuala Lumpur for a flight back to Perth, his
disciples bought him a nice ice-cream coffee with a straw. He sucked, but
nothing came out. He tried harder, but still nothing. He then noticed that
some of his disciples were holding their mouths, trying not to giggle. He
had another look at his “straw” – it was a spoon! He had a good laugh at
himself. That’s how he does it.
KARUNA-V I RUS 75
NAMES & TERMINOLOGY
Ajahn Ajahn Mun Bhuridatta (1870-1949)

A Thai word, derived from Pali or Widely considered the founder of the
Sanskrit, meaning “teacher.” modern Thai forest tradition. Born in
Ubon Ratchathani province, he was
Ajahn Chah Subhaddo (1918-1992) very influential in Thai Buddhism, and
Ajahn Chah was one of the most famous indirectly in Buddhism around the world.
forest monks from Thailand in the Most of the highly acclaimed forest
20th century, whose renown spread monks of Thailand can trace their lineage
internationally. His main monastery, to Ajahn Mun.
Wat Pa Pong, was located in his home
province of Ubon Ratchathani in the Ajahn Singtong Dhammavaro
Northeast of Thailand. He attracted a (1924-1980)
large number of foreigners as students, A leading disciple of Ajahn Maha Boowa
including Ajahn Brahm. born in Ubon Ratchathani in Northeast
Thailand. He had a number of Western
Ajahn Jagaro (1948-) disciples, including Ayya Khemā.
An Australian senior disciple of Ajahn
Chah and the first abbot of Bodhinyana Ajahn Sumedho (1934-)
Monastery in Perth. When he disrobed Ajahn Chah’s first Western monastic
in 1995, Ajahn Brahm succeeded him as disciple, ordained in 1967. An American,
the abbot. he led the establishment of a number
of forest monasteries in the UK, before
Ajahn Liem T. hitadhammo (1941-) “retiring” to Thailand.
A senior disciple of Ajahn Chah from Sri
Saket Province in Northeast Thailand. Ajahn Tate Desaram . si (1902-1994)
When Ajahn Chah became severely ill in A disciple of Ajahn Mun born in Udon
1982, he entrusted the leadership of Wat Thani province in Northeast Thailand.
Pa Pong to him. After Ajahn Mun’s death, he was
considered the head of the Thai forest
Ajahn Maha Boowa Ñān. asampanno tradition lineage until his own death in
(1913-2011) 1994.
Among the last of the direct disciples
of Ajahn Mun, he succeeded Ajahn Tate Ajahn Vāyāmā (1952-)
as the head of the Thai forest tradition Ajahn Vāyāmā is an Australian bhikkhunī
lineage, and was one of the most who was the first abbot of Dhammasara
influential monks in modern Thailand. Nuns’ Monastery in Perth. Having been a
He was from Udon Thani Province in ten-precept nun for 24 years, she was the
Northeast Thailand. most senior of the four nuns ordained
as bhikkhunīs in Perth in 2009. She is a
disciple of Ayya Khemā.
Anagarika Dhamma
A layperson undertaking the eight The teachings of the Buddha. It is
precepts and living in a monastery, often encountered in its Sanskrit form,
normally in training to become a monk or Dharma.
a nun.
Jhāna
Anumodanā Profound states of meditation, of which
Anumodanā, “rejoicing along with,” is the the Suttas mention four. They constitute
word for the traditional blessing or short the last factor of the Noble Eightfold
talk given by a monastic in gratitude for Path.
the offering of a meal.
Kamma
Ayya Khemā (1923-1997) Action, specifically intentional action.
A pioneering German bhikkhunī who The quality of the intention determines
played a significant role in re-establishing whether an action is ethical or not.
the female Sangha in Theravada Unethical action is known as bad kamma,
Buddhism. ethical action as good kamma. Its
Sanskrit form is karma.
Bhikkhu
A fully-ordained Buddhist monk. Karun. ā
Compassion. One of the four divine
Bhikkhunī abidings.
A fully-ordained Buddhist nun.
Kut. i
Brahma A simple monastic dwelling.
A high divine being. The Brahmas exist
in planes that are the rebirth equivalent Mahākassapa
of the four jhānas or the four divine One of the direct, fully-awakened
abidings. disciples of the Buddha. He was known
for his ascetic practices.
BSWA
The Buddhist Society of Western Māra
Australia. The lay Buddhist organisation A Buddhist deity who exerts power on
connected with Bodhinyana Buddhist people to keep them bound to saṃsāra.
Monastery and Dhammasara Nuns’ More importantly, Māra refers to our own
Monastery. psychological tendency to be tempted by
the sensual world.
Deva
A divine being. Metta
Loving kindness. One of the four divine
abidings.
KARUNA-V I RUS 77
Nibbana Suttas
The final goal of the Buddhist path. It is The collection of discourses given by the
the extinguishment of craving, ill will and Buddha. The Sanskrit form is Sūtras.
delusion, and the ending of suffering. Its
Sanskrit form is Nirvana. Theravada
The branch of Buddhism practiced in
Pali South and Southeast Asia. Bodhinyana
The language of the Buddhist scriptures Monastery belongs to this branch.
of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. It is
closely related to Sanskrit. Tudong
The practice of forest monks, especially
Rājagaha in Thailand, to go wandering after
The capital of the ancient Indian kingdom completing their basic five years of
of Magadha. The Buddha spent a training as a monastic. The purpose of
significant amount of time in and around such wandering is to seek solitude for
Rajagaha. There is still a small town in the meditation and perhaps to visit famous
area called Rajgir. meditation teachers. It is a test of one’s
independence and ability to live the
Samādhi monastic life without the support of a
A profound state of meditation. Right community.
samādhi, sammā-samādhi, is the last
factor of the Noble Eightfold Path and Uposatha
equivalent to the four jhānas. The day and night of the full or the
new moon. In Buddhist countries, it is
Samatha a traditional holiday when people visit
Calm. An important aspect of Buddhist monasteries, keep the eight precepts
meditation. and meditate. The monastic Sangha
meets and recites their rules of conduct
Sam. sāra on this day.
The potentially endless round of birth
and death. Vihāra
A Buddhist monastery or monastic
Somdet Phra Buddhajahn (1928-2013) residence.
Ajahn Brahm’s ordination preceptor and
the acting head of the Thai Sangha in the Vinaya
period 2005-2013. The collection of monastic rules and
regulations.
Sangha
The Buddhist monastic community. Wat Pa Nanachat
The international monastery in Ubon
Stupa Ratchathani, Northeast Thailand,
A Buddhist dome-shaped established by Ajahn Chah in 1975 to
commemorative monument, normally provide a training monastery using
erected in memory of someone regarded English for his growing number of foreign
as awakened. disciples.
Wat Pa Pong
Ajahn Chah’s main monastery in Ubon
Ratchathani, Northeast Thailand.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
M r gerald lee, a disciple of Ajahn Brahm from Hong Kong, initially

proposed the writing of this book in celebration of Ajahn Brahm’s 69th
birthday. He then coordinated all the stages of its production, as well as
transcribing and helping with the editing of the draft manuscript. He was the
linchpin who made the whole project possible. Ajahn Brahmali, a close and
long-time monastic disciple of Ajahn Brahm, kindly suggested and provided
the content for all of the 19 stories by voice recording, in addition to editing
the entire draft manuscript. Without him, this book would never have been
possible. He is also the one who came up with the wonderful idea of inviting
both Ajahn Ganha, Abbot of Wat Pa Subthaweethammaram, and Mr Dennis
Sheppard, President of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, to each
write a foreword. They kindly did with warm affection and great admiration
for Ajahn Brahm. Venerable Munissarā of Dhammasara Nuns’ Monastery
kindly rechecked the translation of the foreword by Ajahn Ganha from Thai
into English. She also edited the entire draft manuscript with great care.
Together, she and Ajahn Brahmali worked tirelessly to compile the “Names &
Terminologies” for the readers’ ease of reference. Ms Andrea Li kindly edited
all of the transcriptions and the entire draft manuscript, whilst busy looking
after her two young children, Harry and Hannah, at home when school
was cancelled during the pandemic lockdown, before the revised versions
were returned to Ajahn Brahmali and Venerable Munissarā for further and
final editing. Ms Désirée Bucks and Mr Gary Ling at Pressroom Printer &
Designer kindly assisted in typesetting as well as designing the exterior and
the interior of this book. Ms Della Chiu kindly collected donations from and
issued official receipts to those who generously sponsored the publication
of this book; their names and those who donated in the name of their
departed loved ones can be found on the next page. Mr Sompop Kamsrikerd
kindly collected the books from the printer in Perth and delivered them
to Bodhniyana Monastery. Mr Ramon Moldez, Mr John Shannon, Ms Lay
Har Goh and Mrs Cecilia Mitra kindly contributed their expertise at various
stages of this book. Last but not least, Bodhinyana International Foundation,
a charity founded by Dr Susan Lee, kindly supported this project throughout
the entire process.
KARUNA-V I RUS 79
. dhammadānam
Sabbadānam . jināti
“The gift of the Dhamma excels all gifts.”
This First Edition

(2,000 copies in Australia and 2,000 copies in Hong Kong)
has been generously sponsored for free distribution by
the following donors:
Norbert Adrian/Lillian Wong, Doreen Chan, Phoebe Chiang,

Rachel Chu, Kay Kan/Karen Poon, Therese Khan, Ivan Lam,
LAM Lok Kei, Walter Lam, MAN Kwok Kuen, Jonathan Ng
In Loving Memory of
FONG Shook Kuen, KWOK Sau Chun, Heather Poon,
Richard Poon, Stanley Spector, YUEN Lai Chan
May the merits accrued from this Dhamma-dāna

be dedicated to the departed and loved ones.
May they be relieved from all suffering.
May they take existence in a happier and
more blissful state in their next birth.
May this merit too be a condition for their attainment of Nibbana.
Sādhu! Sādhu! Sādhu!
BOOKS BY AJAHN BRAHM
Opening the Door of Your Heart: And Other Buddhist Tales of Happiness
(Published in the U.S. under the title Who Ordered this Truckload of Dung?
Inspiring Stories for Welcoming Life’s Difficulties)
Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond: A Meditator’s Handbook
The Art of Disappearing: The Buddha’s Path to Lasting Joy
Good? Bad? Who Knows?

(Published in the U.S. under the title Don’t Worry, Be Grumpy: Inspiring
Stories for Making the Most of Each Moment)
Kindfulness
Bear Awareness: Questions and Answers on Taming Your Wild Mind
Falling is Flying: the Dharma of Facing Adversity

(Coauthored with Chan Master Guojun and edited by Kenneth Wapner)
Wisdom of Silence
The Basic Method of Meditation
The Word of the Buddha (forthcoming)
KARUNA-V I RUS 81
In early January 2020, COVID-19, a highly infectious novel
coronavirus, began to spread and has since affected millions
of lives around the globe, causing hundreds of thousands of
KARUNA-VIRUS:
deaths across all continents. As this book is being prepared, the
numbers are still rising. Ajahn Brahm, a fully-ordained Buddhist
monk for over 45 years, reminds us that “this too will pass,”
because nothing is permanent. He encourages us to consider
KARUNA VIRUS
this global pandemic not as a crisis but rather as an opportunity
to care for and serve one another, especially those in need.
Inspired by Ajahn Brahm’s timeless teachings, the aim of this

book is twofold: first, to use 19 never-before-published stories
from Ajahn Brahm’s life to bring joy and give hope to anyone
OFFERING HOPE, LOVE, AND INSPIRATION AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

19 ORIGINAL STORIES ABOUT AJAHN BRAHM,
19 ORIGINAL STORIES
whose life has been affected by COVID-19; and second, to
present it as a gift to Ajahn Brahm on his 69th birthday, on 7
August 2020.
The title of this book, Karuna-virus, resonates with the

pronunciation of “coronavirus.” In Pali, an ancient Indian ABOUT AJAHN BRAHM ,
OFFERING HOPE, LOVE ,
language possibly used by the Buddha himself, the word karun.ā
means “compassion.” It is hoped that compassion, together with
kindness and wisdom, can replace greed, anger and ignorance
AND INSPIRATION
far and wide as the world continues to grapple with this global
pandemic.
AMID THE COVID-19

Ajahn Brahm, born in London and trained as a theoretical
physicist at Cambridge, is the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery
in Serpentine, Western Australia. He is a disciple of the late
PANDEMIC
Ajahn Chah, an eminent Thai forest monk regarded by many as
a meditation master.

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In early January 2020, COVID-19, a highly infectious novel

coronavirus, began to spread and has since affected millions

Inspired by Ajahn Brahm’s timeless teachings, the aim of this

OFFERING HOPE, LOVE, AND INSPIRATION AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The title of this book, Karuna-virus, resonates with the

AMID THE COVID-19

Permission to copy, reprint and distribute this publication is hereby given

Designed by Gary Ling, Pressroom Printer & Designer Limited

Printed in Australia by Daniels Printing Craftsmen

Bodhinyana International Foundation

6 Foreword by Ajahn Ganha

A jahn brahm is a good monk. He is a monk par excellence. He is very

A jahn brahm has been a close friend since he arrived in Australia in

Ajahn Brahm arrived in Perth as a quiet, unassuming Monk and has

Ajahn Brahm is a congruent man. What he is projecting, is how he is inside.

I n early January 2020, COVID-19, a highly infectious novel coronavirus,

Inspired by Ajahn Brahm’s timeless teachings, the aim of this book is

The title of this book, Karuna-virus, resonates with the pronunciation of

In answering a question from a frontline doctor in Spain, who celebrated

Nature is so beautiful, but so destructive, too. It gives you your beautiful

In many ways, the following story seems so mundane. Yet sometimes

It is important to emphasize that, at that time, the building of Bodhinyana

But how do such profound acts of renunciation actually happen? How

As we plough through life, it is so easy to lose sight of what truly matters.

In a letter to Ajahn Brahm, he asked questions about the profound and

Going straight to the earliest records of the Buddha’s teachings takes

In one sense, it was just a letter. In another, it was so much more.

He is able to spread some of this optimism at funeral ceremonies where he

Ajahn Brahm’s unconventional approach to death is not limited to funeral

Through the course of this conversation, something extraordinary

Despite India’s rapid economic progress in recent decades, acute poverty

Now, for most people, this is an uncomfortable and unnerving situation,

The compassion shown by Ajahn Brahm went beyond empathy. He had

Kindness is the path. Kindness works. Never underestimate its power,

In his daily interactions with people, Ajahn Brahm exemplifies the

On one occasion Ajahn Brahm was visiting a long-standing disciple, an

In the smallest of ways, Ajahn Brahm demonstrates that anyone can

W hen Ajahn Brahm was still a young monk in Thailand, he enjoyed a

As soon as Ajahn Brahm reclined, something started to happen. He heard

W hat is Nibbana? The most profound truths of life can be hard to

It was Ajahn Brahm’s birthday. Usually this is a big occasion at Bodhinyana

Now, Ajahn Brahm is not particularly interested in gifts. He is a simple

A nyone who has seen Ajahn Brahm in action at a Dhamma talk,

Ajahn Brahm first picked up this unique way of chanting early on in

At Bodhinyana Monastery today, there is a picture of a grinning Ajahn

A jahn brahm has that rare and elusive combination of intellectual

Wat Pa Nanachat, the International Forest Monastery in the Northeast

The monastery toilet was already connected to a large concrete cylinder

After a couple of years of operation, the human waste was no longer

Indeed, the Buddha was himself a revolutionary. He challenged the

Many great monks and nuns have taken a similarly independent-minded

The most obvious example of Ajahn Brahm’s independent mindset was

When Ayya Khemā happened to visit Bodhinyana Monastery in 1992, she

Ajahn Brahm encourages the same attitude of independence in his

Going along with accumulated historical precedents without any critical

On one occasion, as a young monk at Wat Pa Nanachat, he had been

Ajahn Brahm liked to challenge convention also in his personal practice,

In tropical forests, there is a constant backdrop of noise. At night, when the

A jahn brahm’s monkhood is built on strong faith and inspiration,