Who Ordered Cover:Layout 1 12/9/10 11:51 AM Page 1 WW Inspiration/EasternReligion hh WW hhoo OOrrddeerreedd oo “ABESTSPIRITUALBOOKOFTHEYEAR!Entertainingandspirituallyedifying. OO Theauthorhasafinesenseofhumorandthesetalesaresuretospeaktoyour rr condition.Avolumebrimmingwithhumanityandgoodwill.” dd ee SpiritualityandHealth rr ee TThhiiss TTrruucckkllooaadd dd “AjahnBrahm’sworking-classhumorandcockneyturnsofphrase TT canbecharming.BetweentheclassicalBuddhiststoriesandthe hh homespunadvice,you’llgetagoodsenseofwhothisteacheris, ii andwhysomanypeoplearedrawntohearhimspeak.” ss TT ShambhalaSun rr uu ooff DDuunngg?? “Ajahn Brahm is “Ourbrainsandbeingsarewiredtolearndeeplyandeasilyviastories,andthis cc kk the Seinfeld of Dharma.” splendidcollectionof108Buddhist-basedtalesprovesthepointwithlasting, ll —Sumi Loundon, gentle,pervasiveteachings.[…]Thisisawonderfulcollection oo aa editor of Blue Jean Buddha thatcanbeenjoyedbyabroadaudience.” dd PublishersWeekly oo ff “Thisisabookthatisdestinedtobecomedog-earedandcherishedandread DD aloudtoone’sfriendsandfamily.Itwillfallapartfromyourattention!” uu nn Mandala gg ?? INSPIRING STORIES FOR AJAHNBRAHMgrew up on the wrong side of A the tracks in London. Scholarships got him to j WELCOMING LIFE’S Cambridge University, where he earned a a h degreeintheoreticalphysics.Eventuallydisillu- n sioned with the world of academe, he went to B DIFFICULTIES the jungles of Thailand and studied under the r a highly esteemed meditation master Ajahn h m Chah. A monk for over thirty years, Ajahn Brahm is now a revered spiritual guide and abbot of one the largest Buddhist monasteries in the southern hemi- sphere. In his public speeches he regularly draws multinational audi- ences of thousands. He is also the author of Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond. Ajahn Brahm lives in Serpentine, Australia. Produced with ISBN0-86171-278-1 US$15.95 AJAHN BRAHM Environmental ISBN-13978-0-8617-1278-6 wisdom Mindfulness Wisdom Publications ¥ Boston A Note from the Publisher We hope you will enjoy this Wisdom book. For your conven- ience, this digital edition is delivered to you without “digital rights management” (DRM). This makes it easier for you to use across a variety of digital platforms, as well as preserve in your personal library for future device migration. Our nonprofit mission is to develop and deliver to you the very highest quality books on Buddhism and mindful living. We hope this book will be of benefit to you, and we sincerely appre- ciate your support of the author and Wisdom with your pur- chase. If you’d like to consider additional support of our mission, please visit our website at wisdompubs.org. Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page i More praise for Ajahn Brahm and Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? “MasterlystorytellingandDharmateaching,beautifullyandeffectively combined.Thetalesareattimeshilarious,attimespoignant;oftenboth.” —LarryRosenberg,SeniorTeacher,InsightMeditationSocietyand CambridgeInsightMeditationCenter,andauthorof BreathbyBreath “AjahnBrahmisoneteacheronecanneverbeboredlisteningto.His talksonBuddhisminMalaysiaandSingaporehavealwaysattracted recordcrowds.NewcomerstoBuddhismarealwaysfascinatedbyhow easilyheisabletoexplaindifficultconceptsinordinarylanguagethe mindcangrasp.[Hehasbecome]thegreatstoryteller....Whatwehave hereisacollectionof 108storiesandanecdotescomprisingthebest of AjahnBrahm’sinspirationaltales....Manystoriesinthis volumearetrue-to-lifetalesthathelpustodevelopadeeperunder- standingof mindfulness,compassion,andwisdom.Indeed,after readingthebook,Ibelievewewillallopenthedoorsof our heartstomoregoodness,kindness,andhappiness.” —EasternHorizon “What’sremarkableaboutthiscollectionisthatwhetherheisrelating ataleaboutpainfulemotions,difficultrelationships(includingwith ourselves),orevengoingthroughairportsecurity,hetouchesonthe universalsof humanexperiencewithwisdomandwitsothatwemay confrontourfoibleswithdisarminglygentlehumor.” —JeanSmith,authorof NOW!,andeditorof 365Zen “AjahnBrahmisahappy,wise,andinspiringman.MyMum,a devoutAnglican,saysWhoOrderedThisTruckloadof Dung? issogoodshetakesittobedwithhereachnight!” —RachelGreen,communicationspecialistand EmotionalIntelligencecoach Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page ii Praise for Ajahn Brahm’s Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond “Fromthefirstwordtothelast,Mindfulness,Bliss,andBeyondisriveting, rollicking,anduncompromisinglyreal.AjahnBrahm’svoiceisutterly fresh,compellingandcommanding.Readersseekingasureguideto‘the blissbetterthansex’willfinditinthiswonderfulbook.” —GlennWallis,translatorof TheDhammapada:VersesontheWay “AjahnBrahm’sfirstAmericanbook,WhoOrderedthisTruckloadof Dung? introducedustoaBritish-bornTheravadamonkwhoteachesbytelling entertaininglifestorieswithamoralpunchline.If thatwastheappetizer, thisisthemaincourse. Mindfulness,Bliss,andBeyonddemonstratesthat AjahnBrahmisthatraremeditatorwhohasactuallyhad—andcan describe—theprofoundmeditationexperiencesoutlinedintheearly Buddhistteachings.” —ShambhalaSun “Likeabroomthroughcobwebs,AjahnBrahmheresweepsawaythe mysteriessurroundingthe[advanced]jhana[states].Mindfulness,Bliss,and Beyondissaltedwiththeillustrative,oftenwittylifestoriesthatBrahmis wellknownfor,andheusesreadilyunderstandablelanguagetoexplain whatsometeachersshyfrom.Findingthisbookislikefindingan operator’smanualforone’spractice.Aboldbook.” —JohnRoberts,BuddhistCouncilof theNorthwest “MostBuddhistwritersarenotoftenlightheartedorzesty,butthe British-bornAjahnBrahmisadelightfulexception.[…]Heisableto writeaboutavarietyof mentalstatesandvisualizationswithprecision anddiscrimination,drawingonhisownexperience.Heisstep-by-step systematic,whichhelpsdemystifywhathappensinmeditation.Alsouse- fulisthespecificitywithwhichhedescribesthekindsof problemsmed- itatorsencounterandwhattodotoresolvethem.Meditationisdifficult toteachonthepage,butBrahm,whobeganhislifeasanacademicat Cambridge,herefulfillshiscallingasateacher.” —PublishersWeekly Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page iii who ordered this truckload of dung? INSPIRING STORIES FOR WELCOMING LIFE’S DIFFICULTIES Ajahn Brahm Wisdom Publications • Boston Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page iv WisdomPublications,Inc. 199ElmStreet SomervilleMA02144USA www.wisdompubs.org Wisdomedition©2005AjahnBrahm ThisbookwaspublishedbyLothianBooksinAustraliaunder thetitleOpeningtheDoortoYourHeartandOtherBuddhistTalesof Happiness. Allrightsreserved.Nopartof thispublicationmayberepro- duced,storedinaretrievalsystemortransmittedinanyformby anymeanswithoutthepriorpermissionofthecopyrightowner. Enquiriesshouldbemadetothepublisher. Libraryof CongressCataloging-in-PublicationData AjahnBrahm,1951– Whoorderedthistruckloadof dung?:inspiringstoriesforwelcominglife'sdifficul- ties/AjahnBrahm. p.cm. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN0-86171-278-1(pbk.) 1. Religiouslife—Buddhism.2. AjahnBrahm,1951– I.Title. BQ5405.A532005 294.3'4432—dc22 2005009869 FirstWisdomEdition ISBN0-86171-278-1 eBook ISBN978-0-86171-927-3 14 13 12 11 10 9 7 8 6 5 CoverdesignbyMaryAnnSmith. InteriordesignbyGopa&Ted2,Inc.SetinGaramondMT12/19pt. WisdomPublications’booksareprintedonacid-freepaperandmeettheguidelinesfor permanenceanddurabilitysetbytheCouncilof LibraryResources. PrintedintheUnitedStatesof America. Thisbookwasproducedwithenvironmentalmindfulness.Wehaveelectedto printthistitleon30%PCWrecycledpaper.Asaresult,wehavesavedthefol- lowingresources:24trees,7millionBTUsof energy,2,247lbs.of greenhousegases, 10,824gallonsofwater,and657lbs.ofsolidwaste.Formoreinformation,pleasevisit ourwebsite,www.wisdompubs.orgThispaperisalsoFSCcertified.Formoreinforma- tion,pleasewww.fscus.org. Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page v Tomyteacher,AjahnChah,wholivedatpeace, Tomyfellowmonkswhoremindmeof thebeautyof silence, Andtomyfatherwhotaughtmekindness. Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page vi Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page vii Grantyourself amomentof peace, andyouwillunderstand howfoolishlyyouhavescurriedabout. Learntobesilent, andyouwillnoticethat youhavetalkedtoomuch. Bekind, andyouwillrealizethat your judgment of others was too severe. —AncientChineseProverb Acquired at wisdompubs.org Truckload_interior_final:Truckload_interior 1 12/9/10 11:52 AM Page viii Acquired at wisdompubs.org