Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?

44 Pages·2010·1.08 MB·English

by  Ajahn Brahm

Who Ordered Cover:Layout 1 12/9/10 11:51 AM Page 1
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Inspiration/EasternReligion
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“ABESTSPIRITUALBOOKOFTHEYEAR!Entertainingandspirituallyedifying.
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Theauthorhasafinesenseofhumorandthesetalesaresuretospeaktoyour rr
condition.Avolumebrimmingwithhumanityandgoodwill.” dd
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SpiritualityandHealth
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“AjahnBrahm’sworking-classhumorandcockneyturnsofphrase
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canbecharming.BetweentheclassicalBuddhiststoriesandthe
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homespunadvice,you’llgetagoodsenseofwhothisteacheris,
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andwhysomanypeoplearedrawntohearhimspeak.” ss
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ShambhalaSun
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“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.”
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PublishersWeekly
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“Thisisabookthatisdestinedtobecomedog-earedandcherishedandread DD
aloudtoone’sfriendsandfamily.Itwillfallapartfromyourattention!” uu
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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
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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
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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
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who ordered
this truckload
of dung?
INSPIRING
STORIES
FOR WELCOMING
LIFE’S
DIFFICULTIES
Ajahn Brahm
Wisdom Publications • Boston
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WisdomPublications,Inc.
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Wisdomedition©2005AjahnBrahm
ThisbookwaspublishedbyLothianBooksinAustraliaunder
thetitleOpeningtheDoortoYourHeartandOtherBuddhistTalesof
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Allrightsreserved.Nopartof thispublicationmayberepro-
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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
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Tomyteacher,AjahnChah,wholivedatpeace,
Tomyfellowmonkswhoremindmeof thebeautyof silence,
Andtomyfatherwhotaughtmekindness.
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Grantyourself amomentof peace,
andyouwillunderstand
howfoolishlyyouhavescurriedabout.
Learntobesilent,
andyouwillnoticethat
youhavetalkedtoomuch.
Bekind,
andyouwillrealizethat
your judgment of others was too severe.
—AncientChineseProverb
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