Ajahn Brahm
Ajahn Brahm (Ajahn Brahmavamso Mahathera), born Peter Betts in London in 1951, is a Theravada Buddhist monk. Ajahn Brahm grew up in London and earned a degree in Theoretical Physics from Cambridge University. Disillusioned with the world of academe, he trained as a monk in the jungles of Thailand under Ajahn Chah. A monk for over thirty years, Ajahn Brahm is a revered spiritual guide and the abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery, in Serpentine, Western Australia—one of the largest monasteries in the southern hemisphere. He is also the Spiritual Director of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia, and spiritual adviser and inspiration for Buddhist centers throughout Asia and Australia. His winning combination of wit and wisdom makes his books bestsellers in many languages, and on his teaching tours Brahm regularly draws multinational audiences of thousands.
Books, Courses & Podcasts
Don’t Worry, Be Grumpy
In Don’t Worry, Be Grumpy, popular author and monk Ajahn Brahm tells humorous and insightful stories that will make you smile and give you another perspective from which to look at life.
These 108 brief stories, with titles like “The Bad Elephant,” “Girlfriend Power,” and “The Happiness License,” offer up timeless wisdom that will speak to people from all walks of life. Drawing from his own experiences, stories shared by his students, and old chestnuts that he delivers with a fresh twist, Ajahn Brahm shows he knows his way around the humorous parable, delighting even as he surprises us with unexpected depth and inspiration.
Laugh aloud even as you look at life anew with these stories from the bestselling author of Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?
Ajahn Brahm reads a story from Don’t Worry, Be Grumpy:
Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond
Meditation: it’s not just a way to relax, or to deal with life’s problems. Done correctly, it can be a way to radically encounter bliss and to begin—and sustain—real transformation in ourselves.
In Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond, self-described meditation junkie Ajahn Brahm shares his knowledge and experience of the jhanas—a core part of the Buddha’s original meditation teaching. Never before has this material been approached in such an empowering way, by a teacher of such authority and popularity.
Full of surprises, delightfully goofy humor, and entertaining stories that inspire, instruct, and illuminate, Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond will encourage those new to meditation, and give a shot in the arm to more experienced practitioners as well.
Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung?
The 108 pieces in the international bestseller Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? offer thoughtful commentary on everything from love and commitment to fear and pain. Drawing from his own life experience, as well as traditional Buddhist folk tales, author Ajahn Brahm uses over thirty years of spiritual growth as a monk to spin delightful tales that can be enjoyed in silence or read aloud to friends and family.
Featuring titles such as “The Two-Finger Smile” and “The Worm and His Lovely Pile of Dung,” these wry and witty stories provide playful, pithy takes on the basic building blocks of everyday life. Suitable for children, adults, and anyone in between, this eloquent volume wraps insight and inspiration inside of a good old yarn.
The Art of Disappearing
Whether mere bumps in the road or genuine crises, we live in a world of unwanted events that no willpower can prevent. In The Art of Disappearing, Ajahn Brahm helps us learn to abandon the headwind of false expectations and follow instead the Buddha’s path of understanding. Releasing our attachment to past and future, to self and other, we can directly experience the natural state of serenity underlying all our thoughts and discover the bliss of the present moment. In that space, we learn what it is to disappear. Ajahn Brahm, an unparalleled guide to the bliss of meditation, makes the journey as fun as it is rewarding.
The Art of Disappearing, comprised of a series of teachings Ajahn Brahm gave to the monks of Bodhinyana Monastery, where he serves as abbot, offers a unique glimpse into the mind of one of contemporary Buddhism’s most engaging figures.
Kindfulness
When we add kindness to mindfulness we get “kindfulness.” Kindfulness is the cause of relaxation. It brings ease to the body, to the mind, and to the world. Kindfulness allows healing to happen. So don’t just be mindful, be kindful!
With his trademark knack for telling engaging stories paired with step-by-step anyone-can-do-it instructions, Brahm brings alive and makes accessible powerful tools for transformation. This slim, beautifully designed volume is a quickstart guide for living a life of joy and compassion.
Bear Awareness
“The Buddha said the cause for being a dummy in your next life is . . . not asking questions in this life.”
—AJAHN BRAHM, from his preface
In Bear Awareness English monk Ajahn Brahm answers actual questions from his meditation students—questions you may have had as well. While most mindfulness meditation teachers praise the benefits of bare awareness, he teaches bear awareness. He helps us make friends with the scary things that come up on the cushion, and he knows how to lift the mood with a well-placed stuffed teddy—or a well-timed pun.
The intimacy of the question-and-answer format provides a fresh experience of learning from a master meditator. Whether he is urging readers to fly Buddha Air (sit back and relax on your way to nirvana), giving tips for dealing with panic attacks or depression, or extolling the bliss of meditation that is better than sex, he gives us permission to enjoy our lives and our practice.
Falling is Flying
“Instead of trying to discipline your mind with ill will, fault-finding, guilt, punishment, and fear, use something far more powerful: the beautiful kindness, gentleness, and forgiveness of making peace with life.”—Ajahn Brahm
“In free fall, nothing is solid and there is nothing to hold on to. There is no way to control the experience. You have to surrender, and with that surrender comes the taste of liberation.”
—Master Guojun
Ajahn Brahm and Chan Master Guojun—one a teacher in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, the other in the Chinese Zen tradition—share personal stories and anecdotes from their own experiences of dealing with life’s pitfalls. Personal, poetic, instructive, and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is inspiring advice for people from all walks of life.