Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

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DNS
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by DNS »

No_Mind wrote: Sun Apr 01, 2018 1:27 pm Here is what he says "make your concentration strong .. make a wish .. see what happens next" (words changed to avoid google search)
That's an old parlor trick. There were some so-called psychics back in the 1970s and 1980s who used similar tactics. They informed their audiences to go to their attics and find an old watch; to hold it and "wish" for it to start working. Back then, watches were mostly mechanical so the mere picking them up made it start working again.

As long as the "wish" isn't too outrageous (like winning lottery), everyday wishes happen all the time, we just don't notice it very well. For example, a person might wish that someone praises their appearance and then they go to work and a co-worker comments on their nice shoes or suit; everyday events that one doesn't notice much, but since they wished for it they say "ah hah--the wish worked!"
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by santa100 »

No_Mind wrote:He then thought to himself: “I am a good monk. If there are any devas (divine beings) 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 giving up hope, a lady came running out of the store: “Venerable, would you like a Pepsi!” Then another person came, then another, then another … until he has nine bottles of Pepsi. That’s right: nine bottles of Pepsi, and nothing else!"
While there's nothing particularly wrong or bad with the scenario mentioned, there're always areas for improvement for after all, no matter how brilliant or knowledgeable(see this related post), he's still traveling along the Path like many of us. Instead of thinking in terms of a "Kammic transaction"(ie. I'm a good monk, could I get something I like?), a more skillful line of thought would be: "I am a good monk, if there're devas out there, can you give me the strength to continue to be a good monk even if there's NO drink being offered in the next village"? Another area for improvement is not to opt for a particular brand and taste like Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc. The line of thought should just be any drink that can rehydrate the body and keep it going.
AN 4.159 wrote: Here, sister, reflecting carefully, a bhikkhu consumes food neither for amusement nor for intoxication nor for the sake of physical beauty and attractiveness, but only for the support and maintenance of this body, for avoiding harm, and for assisting the spiritual life, considering: ‘Thus I shall terminate the old feeling and not arouse a new feeling, and I shall be healthy and blameless and dwell at ease.’
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by manas »

Firstly, what is the source for this story? How do we know this actually occurred? Even in it did, I think it just demonstrates the power of the mind, or positive thinking. Doesn't need to be anything supernatural.
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by Meezer77 »

The title of this thread almost sounds like a detective novel, "Sherlock Holmes and the case of the Silver Earing" "Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi " I'm giggling loads at your choice of words No Mind
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by No_Mind »

manas wrote: Sun Apr 01, 2018 8:54 pm Firstly, what is the source for this story? How do we know this actually occurred? Even in it did, I think it just demonstrates the power of the mind, or positive thinking. Doesn't need to be anything supernatural.
Manas, positive thinking (I think you mean Law of Attraction) is supernatural is it not.

Since it is a biography of Ajahn Brahm by BSWA (I believe released on his 60th birthday) he must have on the whole approved of the contents. I cannot believe BSWA could go ahead and publish the story of his life without his consent.

:namaste:
"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”― Albert Camus
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by No_Mind »

Meezer77 wrote: Sun Apr 01, 2018 9:28 pm The title of this thread almost sounds like a detective novel, "Sherlock Holmes and the case of the Silver Earing" "Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi " I'm giggling loads at your choice of words No Mind
I am the numero uno fan of Arthur Conan Doyle and shocked. That is name of a video game and it is defilement of sorts. Next is what .. we learn of Epictetus from cartoons?

Here is the entire Sherlock Holmes collection

https://sherlock-holm.es/

I was partly influenced by Billy Bunter books such as "Billy Bunter and the Blue Mauritius" when creating the title of this thread.

If you are born in 1977 you will probably not know of Billy Bunter stories.

:namaste:
"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”― Albert Camus
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by Crazy cloud »

You are a real "DharmaQueen" with no mind ...

Couldn't help my self ... :tongue:

Very sorry ...

If you didn't care
What happened to me
And I didn't care for you

We would zig-zag our way
Through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain

Wondering which of the
Buggers to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing
- Roger Waters
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by No_Mind »

Crazy cloud wrote: Mon Apr 02, 2018 12:04 pm You are a real "DharmaQueen" with no mind ...

Couldn't help my self ... :tongue:

Very sorry ...

Me a queen with no mind :?

Is it Breeteesh hummah

:namaste:
"The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”― Albert Camus
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by Crazy cloud »

Can't be, you know "Brexit" and so on, this was just little me being a naughty buddhist on my own ...

Maybe I just happy because we celebrating killing a prophet, and then somebody forgot about rebirth, and since that it's all a blur

Image
If you didn't care
What happened to me
And I didn't care for you

We would zig-zag our way
Through the boredom and pain
Occasionally glancing up through the rain

Wondering which of the
Buggers to blame
And watching for pigs on the wing
- Roger Waters
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by Meezer77 »

Phstange bottles of Pepshi
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Re: Ajahn Brahm and the strange bottles of Pepsi!

Post by Sam Vara »

DNS wrote: Sun Apr 01, 2018 5:41 pm
No_Mind wrote: Sun Apr 01, 2018 1:27 pm Here is what he says "make your concentration strong .. make a wish .. see what happens next" (words changed to avoid google search)
That's an old parlor trick. There were some so-called psychics back in the 1970s and 1980s who used similar tactics. They informed their audiences to go to their attics and find an old watch; to hold it and "wish" for it to start working. Back then, watches were mostly mechanical so the mere picking them up made it start working again.

As long as the "wish" isn't too outrageous (like winning lottery), everyday wishes happen all the time, we just don't notice it very well. For example, a person might wish that someone praises their appearance and then they go to work and a co-worker comments on their nice shoes or suit; everyday events that one doesn't notice much, but since they wished for it they say "ah hah--the wish worked!"
I heard a beautiful variation of this from an old special forces soldier who had served in Malaya prior to independence.

His role was to train air force personnel in jungle survival techniques. Baling out over the jungle was an ever-present risk for the air force, and meant certain death unless they had been trained to survive and navigate their way back to base. So he taught them the basics of building shelters, finding food, etc., and then a platoon of 20, with him in command, would be parachuted into thick jungle miles from their base.

His boast to them was that he could not only navigate them back to their base, but he could bring them out of the jungle at the precise spot on the perimeter road where the Chinese vendor was passing by with his refrigerated bicycle trailer filled with cold beers. They scoffed at this, but he bet them the price of the beers, and he never had to buy one. Every time, the sweating grumbling group would hack their way out of the jungle onto the perimeter road, and there was the Chinese vendor with his bike and the beers.

The group never realised that the Chinese guy watched them take off, gave them the standard three days to get back, and then spent the next day sitting quietly on his bike on the perimeter road. Twenty inexperienced Englishmen make a great deal of noise hacking through thick jungle and shouting to each other, so he would just cycle towards the noise and wait for them to emerge with their raging thirsts and their money...
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