Overcoming Negative Emotions ~ Ajahn Brahm

Antidotes to overcome our Anger & Stress! Words of Wisdom by Ajahn Brahm at Renci Hospital Auditorium.

Just like at S'pore Buddhist Lodge, audience overflow to the stage with 1st class seats just a feet away from Ajahn Brahm. Real Live Show!

Some extracts from the talk (pardon is sought for any wrong remembrance or misinterpretation summarised below):

Using his past experience of traveling at village trucks, whereby he will be hit by the truck-metal tops whenever the trucks travel over holes, he learnt from his fellow local monks that instead of swearing, he laughed, he realised that, "Laugh when you are in pain, it hurts less".
Life is much peaceful when you don't complain, Laugh is the best emotional medicine.

Accept mistakes, Lower your expectations.
Buddhists' aim is to obtain happiness, don't get angry with one-another.
How to measure wealth? He does not have a penny to his name, but he has lots of caring friends taking good care of him when he travels.

The goal of life is to spend quality time with each other.
Q: Why kids or adults nowadays obsessed with hp, ipad etc, instead of communicating to each other in a house.
A: Because we did not employ the right engagement to attract the attention of kids or audience. Engage in something that is more interesting than ipad to have real interaction.
(His talk on an IT convention was commented that people got engaged in his talk that they put down their communication tools and concentrate on his talk, so get something interesting) 

Old story of boy last in class motivated via analogy of being a Bodhisattva deliberately sacrifice his own happiness to be last in class so nobody has to suffer. However, Be a Bodhisattva in this aspect once, haha, let others have a chance too.

Then the relation of year-end performance appraisal by Top tier, Middle Tier & Bottom.
Good Buddhist adopts the Middle path, haha:-)
Quite true, the top and bottom are the extremes analogy.
Why jealous of colleagues who got promotion? there are greater responsibilities, more stress and problems; higher pay? there is never enough money no matter how much you have. 
Be happy in the way you are. Have more time versus money to knock off work early and enjoy Ajahn's Talk. ;-)

What if you feel negative to your boss?
His analogy of requesting for mosquito repellents rejected by his teacher, Ajahn Chah.
Call mosquitoes Ajahn, they teach you;
Likewise, irritating bosses --> Ajahn bosses, they teach you.
In life, learn to be immune to irritation.
Once to go in and out: Yes boss, Yes Darling...
Don't take it too personal, just carry on doing what needs to carry out :-)

If one has done wrong, learn from mistakes.
Stepped on dog poo, take it home & leave it with trees or plants. They flower or bear fruits years later.
Similarly, if you had done something bad, that equates dog poo, take it into your heart, learn from it and grow your wisdom, you will become one wiser, and more developed person who grow from mistakes.  (Example mentioned of drug/gang prisoners doing a better job educating young children/teenagers to avoid repeating their mistakes from personal experience.)

Q: How to overcome sadness?
A: One gets sad easily as the body is tired and lacks sleep.
Take a break and sleep, relax and be kind to your body.
Ask your body what it wants, sleep or food and give it.
Once you relax & rested enough, sadness reduced.
Why people gets "burnt up" from work nowadays? Because they are tired, they never rested enough.
A good holiday is a relaxing one and not on daily rush to sight-seeing that needs one wake up even earlier than working days.It should be pure relaxing for one to think of nothing but just relax and sleep to fullest capacity, something like his Thailand meditation retreat which is for relaxing and resting the body and mind.
(True, agree from personal experience from last relaxing outdoor meditation organised by DDMS which is the first time I really feel relaxed and recharged without having to travel overseas)

Life is never organised. Accept it.
Love your anger, Accept your anger and then learn to accept other people too.
Analogy of village celebration noise pollution to the monastery by Ajahn Brahm but his teacher wisely pointed out: It's not the sound that disturb you. It's you who disturb the sound.
~ It's not the world who disturb you, it's you who disturb the world...
It's life: trains will break, husbands are selfish, wives are naggy, dogs will bark, we are imperfect, why get angry... :P

Love his talk, simple analogies, and I feel much better, blues chased away from sandwiching stress.