Opening The Door Of Your Heart

Finished reading Opening The Door Of Your Heart by Ajahn Brahm. It’s a wonderful book that provides answers to many questions readers may have been pondering for a long time. Ajahn Brahm, born Peter Betts in London, UK, on 7th August 1951, is a Buddhist monk and the Abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Western Australia. He spent nine years studying and training in forest meditation under Ajahn Chah.

The way Ajahn Brahm has written this book surprised me a lot. I always believed monks to be serious and solemn, handling everything with utmost perfection and gravity. But after reading this book, I realized how simple and humorous they can be. He shares stories with such humor that I often found myself laughing out loud. Yet, every page carries a meaningful message for the reader.

My favorite line from the book is, "The hardest part of anything in life is thinking about it." It’s so true. All of us have had several bitter experiences in life, and it’s human nature to dwell on them. This is the real problem—the more we think about those incidents, the more we hurt ourselves. We should all try our best to not dwell on such thoughts. It’s not an easy task, but with practice, we can train ourselves to do it.

The very first chapter offers a priceless message for today’s society. We live in a world where relationships are often undervalued. Most of us tend to focus on a person’s mistakes, knowingly or unknowingly turning blind to their positive qualities. Brahm illustrates this with the metaphor of a brick wall. Imagine building a wall with great care and effort, arranging the bricks as perfectly as possible. But once the wall is complete, you notice two bricks that protrude slightly. Instead of appreciating the other 98 bricks that are perfectly placed, you become disappointed and conclude that the entire wall is ruined because of those two bricks. The same applies to human relationships. We often break bonds over a single fault, ignoring the many good qualities the other person possesses.

Whether you’re on cloud nine or struggling through tough times, keep one simple truth in mind: “This too shall pass.” Holding onto this thought can help maintain balance and calm in your mind.

Ajahn Chah, the revered teacher of Ajahn Brahm, humorously illustrated the futility of blaming others with this story:

A man had an itch on his bum.
He scratched his head.
The itch never went away.

The lesson is clear—blaming others never solves your problems. When something goes wrong, instead of pointing fingers, focus your energy on finding a solution and handling the situation.

In one chapter, Ajahn Brahm poses three profound questions:

• When is the most important time?

• Who is the most important person?

• What is the most important thing to do?

The answers are beautifully simple:

• The most important time is NOW.

• The most important person is the one you are with.

• The most important thing to do is CARE.

These are just a few gems from the book that resonated deeply with me. It’s truly a book worth reading, and I’m planning to explore more works by Ajahn Brahm.