Awake at 3 AM — Buddhist Stories for Sleep & a Restless Mind (3 Hours)

Awake at 3 AM and can't fall back asleep? Tonight you are lying in a small covered boat, moored in a reed bay of a wide, slow river, in the small hours after a lantern-floating. A heavy blanket, a roof of woven reeds, one oil lamp turned low, and a few paper lamps still drifting among the reeds. The boatman is asleep at the prow. You do not have to make anything happen. Lying here awake is rest too. Through the night the old stories are told slowly, in plain words, about people who were awake in the night and what they found there: the merchant who woke three times before dawn, the man who feared the sky would fall, the king and his sixteen strange dreams, a poet's moonlit walk to a friend who was also awake, the old servant who was a king every night, the emperor's nap, the monk who called "Master, are you awake?", the nun and her lamp, the nobleman who rowed all night through the snow and turned home at the gate, Yaoshan's laugh on the mountain, the ten-foot hut, Myoe and the moon, the old cook and his mushrooms, the zither with no strings, and the monk who lived in a tree. After two hours the stories come back softer, the moon sets, and the last lamp goes out on the water. The voice stays with you the whole night — over three hours of continuous, softly spoken narration. No sudden silence, nothing to wake you. In the final minutes the bamboo flute keeps watch. How to listen: volume low, lights off. You do not have to fall asleep, and you do not have to hear how it ends. You can rest awake. Tonight's chapters: 0:00 Opening — You can rest awake 2:45 The Boat in the Reed Bay 5:33 The Merchant Who Woke Three Times 8:21 The Road in the Dark 11:06 The Man Who Feared the Sky Would Fall 13:46 The King's Sixteen Dreams — The night 16:37 From the Pillow — You can rest awake 19:16 The King's Sixteen Dreams — The morning 22:01 The Night Walk at the Temple 24:39 First Settling — Lamps in the reeds 27:26 The Servant Who Was a King Every Night 30:10 The Emperor's Nap 32:56 From the Pillow — Let the night hold it 35:41 The Friend Who Was Also Awake 38:31 Master, Are You Awake 41:21 Second Settling — The river under the boat 44:07 The Lamp and the Needle 46:51 Birds Woken by the Moon 49:42 From the Pillow — The night will carry you 52:28 The Merchant at First Light 55:13 The Boat on a Snowy Night 58:07 Third Settling — The woven roof 1:01:08 The Laugh on the Mountain 1:04:11 Clouds in the Sky, Water in the Jar 1:07:09 From the Pillow — You can rest awake 1:10:06 The Ten-Foot Hut 1:13:01 The Moon That Walked Home 1:15:56 Fourth Settling — The middle of the night 1:18:57 The Old Cook and the Mushrooms 1:21:52 The Zither With No Strings 1:24:47 From the Pillow — Let the night hold it 1:27:44 The Monk in the Tree 1:30:39 The Refrain — First breathing 1:33:38 Fifth Settling — The stars come back 1:36:42 The Moonlit Sal Wood 1:39:38 The Cranes Before the Rain 1:42:41 From the Pillow — Held by the river 1:45:37 The Old Couple 1:48:35 The Last Story of the Night — The snow boat comes home 1:51:36 Sixth Settling — The descent begins 1:54:36 The Merchant — Softer 1:58:01 The Sky — Softer 2:01:16 The King's Dreams — Softer 2:04:37 The Night Walk — Softer 2:07:58 The Servant's Dream — Softer 2:11:21 Seventh Settling — The lamps low 2:14:48 The Friend Also Awake — Softer 2:18:08 The Lamp and the Needle — Softer 2:21:29 The Snow Boat — Softer 2:24:48 The Hut — Softer 2:28:07 The Refrain — Breathing 2:31:30 Eighth Settling — The last lamp 2:34:52 The Old Cook — Softer, for the morning 2:38:11 Let the Night Hold It 2:41:31 You Can Rest Awake 2:44:58 Into the Reeds — Nine breaths 2:48:19 The Last Lights on the River 2:51:44 The Reeds in the Dark 2:55:09 The Breath — The night will carry you 2:58:27 The River — Softest 3:01:47 The Hollow Bamboo — Goodnight 🎋 Hollow Bamboo is a quiet place to end the day: Zen stories and Buddhist wisdom for deep sleep, in a soft voice over bansuri flute. A new episode every night. Subscribe, and set down one more thing.