Letting Go of What You Can't Control — Buddhist Stories for Sleep & Anxiety (3 Hours)

Old Buddhist, Zen and Taoist stories about letting go of what you can't control, told slowly for sleep. Tonight you have climbed to a stone hut beside a still mountain lake on the night of the first frost. The hut has one rule, cut into the wood above its door: leave your pack by the door. So you hang yours on an iron peg with everything the day put in it, and sit on the bench while an old birch at the water's edge lets its gold leaves go, one at a time, with nobody telling it to. Through the night the old woman who keeps the hut tells the old stories: the young monk who walked over the mountains carrying nothing and was told to put it down. Old Pang, who rowed his treasures to the middle of the river. Sumangala's song for his three crooked tools. Ratthapala, who asked his father to let the river have the gold. The hermit who only needed one branch, like the tailorbird. The fish in the drying spring. The flowers that would not fall. The two mango trees, and the king's first grey hair. 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 flute rises gently and keeps watch. How to listen: volume low, lights off, eyes closed. You don't need to follow the stories, and you don't need to hear how they end. There is nothing you need to carry tonight. Tonight's chapters: 0:00 Settling In — You Can Put It Down 2:44 The Path Up to the Tarn 5:31 The Pegs by the Door 8:16 "Put It Down" — the Monk Who Brought Nothing 10:57 Then Carry It Along 13:39 The Birch at the Water — the First Frost 16:25 From the Pillow — You Can Put It Down 19:06 Old Pang's Boat 21:50 Sumangala's Three Crooked Things 24:38 First Settling — the Moon on the Tarn 27:27 Ratthapala at His Father's Wall 30:10 The Heaps of Gold 32:54 From the Pillow — the Birch Lets Go by Itself 35:43 The Hermit and the Tailorbird 38:26 The Fish in the Drying Spring 41:16 Second Settling — Leaves on the Black Water 44:05 The Fish Trap and the Words 46:46 The Village That Gave Nothing 49:34 From the Pillow — Your Hands Are Open 52:21 The Pack on Its Peg — Frost on the Straps 55:08 The Shining Visitor and the Flood 58:12 Third Settling — the Far Shore Under the Pines 1:01:12 The Flowers That Would Not Fall 1:04:16 The Two Mango Trees 1:07:15 From the Pillow — You Can Put It Down 1:10:02 The King's First Grey Hair 1:12:56 The Leaf That Turns on the Water 1:15:50 Fourth Settling — the Middle of the Night 1:18:54 Old Pang — What the Old Woman Adds 1:21:50 "Put It Down" — What the Water Keeps 1:24:40 From the Pillow — the Birch Lets Go by Itself 1:27:34 All the Leaves on the Same Water 1:30:30 The Refrain — First Breathing 1:33:27 Fifth Settling — an Hour and a Half 1:36:19 The Walkers Asleep in the Hut 1:39:19 The Tarn in the Dark 1:42:15 From the Pillow — Held by the Water 1:45:02 The Old Woman's Winters 1:47:53 The Last Story of the Night — the Hermit's One Branch 1:50:51 Sixth Settling — the Descent Begins 1:53:45 "Put It Down" — Softer 1:57:09 Old Pang — Softer 2:00:33 The Drying Spring — Softer 2:03:59 Sumangala — Softer 2:07:27 The Village — Softer 2:10:48 Seventh Settling — the Last of the Moon 2:14:19 The Flood — Softer 2:17:51 The Flowers — Softer 2:21:17 The Two Mango Trees — Softer 2:24:47 The Grey Hair — Softer 2:28:09 The Refrain — Breathing 2:31:35 Eighth Settling — Two and a Half Hours 2:34:56 Ratthapala — Softer, for the Morning 2:38:12 The Birch Lets Go by Itself 2:41:35 You Can Put It Down 2:44:53 Into the Water — Nine Breaths 2:48:17 The Last Leaves 2:51:39 The Old Woman Asleep 2:54:58 The Breath — Your Hands Are Open 2:58:20 The Tarn — Softest 3:01:40 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. #lettinggo #buddhiststories #sleepstories