“You have to strike the right balance between your body and your mind.”

The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart.

27 December 2023

“You have to strike the right balance between your body and your mind.”

Monk 1: Ajaan, when we experience sickness, such as painful feet causing us not to walk a lot, we go to see a doctor who prescribes medicine, but it doesn't seem to work. How far should we go to find a conventional cure, compared to trying to cure it through the practice of Dhamma? What is the balanced approach?

Than Ajaan:  The balance is different for each individual. It depends on how you feel. If you do not expect to heal or get well, then you can do whatever you want. If you don't expect anything, you can live with whatever it is at the moment and use whatever method that is available to fix it. If you can fix it, that’s fine. If not, that's also fine. Then there is no problem. 

The problem is in the mind and not in the body. The mind has to be neutral and be able to take it either way.

We are here to fix the mind and not the body, but we will fix the body as much as we can. The most important thing is to fix your mind at the same time. 

Your mind should always be neutral. You should not expect this or that. You should be able to go left or right, for better or worse. Then you'll have fixed the problem because the problem is in the mind.
……

Monk 2:  Ajaan, when we want to achieve the happiness that one experiences from meditation, how far should we push ourselves physically? For example, if we become paralyzed before we reach the goal, would it be more degenerating for the practice?

Than Ajaan: You have to strike the right balance between your body and your mind. Luangta Maha Boowa liked to do a lot of fasting, but he knew that he could fast only to a certain point before hurting the body. So you have to know what the right balance is.

You have to maintain and take care of your body, so that it maintains its normal functions, so it won’t be a hindrance or be a problem to your practice. But you also have to use physical severity in order to push ahead, by fasting for example.

Between fasting and not fasting, if you fast and it is conducive to your practice, it will be very helpful. It will move your practice a lot quicker than not fasting. 

Because when you are not fasting, you take things easy. 

You are not hungry, so you tend to look for the pillow. 

But when you are fasting, you are not eating and are hungry, so you have to somehow manage your hunger, because 90% of your hunger comes from your mind. So it forces you to meditate. Once you meditate and your mind becomes calm, then 90% of your hunger disappears, and you can live with the hunger of the body, which is only 10%. It forces you to meditate a lot, to walk jongkrom (walking meditation), to develop mindfulness. But if you are not fasting, then you don’t have this severity. You have no problem to manage, so you just take things easy. You just lie down, go have some more coffee, or talk to some other monks.

Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

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