“The way to escape from pain is not to have a body. As long as you have a body, you will have pain, sickness and death.”

“The way to escape from pain is not to have a body. As long as you have a body, you will have pain, sickness and death.”

Question:  How to get rid of pain? 

Than Ajahn:  You have to accept that pain is part of your life, pain is part of your body. It is the nature of the body to experience pain. You have to see that pain is temporary, it comes and goes. The pain doesn’t affect you because you are not the body, you are the mind. As you don’t know that you are the mind, you think you are the body. 

When you don’t want the pain in your body, it causes you to suffer. If you leave the pain alone, it will not bother you. The pain bothers you because you want to get rid of it. It is like when you meet people you don’t like, and when you want to get rid of them but are unable to, it bothers you. You cannot get rid of pain, it comes and goes by itself, but you can live with the pain. 

The way to leave the pain alone is to keep on chanting and don’t pay attention to the pain. You can also recite a mantra: Buddho Buddho. Don’t think about the pain, then the pain will not bother you and you can stay with the pain. You have to remember that you cannot manage or control the pain but you can control your mind. You can make your mind happy while experiencing the pain. 

…….

Question: How to escape from pain?

Than Ajahn:  By not going to be reborn again. Don’t come back, don’t get reborn again. The way to escape from pain is not to have a body. As long as you have a body, you will have pain, sickness and death. You have to stop the cause of wanting to be reborn. The cause is your desire: desire for happiness from using the body to indulge in seeing things, eating, drinking, etc. You have to live like a monk and use meditation to make you happy.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto

www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g