“If you put up with sitting for a while, the pain will go away eventually. Your body and mind will be independent from one another.”

The Teaching of Ajahn Suchart.

7 October 2024

“If you put up with sitting for a while, the pain will go away eventually. Your body and mind will be independent from one another.”

The reason why monks have to live a rough life and eat minimally is so that we get used to physical pain and suffering.

For instance, practising in three postures—walking, standing, and sitting— without lying down is to train yourself to fight against physical pain and suffering. 

Eating one meal a day instead of three or fasting for three or four days in a row is to make your body suffer. 

It is to train your mind, just like training soldiers.

If you train them in an air-conditioned room, they’ll never be able to fight against the enemy. You have to train them outdoors in the woods and let them live rough. When there’s a war, they’ll have to fight in rough terrains, not in an air-conditioned environment.

It will take away your fear as you’ll know that you’re able to face and put up with physical pain. If you put up with sitting for a while, the pain will go away eventually. Your mind will become relaxed and not fixated on it. You mind will be calm from not craving for anything. 

The severe physical pain will vanish completely.

Even if it doesn’t, it won’t bother you. Your body and mind will be independent from one another. 

Your mind will be aware that it’s just how the body is.

By Ajaan Suchart Abhijāto
www.phrasuchart.com

Youtube: Dhamma in English
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g