The Teachings of Ajahn Suchart
12th January, 2022
Monk: When a person is dying with pain, should the person use painkillers or morphine to try to keep the mind clear?
Than Ajahn: It depends on the strength of the mind. If the mind is strong, the mind doesn’t need any painkillers because what is painful is not the body, but the mind. And the cause of the pain of the mind is the fear of the physical pain, the desire to get rid of the physical pain which will then create the mental pain which is unbearable. But if you know how to meditate, if you know how to control your thought and your desire, then the pain won’t appear in your mind, and then your mind will become calm and lucid as if nothing happens and the pain of the body will just be like the pain you experience when you have a stomachache or headache and this is not unbearable. That’s why samādhi is very important for you to deal with pain, with losses, with everything. If you can maintain calm in the mind, then nothing can hurt your mind. And you don’t need to do anything. You can let go of the body. Let it be painful. Let it die. It doesn’t matter to the mind.
Monk: If someone cannot contemplate and doesn’t have samādhi, is it better for him to take painkiller?
Than Ajahn: Well, then you become dependent on it and you create another problem such as in the situation when there is no painkillers available or when you demand more and more dosage. This becomes a problem now in the West, people die of painkillers. If you can avoid using painkillers, it’s better. It’s better to use the Dhamma medicine. The Dhamma medicine is mindfulness, calming your mind. Once your mind is calm, the body pain will not bother your mind, and you don’t need to take any painkiller. I haven’t used any painkillers for all the time since I became a monk. I don’t need them. I can deal with the pain of the body.
Just let it be.
Monk: I only used painkiller once, 30 years ago, because I don’t have much pain condition. I just concern when I speak to people who have pain condition, and when they take these painkillers, they might experience aversion or depression.
Than Ajahn: They become addicted to painkillers, and when the painkillers are not available, or when they don’t have enough dosage to take, then they fall into the same trap that they try to get out of in the first place. The way to get out of it is to use your mind. Teach your mind to face pain, embrace pain, instead of trying to push it away. What makes it painful to the mind is the mind trying to push the pain away. If the mind can embrace the pain, then the mind will not be hurt by the physical pain.
The goal is to understand pain and to accept it for what it is. It comes and goes. You cannot force it to go when it comes. You cannot ask it to come when it doesn’t come. You have to treat pain like you treat the weather.
You don’t feel bad with the weather, right? If it’s gonna rain today or it’s gonna get hot today, you just let it happen. It’s the same way with your body. Sometimes, your body feels good, sometimes your body feels bad, it’s just like the weather. Just teach your mind to learn to accept pain, so whatever happens to the body will not hurt your mind.
In order to be able to do this, you have to meditate. You have to be able to calm your mind because when your mind is not calm, your mind will react to the conditions of the body. If you experience a bad condition, you would want to push it away, and when you try to push away something that you can’t do, you become frustrated. It becomes painful in the mind. But if the mind doesn’t react, and it just leaves the condition alone, then the mind will not be hurt.
Monk: When do you recommend us to do dukkha vedanā contemplation?
Than Ajahn: When you’re ready for it, when you have strong enough mindfulness. There are 2 steps to deal with dukkha vedanā.
The first step is to use mindfulness, like reciting a mantra. After you sit for a while, when the pain starts to become more obvious and your mind starts reacting, then you use a mantra to stop your mind from reacting, and leave the pain alone. And if you can continue with your mantra, your mind eventually will become calm and the pain won’t bother the mind. This is the first way of dealing with pain. This is a temporary way to deal with pain.
Every time when you meet with pain again, you will have to use the mantra to stop your mind from reacting, use the mantra to calm your mind.
Once you have this method, then the next step is to study the nature of the pain to see what it is and how to deal with it. The Buddha said that pain is something that you can’t control.
The pain comes and goes as it likes. You can’t tell it to go away when it comes.
The only way to deal with pain is to leave it alone, to not react to it, and to have no aversion to it. The problem is the aversion to pain or the fear of pain. Once you’re no longer afraid of pain, once you welcome it, then the mind will not be hurt. The mind will be happy every time it sees pain. ‘Ah!
Here you come again. Welcome home!’ It’s like having your son comes back to visit you again. Pain is your son. You can’t tell him to go away when he comes to visit you. You just have to welcome him. If you welcome him, then everybody is happy. You’re happy and your son is happy. Then, you can live with each other.
Monk: I’ve never been attracted to pain meditation.
Than Ajahn: Because you have aversion to it. But you have to understand the benefit that you’ll get from doing it. You can then overcome pain for the rest of your life. You will never be afraid of pain again. No matter how strong the pain is, all you have to do is just to keep your mind calm and not react to it.
You’re going to have to face them.
Pains keep coming back to you. The body is the house of pains. Really! Without the body, there would be no pain. If you have the body, then there will always be pain until the body dies that’s when there is no more pain.
But this physical pain is not horrible.
You can deal with it. You can live with it—let’s put it that way. But you have to know how to live with it. The way to live with it is to calm your mind and not react to the pain when it comes.
Just leave it alone. The physical pain is not that painful. If you compare the mental pain to the physical pain, it’s like 10 to 1. The mental pain is 10 times more than the physical pain.
When you have aversion to pain, fear of pain or when you want to get rid of the pain but you couldn’t do it, then this frustration, this restlessness, and this fear will create mental pain.
Monk: I heard that Than Ajahn never accepts any invitation to go outside the monastery, is it correct?
Than Ajahn: Yes. This way solves a lot of problems. I can always know where I’ll be. If I accept invitations, then my schedule will fall into the hands of the people who invite me.
But if I do this way, I’m always here. If people want to see me, they come to see me here. And everybody doesn’t miss me. If I go and accept invitations, when you come today, I might not be here. But everybody knows if they want to see me, they come here every day.
Monk: It’s wonderful to have a khruba ajahn who speaks perfect English like Than Ajahn. It’s a rare opportunity to have a khruba ajahn who speaks directly in English, Than Ajahn khrub.
Than Ajahn: I guess so.
Monk: Thank you so much.
Than Ajahn: Ok, thank you for coming by.
“Dhamma in English, Jun 23, 2019.”
By Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto
YouTube: Dhamma in English.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi_BnRZmNgECsJGS31F495g
No comments:
Post a Comment