Dhamma for the Asking : Balance between your body and your mind
Question : 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?
Tan Ajahn: You have to strike the right balance between your body and your mind. Luangta Mahā 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 more quickly 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…”
Question : What advice would you give to a monk who does not have a teacher but relies on the Suttas a lot?
Tan Ajahn: He has to keep on pushing himself. He has nobody else to push him, so he has to push himself. He has to look at where he is now and whether he has gone far enough yet. If he hasn’t, he has to set up a goal and move towards it. If he does not have a goal, then he might get stuck where he is. That is one of the benefits of staying with a teacher. Sometimes you get lazy, and he will push you. But if you are all alone, sometimes you don’t know, so you have to observe yourself a lot more.
He should investigate his practice to see whether he is staying in the same place or if he is moving forward. He needs viriya and adhitthāna (effort and determination). He has to set up the resolve to do more.