The Dhamma Remedy

When Venerable Ajaan Khao became ill while he was living in the forests and hills, he was never much concerned about finding medicines to cure himself. He tended to rely upon the ‘Dhamma remedy’ much more than any other method, for it was effective both for the body and for the citta at the same time. He would grasp the problem, fix his attention on it and reflect upon it for a long time – much longer than normal. Many times he managed to overcome fevers by this type of treatment, until he became quite confident of this technique of reflective investigation whenever he felt ill. It started from the time his citta attained samãdhi, when his heart became calm and cool. Whenever he had a fever, he would set up a determination to fight it unwaveringly by meditating with a completely resolute heart – a method that had always brought him clearly visible results.

At first, when he had a fever he relied upon Venerable Ajaan Mun to guide him in the correct method. Ajaan Mun told him that whenever his own heart had gained unusually great strength, it nearly always came during times of severe sickness and pain. The more painful the sickness was, the more easily mindfulness and wisdom spun round and round the body, quickly going to each and every aspect of the illness as it happened. There was no need for him to compel himself to look into the body at that time. He had no interest at all in whether he got better or not. His only concern was to strive to know the truth of all the painful feelings as they arose and ‘swooped down’ on him at that time, using the mindfulness and wisdom that he had developed to expertise by continuous training.

This reflection about Ajaan Khao Analayo is from the book, Venerable Ajaan Khao Analayo, pp. 61-62.