just like we fear pain that will be caused by a root canal when we go to a dentist or the simple pain that some people fear when they are going to be given an injection. Human beings fear pain of the body and this is natural. The degree that we fear pain and the level that we can resist the suffering differs from person to person. But every human being fears physical pain.
Do you know anybody whose mind doesn’t cause misery? The mind wanders to yesterday and lives with past regret. We nurse, we curse and we rehearse our regret, although it is over and finished. Although there is no sense in living in the past, still the mind loses the present moment of peace as it dwells in the past. Then, the mind swings to the future and causes us to fear what may happen. We may fall sick or we may suffer. It is common for the mind to create stress and worry as it swings from the past to the future. This can create humongous anxiety and make us live in misery and suffering.
Do we only suffer physical pain of the body and anxiety of the mind? Haven’t you experienced the agony of the ego, when it screams – “How dare you disobeyed me?” When somebody’s car brushes past your car and scratches it, you get angry! There is no physical pain, not even stress of the mind. But it is the ego that makes us curse,