The Travelin' Man

The Travelin’ ManPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto

This book is a translationof the Thai text Nak Dern Tang,by Phra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto.

CONTENTSTranslator’s Introduction................................................................7The Body That Is Just Suffering............................................... 12Having Just Passed The New Year’s........................................17We Should All Be Preparing Ourselves..................................22Having Traveled To Many Places And Cities....................... 27Coming To Study Kammathan.................................................. 38If In Coming To Learn The Truth About TheVarious Things… ......................................................................47In Truth, Dying Is Just Like Going In For Surgery..............54Having Gone To A Funeral The Other Day...........................59What Is The Significance Of Coming Across TheBuddha, The Dhamma, And The Sangha?...................63One With The Intelligence Of A BuddhaWould Say…............................................................................... 70

In Developing Our Citta We Go To The LevelOf Noble Persons....................................................................77Practicing A “Kammathan” Is How We AreGoing To Put An End To The Kilesa Of Craving ........ 88That Which We Are From Day To Day Is Just TheResult Of Our Actions Previously Done........................ 94The Traveler Who Does Not Get Lost..................................109What Are We Going To Do So That We Don’t LiveOur Lives As If We’ve Fallen Off The Path?.............. 124Biography..........................................................................................127Glossary of Pali Words................................................................1306 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 6

In Developing Our Citta We Go To The LevelOf Noble Persons....................................................................77Practicing A “Kammathan” Is How We AreGoing To Put An End To The Kilesa Of Craving ........ 88That Which We Are From Day To Day Is Just TheResult Of Our Actions Previously Done........................ 94The Traveler Who Does Not Get Lost..................................109What Are We Going To Do So That We Don’t LiveOur Lives As If We’ve Fallen Off The Path?.............. 124Biography..........................................................................................127Glossary of Pali Words................................................................130The Travelin’ Man 6Translator’s IntroductionThis translation of The Travelin’ Man camefrom a place of deep appreciation for theDhamma which is conveyed in the originalThai text Nak Dern Tang. This work wasundertaken with the hope that with LuangPor’s teachings as their guide, that others toomight progress along the path. Tan AjahnSuchart has a special ability to explain theteachings of the Buddha in a way that isclear and easy to grasp. In this text, TanAjahn covers the various aspects of the pathwhich lead to Nibbana, the completecessation of suffering.PhrPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij a Ajahn Suchart Abhijāāttoo 77

When questioned as to what would bea good title, Tan Ajahn recalled the song TheTravelin’ Man by Ricky Nelson, which he hadknown as a young man studying in the US.The song exemplifies how one can becomecaught in the pursuit of sensuality, movingendlessly from one pleasure to the next — acentral aspect of Samsara.I am deeply grateful for the opportunityto translate this text, and to all those whoassisted in reviewing the original Thai andrefining the English into its present polishedform.The translator,January 15, 20268 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 8

When questioned as to what would bea good title, Tan Ajahn recalled the song TheTravelin’ Man by Ricky Nelson, which he hadknown as a young man studying in the US.The song exemplifies how one can becomecaught in the pursuit of sensuality, movingendlessly from one pleasure to the next — acentral aspect of Samsara.I am deeply grateful for the opportunityto translate this text, and to all those whoassisted in reviewing the original Thai andrefining the English into its present polishedform.The translator,January 15, 2026The Travelin’ Man 8

Part One.THE TRAVELIN’ MANPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto10 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 10

Part One.THE TRAVELIN’ MANPhra Ajahn Suchart AbhijātoThe Travelin’ Man 10

THE BODY THAT IS JUST SUFFERINGThere has been suffering since the momentyou were born. Have you ever seen a childwho, having just been born, comes outlaughing? There are none. There is justcrying. The crying shows that there is alreadysuffering. And why is there pain? Because thechild needs to be able to breatheindependently. If it’s unable to, it is going todie. Residing in the womb is quitecomfortable; there is no need to breathe, tofind food or something to drink on its own, orto defecate or urinate by itself. Its mother’sbody manages everything while it is in the12 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 12

THE BODY THAT IS JUST SUFFERINGThere has been suffering since the momentyou were born. Have you ever seen a childwho, having just been born, comes outlaughing? There are none. There is justcrying. The crying shows that there is alreadysuffering. And why is there pain? Because thechild needs to be able to breatheindependently. If it’s unable to, it is going todie. Residing in the womb is quitecomfortable; there is no need to breathe, tofind food or something to drink on its own, orto defecate or urinate by itself. Its mother’sbody manages everything while it is in theThe Travelin’ Man 12womb—it is all taken care of by the umbilicalcord. But at a certain point, as it keepsdeveloping, the womb grows to be toorestrictive, so it has to come out.Upon birth, the first thing one must do isbreathe; for if this fails, the result will bedying. But then, becoming thirsty for milk, itwill start crying until its mother can providesome for it to be able to drink. And so itcontinues – hunger arises, followed by theneed to defecate. So there really is just cryingall the time. Have you ever seen a newbornthat doesn’t cry? Well, this crying is going tocontinue until it reaches adulthood.Having reached adulthood, it can takecare of its own issues; it can manage its owndiscomfort. If they are thirsty or hungry, theycan find something to eat or drink on theirown, and as a result, the crying begins todiminish. When they have to use thePhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 1133

bathroom, they can take care of this on theirown, and their crying again becomes less.However, their discomforts will not simplydisappear without first understanding how toproperly address them.During that first period of their life whenthey are not able to take care of theirsuffering on their own, they have to rely ontheir mother and father for this purposeconstantly. All this crying, in turn, puts a lot ofstrain on them.Sometimes it’s even midnight when thecrying starts up again. Regardless of whattime of day or night, it is hungry, thirsty,needs to urinate, defecate, or is just plainlonely — the crying starts again, pulling themother and father out of bed to console itand help it back to sleep.Sometimes, while sleeping, one hasnightmares or dreams that are not14 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 14

bathroom, they can take care of this on theirown, and their crying again becomes less.However, their discomforts will not simplydisappear without first understanding how toproperly address them.During that first period of their life whenthey are not able to take care of theirsuffering on their own, they have to rely ontheir mother and father for this purposeconstantly. All this crying, in turn, puts a lot ofstrain on them.Sometimes it’s even midnight when thecrying starts up again. Regardless of whattime of day or night, it is hungry, thirsty,needs to urinate, defecate, or is just plainlonely — the crying starts again, pulling themother and father out of bed to console itand help it back to sleep.Sometimes, while sleeping, one hasnightmares or dreams that are notThe Travelin’ Man 14particularly good. Startled, it wakes back upand starts crying. Or suppose it doesn't havenightmares, but simply can’t fall asleep.Feeling all alone, it will also cry.This is the dukkha in coming to be bornhuman that we often overlook. We tend toignore that it is just about every day that wehave to overcome various kinds of suffering.We overlook this because the more we age,the more capable we become in solving themultiple types of dukkha that we have—it canreally start to seem as if we don’t really haveany suffering at all.But when this body arrives at old age,things are going to revert to how they wereduring our childhood. No longer being able tosolve various forms of dukkha on our own,we will then have to rely on others to do so.When we have reached an advanced age,sometimes just needing to walk on our ownPhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 1155

can be too much. If there is no one to lend ahand, it really is a lot of dukkha.Growing old is also a reason why weshouldn’t come back to be reborn. Becauseonce we are born, we just come into contactwith painful things. There is dukkha from theday that we go out of our mother’s wombuntil the day we are lowered into the ground.And this whole ordeal of having to putsomeone into the ground is always suffering.16 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 16

can be too much. If there is no one to lend ahand, it really is a lot of dukkha.Growing old is also a reason why weshouldn’t come back to be reborn. Becauseonce we are born, we just come into contactwith painful things. There is dukkha from theday that we go out of our mother’s wombuntil the day we are lowered into the ground.And this whole ordeal of having to putsomeone into the ground is always suffering.The Travelin’ Man 16HAVING JUST PASSED THE NEW YEAR'SWe have been able to travel for a few days,but having since returned, it will be more thana month until we have worked and saved upenough to travel again. In truth, the bodygives us more dissatisfaction than happiness,but we don’t really know what else to doonce we are born other than to rely on it forour happiness.If we were just to sit at home and donothing idly, we would end up feeling irritatedand annoyed, even to the point ofdepression. So, we end up succumbing to thevarious kinds of suffering that arise fromPhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 1177

being subservient to the body, and giving into the multiple types of hardship that comewith having to accumulate money to be ableto buy happiness.But don’t you see that this is just afleeting kind of happiness? Having gonetraveling and come back for the New Year,where has it disappeared to? We start to waitfor, and look forward to, the Chinese NewYear so we can go traveling, but that too willpass. That happiness, too, ends up vanishing.So next is the Song Kran Festival. Weend up waiting and anticipating Song Kran,and it too comes and goes. Then we findourselves waiting for the entering of therains. It is always circling like this. Worldlyhappiness is just like this.The pursuit of worldly happiness takesits toll on us. Wouldn’t you say that we canget quite exhausted from all of the work that18 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 18

being subservient to the body, and giving into the multiple types of hardship that comewith having to accumulate money to be ableto buy happiness.But don’t you see that this is just afleeting kind of happiness? Having gonetraveling and come back for the New Year,where has it disappeared to? We start to waitfor, and look forward to, the Chinese NewYear so we can go traveling, but that too willpass. That happiness, too, ends up vanishing.So next is the Song Kran Festival. Weend up waiting and anticipating Song Kran,and it too comes and goes. Then we findourselves waiting for the entering of therains. It is always circling like this. Worldlyhappiness is just like this.The pursuit of worldly happiness takesits toll on us. Wouldn’t you say that we canget quite exhausted from all of the work thatThe Travelin’ Man 18is required for us to be able to pursue thesekinds of happiness? Getting up in the weehours and preparing ourselves so that wecan go out and sell food or sell variousthings, just to have enough money to putsome food in our stomach, or to be able tobuy some little things according to ourroutine.It becomes routine. We just keep goingon like this until we meet with some kind ofdisruption. The disruptions we encounter canbe categorized into two types. The first iswhen, even though we are selling things, wedon’t really have any customers come andbuy from us. Not having any money is goingto be quite a problem for us.Or suppose that this isn’t the case andthat our income is pretty consistent. Even so,we might have an accident.PhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 1199

Suppose we have a motorcycle and asidecar, from which we sell things. Then, justas we are sitting there, a car comes andcrashes into us—wham! Having sustainedinjuries to our arms or legs, we are no longercapable of going out and making a living.Wouldn’t you say that this is suffering?Inevitably, either way, whether we meetwith an accident or not, whether we have tocome up against these things or not, in theend this body is going to get sick and ill of itsown accord. There will be plenty of pain justas a fact of having a body. Our bodies beginto deteriorate, much like an old car.An old car never really gets that farbefore something new breaks down. There isalways some little issue coming up. Today it isthis, and tomorrow it is something else. Socontinuing, our body too becomes like this.Initially, our lungs have a particular issue, and20 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 20

Suppose we have a motorcycle and asidecar, from which we sell things. Then, justas we are sitting there, a car comes andcrashes into us—wham! Having sustainedinjuries to our arms or legs, we are no longercapable of going out and making a living.Wouldn’t you say that this is suffering?Inevitably, either way, whether we meetwith an accident or not, whether we have tocome up against these things or not, in theend this body is going to get sick and ill of itsown accord. There will be plenty of pain justas a fact of having a body. Our bodies beginto deteriorate, much like an old car.An old car never really gets that farbefore something new breaks down. There isalways some little issue coming up. Today it isthis, and tomorrow it is something else. Socontinuing, our body too becomes like this.Initially, our lungs have a particular issue, andThe Travelin’ Man 20then it is our liver. Then our kidneys have oneof the other little problems. It just keepsgoing on like this. So our body just begins todeteriorate.To summarize: there really isn’tanything good with having a body, butbecause we only know pursuing happinessthrough the body, we continuously need tocome back for a new one.PhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 2211

WE SHOULD ALL BE PREPARINGOURSELVESThis body in no long time will have toundergo dissolution and the process ofdeath. The wind element will be the first; it isthe first one to separate from the body.When it is no longer entering throughrespiration, then the only way it can go is out.The smell that we get from a dead body isjust this wind element.The fire element then follows this up.What would you say? Are the bodies ofsomeone alive and someone who has justdied the same? Go and grab the hand of22 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 22

WE SHOULD ALL BE PREPARINGOURSELVESThis body in no long time will have toundergo dissolution and the process ofdeath. The wind element will be the first; it isthe first one to separate from the body.When it is no longer entering throughrespiration, then the only way it can go is out.The smell that we get from a dead body isjust this wind element.The fire element then follows this up.What would you say? Are the bodies ofsomeone alive and someone who has justdied the same? Go and grab the hand ofThe Travelin’ Man 22someone who has just died. You will see thatthose who have died are much colder thanwe are; this is the dispersal of the fireelement.Then, leaving the body on its own, thenext element to separate is the waterelement. It will begin to seep out. Sometimes,when going to see a corpse, you will see theirnose plugged up with some cotton wads. Thecotton is plugging up the nose to preventbodily fluids from leaking out.To whatever degree the water elementpersists in the body, it is going to need toseparate from the earth element. And as perall of those firm parts of the body, after thewater element has dispersed and the corpseis all dried up, then those hard parts all beginto deteriorate and become dust and dirt.The bones are composed of the fourelements, but are primarily composed of thePhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 2233

earth element. That being so, they end uptaking the longest to deteriorate.Besides the bones, there are other partsof the body — such as the heart, lungs,kidneys, liver, and so on — which having sincebecome dry and brittle, begin to break apart,and become dust. In the present day, thecorpse is most often taken to a temple andcremated. By means of cremation, theelements end up separating much faster.We end up cremating because thereisn’t really that much space to bury all of thebodies, nor is there anyone who really wantsto store a corpse away. Having crematedthem, all that remains is just ash and bonefragments.Different people have different ideas asto what they can do with the ashes. Somethrow the ashes in the water and let themflow downstream; others will place them in24 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 24

earth element. That being so, they end uptaking the longest to deteriorate.Besides the bones, there are other partsof the body — such as the heart, lungs,kidneys, liver, and so on — which having sincebecome dry and brittle, begin to break apart,and become dust. In the present day, thecorpse is most often taken to a temple andcremated. By means of cremation, theelements end up separating much faster.We end up cremating because thereisn’t really that much space to bury all of thebodies, nor is there anyone who really wantsto store a corpse away. Having crematedthem, all that remains is just ash and bonefragments.Different people have different ideas asto what they can do with the ashes. Somethrow the ashes in the water and let themflow downstream; others will place them inThe Travelin’ Man 24the ground and plant a tree on top. There aremany ways to go about this. Whatever youmight do with them, ultimately, they are stilljust the earth element. But you shouldunderstand that there is no self in them. It isjust ashes and bone fragments.Sometimes we still cling to the ideathat these are 'the bones of our mother’ or‘the bones of our father,’ and there is aninclination to store them away to make meritfor them. On account of the possibility thatwhile alive they had not made any merit, thiscould be why they are still hanging aroundwaiting to receive some from us. If, while weare still alive, we fail to make merit, havingdied, we are going to continue without anygood fortune to accompany us.But when we make merit for ourparents, we are not giving the merit to thePhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 2255

bones. When we make merit, we are offeringit to the spirit.26 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 26

bones. When we make merit, we are offeringit to the spirit.The Travelin’ Man 26HAVING TRAVELED TO MANY PLACES ANDCITIESWherever we go, it is the same; after just afew days, we already become bored andlook to go home. It just doesn’t feel quiteright. Try to see if you can use thisunderstanding to lessen the desire that youhave for whatever travel itineraries you’vegot planned out.When we go out, it’s all the same. It’sonly different appearances that we see, justthat. In some cities, the houses appeardifferent, or the nature or the climate differs.PhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 2277

The climate there may be hotter or colderthan here. It is only different to that extent.Still being new to an area, it can appearstrange to us, but after we have stayed therefor a bit, it isn’t going to be any different fromthe place where we ourselves are from.Although we might find some degree ofcomfort there, it cannot compare with ourhometown.Our home is the place that has all ofthe things that we are accustomed to andenjoy. All matters of food and language cannever compare with the way things are athome.Sometimes, when we go abroad, wecan speak some of their language, but westill can’t really get through to each other. Wetry to eat their food, but can’t quite swallow it.Staying there like this, we start to get boredand want to go home, but even then, having28 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 28

The climate there may be hotter or colderthan here. It is only different to that extent.Still being new to an area, it can appearstrange to us, but after we have stayed therefor a bit, it isn’t going to be any different fromthe place where we ourselves are from.Although we might find some degree ofcomfort there, it cannot compare with ourhometown.Our home is the place that has all ofthe things that we are accustomed to andenjoy. All matters of food and language cannever compare with the way things are athome.Sometimes, when we go abroad, wecan speak some of their language, but westill can’t really get through to each other. Wetry to eat their food, but can’t quite swallow it.Staying there like this, we start to get boredand want to go home, but even then, havingThe Travelin’ Man 28returned, we get bored with our home tooand want to go out traveling again.Try to look at this picture and see it as acycle that deceives us into constantlysquirming around here and there. You aretossed around over there, then once havingarrived, you are pulled right back over tohere. It has always been like this, and it isgoing to continue to be like this.So we continue to be restless in thisway, continually changing places andcircumstances. It has always been this way,as we seem unable to accept what ismonotonous, always needing somethingdifferent and new. But the truth is that in thisworld, there isn’t really anything different andnew. It’s just monotonous. It’s all the same.Here, we have foreigners who come toThailand, and likewise, Thai people travel toforeign countries. For having started to feelPhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 2299

that things are monotonous, they get boredwith their home and end up traveling here.Thai people, likewise, bored with their homes,find ways to travel to foreign countries. Thereis not much to it; wherever we have gone,after having stayed there for a while, we startto feel that things are monotonous.Our problem is our fear of old age,illness, and dying. They continue to bepresent within our hearts. Going to travel tovarious places, to eat and party, isn’t going toeliminate our fear of aging, sickness, anddeath. We must practice the Dhamma if weare to solve our problems.30 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 30

that things are monotonous, they get boredwith their home and end up traveling here.Thai people, likewise, bored with their homes,find ways to travel to foreign countries. Thereis not much to it; wherever we have gone,after having stayed there for a while, we startto feel that things are monotonous.Our problem is our fear of old age,illness, and dying. They continue to bepresent within our hearts. Going to travel tovarious places, to eat and party, isn’t going toeliminate our fear of aging, sickness, anddeath. We must practice the Dhamma if weare to solve our problems.The Travelin’ Man 30

The fact that we are not able to followalong the path of the Dhamma is due to thekilesas, which are constantly waiting tooppress us.If we are to follow the Dhamma andpractice according to the reality of things, wewill need to put an end to the kilesa ofcraving.For as long as one is unable to put anend to the kilesa of craving, there will be nofollowing of the Dhamma.32 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 32

The fact that we are not able to followalong the path of the Dhamma is due to thekilesas, which are constantly waiting tooppress us.If we are to follow the Dhamma andpractice according to the reality of things, wewill need to put an end to the kilesa ofcraving.For as long as one is unable to put anend to the kilesa of craving, there will be nofollowing of the Dhamma.The Travelin’ Man 32

Part TwoCOMING TO THE END OF THE PATHTHROUGH DHAMMAPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhijāto34 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 34

Part TwoCOMING TO THE END OF THE PATHTHROUGH DHAMMAPhra Ajahn Suchart AbhijātoThe Travelin’ Man 34

Going to the origins of the body,Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.This is what is called practicingkammathan.36 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 36

Going to the origins of the body,Earth, Water, Fire, and Air.This is what is called practicingkammathan.The Travelin’ Man 36

COMING TO STUDY KAMMATHANIn coming to learn “who we really are” fromthe Buddha, we will learn that “this body isnot who we are, this body is just made of fourelements of earth, water, wind, and fire.”When they come together, the fourelements change their form and becomehead hair, body hair, nails, teeth, and skin.“Hair of the head” comes from the fourelements. “Nails, teeth, skin, muscle, tendons,and bones” also come from the fourelements. “The four elements” come by wayof the food that we consume, the water thatwe drink, the air that we breathe, and, as for38 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 38

COMING TO STUDY KAMMATHANIn coming to learn “who we really are” fromthe Buddha, we will learn that “this body isnot who we are, this body is just made of fourelements of earth, water, wind, and fire.”When they come together, the fourelements change their form and becomehead hair, body hair, nails, teeth, and skin.“Hair of the head” comes from the fourelements. “Nails, teeth, skin, muscle, tendons,and bones” also come from the fourelements. “The four elements” come by wayof the food that we consume, the water thatwe drink, the air that we breathe, and, as forThe Travelin’ Man 38the fire element, it comes from the heat ofsunlight. These are the things that make ourbody. Initially, this body is just a small thing;as it reaches adulthood, each part mustdevelop. You should examine this to see how,initially, there are just two cells that cometogether, but then progressively begin toexpand and multiply, from two to four, thenfour to eight, and so on. They keep ondeveloping into the various parts of the body.Continuing, they become the hair of thehead, hair of the body, nails, teeth, and skin.They become our bones and muscles. Whenall thirty-two parts of the body are present,then that is the time when it will have to comeout of the womb to continue developingfurther.Once it has emerged from the womb, itwill have to continuously replenish itself withPhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 3399

the four elements through eating andrespiration.Likewise, the body's temperature alsoneeds to be continuously maintained. If itdrops below a certain point, we soon becomeill, so we end up relying heavily on the fireelement. There needs to be a balance in thefire element to maintain our health.We need the wind and the waterelement. Water is something we have alwaysbeen drinking, but the earth element is notsomething that we have to spend all dayreplenishing, as we do with the water andwind elements. It is enough to replenish thisearth element just two times a day. We caneat just twice a day, but regarding the windelement, we are continuously breathing. Injust one minute, we have sixty in-breaths andout-breaths. Likewise, the water element40 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 40

the four elements through eating andrespiration.Likewise, the body's temperature alsoneeds to be continuously maintained. If itdrops below a certain point, we soon becomeill, so we end up relying heavily on the fireelement. There needs to be a balance in thefire element to maintain our health.We need the wind and the waterelement. Water is something we have alwaysbeen drinking, but the earth element is notsomething that we have to spend all dayreplenishing, as we do with the water andwind elements. It is enough to replenish thisearth element just two times a day. We caneat just twice a day, but regarding the windelement, we are continuously breathing. Injust one minute, we have sixty in-breaths andout-breaths. Likewise, the water elementThe Travelin’ Man 40doesn’t require a lot, but it is still morefrequent than the earth element.For this body to grow, the fire elementmust always be present. It will continue togrow until it reaches its full potential. In thisstage, growth is more about height than it isabout muscle mass, but once it has reachedits full height, it begins to grow outwards interms of muscle mass. Adding onto the armsand legs, as well as the stomach, whicheverparts they may be, they just continue to growand get bigger.Having reached that point, it hasreached its full capacity in terms of theframe of the body. Then, from there on, thereisn’t going to be any more growth. It issimply a countdown as the body ages,withers, and gradually diminishes in size.This is just the nature of the body, thenature of the elements of earth, wind, fire,PhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 4411

and water that have come together. It is justnatural that once there has been aconvalescence, there must also be adispersal.Initially, the force of vitality that causesthe elements to come and join together isstronger. But having reached the final stageof development, the force causing theelements to separate becomes increasinglystronger, and ultimately this force prevails —there is just permanent separation.This separation begins at the point atwhich the wind element is no longer cominginto the body. No longer coming into thebody, this wind element will only find a wayto come out. Likewise, water that does notcome in will solely go out. Fire not coming inwill only go out. If you were to leave the bodylike this for a long time, all that would remain42 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 42

and water that have come together. It is justnatural that once there has been aconvalescence, there must also be adispersal.Initially, the force of vitality that causesthe elements to come and join together isstronger. But having reached the final stageof development, the force causing theelements to separate becomes increasinglystronger, and ultimately this force prevails —there is just permanent separation.This separation begins at the point atwhich the wind element is no longer cominginto the body. No longer coming into thebody, this wind element will only find a wayto come out. Likewise, water that does notcome in will solely go out. Fire not coming inwill only go out. If you were to leave the bodylike this for a long time, all that would remainThe Travelin’ Man 42are those parts consisting of the earthelement.Becoming all dried out, this body justbecomes dirt and dust. At this point, the bodyhas turned back to its origins. It has goneback to the elements of earth, water, fire, andwind. This is what is called kammathan, thework of which those who practice Dhammaneed to study, more so than the amount towhich those practicing to become a doctorneed to study.A medical student studies solely to passtheir tests, but after passing them, they nolonger have any need to study further. Insome cases, they end up forgetting whatthey had learned.Having learned various things andexplored different fields of study, some ofwhich have no practical application in ourlives, we often end up forgetting themPhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 4433

because they are so specialized. Although welearn about this body at some point in time,we eventually find ourselves unable to recallthat knowledge. If we want it to be fresh inour memory again, we’ll have to take out ourtextbooks and look over them again.But in developing a kammathan, thereis no such forgetting. The whole point ofpracticing with a kammathan is so that wewon’t forget, to make this knowledge that isalways with us.Even a single moment of forgettingcauses us to fall into the delusion that thisbody is ours, bringing suffering along with it.If, for instance, we are experiencing pain andstill hold that this body is ours, thenimmediately the citta becomes troubled andexperiences dukkha.But if we are not confused, and if wedon’t forget the body is just like an actor or a44 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 44

because they are so specialized. Although welearn about this body at some point in time,we eventually find ourselves unable to recallthat knowledge. If we want it to be fresh inour memory again, we’ll have to take out ourtextbooks and look over them again.But in developing a kammathan, thereis no such forgetting. The whole point ofpracticing with a kammathan is so that wewon’t forget, to make this knowledge that isalways with us.Even a single moment of forgettingcauses us to fall into the delusion that thisbody is ours, bringing suffering along with it.If, for instance, we are experiencing pain andstill hold that this body is ours, thenimmediately the citta becomes troubled andexperiences dukkha.But if we are not confused, and if wedon’t forget the body is just like an actor or aThe Travelin’ Man 44player in a game, just that and nothing more,then whatever might come up with the bodyis merely its own issue—not our issue. If weare unable to control the situation, as is thecase with the body, the most we can do istake care of it to the best of our ability. If wecan take care of it, then just go along withthat—but if we are unable to take care of it,then just accept the situation.When the body is sick and in pain, westill have to stay with it, but the heart doesn’tneed to go along to suffer with it. Just knowthat the citta is not the body. Just know thatthis body is just earth, water, wind, and fire.Just that.PhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 4455

IF IN COMING TO LEARN THE TRUTH ABOUTTHE VARIOUS THINGS……we can come to understand that they aren’tours, and that they contain no self withinthem, this is something which will be of reallygreat benefit for us. For it will cause us tochange our attitude toward the whole world,towards all of the things that we have andknow, if, going forward, we can change ourperspective and understand that.There is no self in the bodies of all ofthese different people. There is no father inthe body of our father, no mother in the bodyPhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 4477

of our mother: no sister, no child, no husband,and no wife in all of these different bodies.The body is just the body. But the onethat comes along and claims that body as“me” is the citta: the knower, the thinker, theimaginer. The citta never dies. It doesn’t diealong with the body.In the absence of the body, the one thatpersists is called the “spirit.” Just that. This isthe one that knows and thinks, that goes onimagining and goes on to find a new body.And what causes it to go on to find a newbody? It is this very one that knows andthinks—it goes on to thinking about having anew body, that's it.Would you believe it? It is just like aperson who is attached to their phone. Whentheir device has stopped working, wouldn’tthey go on to purchase a new one? Without aphone, they won’t be able to get by. It would48 The Travelin’ Man The Travelin’ Man 48

of our mother: no sister, no child, no husband,and no wife in all of these different bodies.The body is just the body. But the onethat comes along and claims that body as“me” is the citta: the knower, the thinker, theimaginer. The citta never dies. It doesn’t diealong with the body.In the absence of the body, the one thatpersists is called the “spirit.” Just that. This isthe one that knows and thinks, that goes onimagining and goes on to find a new body.And what causes it to go on to find a newbody? It is this very one that knows andthinks—it goes on to thinking about having anew body, that's it.Would you believe it? It is just like aperson who is attached to their phone. Whentheir device has stopped working, wouldn’tthey go on to purchase a new one? Without aphone, they won’t be able to get by. It wouldThe Travelin’ Man 48be as though they had lost their arms or legs.Having lost their phone, they immediatelystart to look up places that sell phones. Theyplace an order and give the store advancenotice.The heart that has always known andpossessed a body is similar to this situationwith smartphones. For whatever happens tothe body, if it can no longer be used, the cittathat doesn’t die along with the body—thecitta that has a need to come and find a newbody—will just come back to find a new one.So it comes back and is born again. Everytime we will need to come back for a newone. It is always like this.In coming back to be born again, weare also coming back to become old,become sick, and die again. We are comingback for another round of suffering. Having abody—in tandem with the obsession that thisPhraPhra Ajahn Suchart Abhij Ajahn Suchart Abhijātāoto 4499