ing, he sent them to look in the forest for certain medicinal plants
that he had previously found beneficial. They gathered various
roots and wood essences which he boiled into a potion and drank,
or else ground into powder, drinking it dissolved in water. He
tried several different combinations of herbs, but none relieved his
symptoms. They worsened with each passing day. His body was
extremely weak; and though his mental resolve was not greatly
affected, it was clearly weaker than normal.
As he sat drinking the medicine one day, a thought arose
which, prompting a self-critical examination, reinforced his resolve:
I’ve been taking this medicine now for many days. If it really is
an effective stomach cure, then I should see some positive results by
now. But every day my condition worsens. Why isn’t this medicine
having the desired effect? Perhaps it’s not helping at all. Instead, it may
be aggravating the symptoms and so causing the steady deterioration.
If so, why continue taking it?
Once he became fully aware of his predicament, he made
an emphatic decision. From that day on he would treat his stom-
ach disorder using only ‘the therapeutic properties of Dhamma’.
If he lived, so much the better; if he died, then so be it. Conven-
tional types of treatment proving ineffective, he determined to
stop taking all medicines until he was cured by Dhamma’s thera-
peutic powers, or else died there in the cave. With this firm reso-
lution in mind, he reminded himself:
I’m a Buddhist monk. I’ve certainly practiced meditation long
enough to recognize the correct path leading to magga, phala, and
Nibbãna. By now my practice should be firmly anchored in this con-
viction. So why am I so weak and cowardly when faced with a small
degree of pain? It’s only a slight pain, after all, yet I can’t seem to come
jacob rumans
(Jacob Rumans)
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