If you can learn how to think about the aging, illness and death of the body as normal, you can do away with a LOT of suffering.

"We have that chant, “We’re subject to aging, illness and death and subject to separation.” In the Thai translation of that Pali passage, it’s, “Aging is normal. Illness is normal. Death is normal.” We don’t like to think about these things as normal, but actually if you can learn how to think about them as normal, you can do away with a lot of suffering. But it also means that when things happen to the body, you have to say, “Oh, it’s just the normal way of the body.” You do what you can, if it’s a disease, to treat it, but you find that there are some things that are there without asking permission — and they’re there regardless of what the doctors do or whatever medical treatment you can think up for yourself — that’s when you have to learn how to live with these things but without suffering from them."

~ Thanissaro Bhikkhu "A Blameless Happiness"

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