If the body could talk, it would be telling us all day long, "You're not my owner, you know." Actually it's telling it to us all the time, but it's Dhamma language so we're unable to understand it.
Conditions don't belong to us. They follow their own natural course.We can't do anything about the way the body is. We can beautify it a little, make it look attractive and clean for a while, like the young girl who paint their lips and let their nail grow long, but when old age arrives, everyone is in the same boat.That is the way the body is. We can't make it any other way. But what we can improve and beautify is the mind.
If our body really belonged to us, it would obey our commands. If we say "Don't get old," or "I forbid you to get sick," does it obey us? No! It's take no notice. We only rent this"house," not own it. If we think it does belong to us, we will suffer when we have to leave it. But in reality, there is no such things as a permanent self, nothing unchanging or solid that we can hold on to.
Venerable Ajahn Chah
