He paused, then clenched his fist tightly around the stone. “But suffering… suffering begins when you refuse to let go.” The young man frowned. “I don’t understand.” The monk smiled softly. “Imagine holding this stone for one minute. It’s nothing. Hold it for an hour… it becomes uncomfortable. Hold it for a day… it becomes unbearable. The pain is the stone. The suffering is how long you choose to hold onto it