Also they understood from his words that he spoke with them, that in his youth when he toiled and labored for the service of Hashem, he had many (many) types of mortification, and according to what was heard and understood from his words, (that) he had all types of mortifications that there are in the world, be it rolling in the snow etc. and so forth. And he said, that the mortification of restraining oneself not to scratch himself at all, this is the overly greatest mortification, that is, when a person is being bit (-irritated) by the things found close to his skin, and it is the way of everyone to scratch themselves whenever they feel the biting (-itching); and he accepted this as a mortification, to force himself not to scratch at all, not with his hand and not with his body and not with any limb, and he said, that this is a very great mortification, for the person is inert, and then the biting/itching grows stronger, and he is forbidden to move his hands or any limb, just to feel every bite in his mind, and it is a very great mortification. (And I have already heard this from other people, that this is a very great mortification). And he of blessed memory did everything, all the types of modifications that there are in the world, and everything - with temeemus (wholesomeness, wholeheartedness, simplicity, unfeigned) and truth, until he merited to what he merited, fortunate is he.
Also in the matter of suffering, which befall upon most tzadikim, mamash (-literally) there is not heard and there is not seen a peer of suffering like him, and it is impossible to relate and to explain. And he was full of suffering from inside and out. And in the beginning, before the end of his days, he had enormous and terrible suffering, which has no counterpart suffering in the world. And he related, that his suffering are in his hand (-control); whenever he desires - he accepts them upon himself, and these sufferings come upon him, and when he desires to get rid of them - they depart from upon him (t.n. the Talmud, Bava Metzeyuh 84a relates this of Rabbi Eluzar son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai). And the enormity of the harshness and the weight of the sufferings was immeasurable.
They said over in his name that he said, that in the hour (-time) that the sufferings come upon him, from the utter magnitude of the superlative pain and very, very excruciating agony, he was just about able to bite a tree with his teeth from the enormous pain (like a person does when he has formidable suffering, that from the sheer enormity of the suffering he gnashes his teeth; and upon him of blessed memory the suffering was so intense and harsh, to the extent that at the time of the suffering he was able to cut through wood with his teeth from the enormous pain). However the greatness and massiveness of the harsh and enormous suffering that he had at the end of his days for three consecutive years, were yet much, much greater and harsher manifold ("double and quadruple"), unfathomable and beyond any reckoning. And a little of this will be explained elsewhere (see The Life of Our Leader Rabbi Nachman, the section addressing his trip to Lemberg and the section of his trip and stay in Uman, and The Days of Our Teacher Rabbi Nussun), if it is Hashem's will, a slight fringe. And there is still a lot more to relate, but we omitted most of it, even of the little that we know, because even this little (that we know) is a lot to tell over, and many folios would be insufficient, and further revelation will be in yet a future time to explain more, with the help of Hashem Yisburach.