How does one reconcile with physical pain?

• allkosong

  26 Dec 11, 18:41

  Hello everyone,

  How does one reconcile with physical pain?  Physical pain is real, it is not something borne out of the 3 poisons of greed, hatred and delusion.  What should one do when experiencing great physical pain besides accepting and enduring it?

  Thank you.

   

• realization

  27 Dec 11, 08:26

  Hey allkosong,

  http://sayadawutejaniya.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/dontlookpp1-39.pdf

  Go straight to pg. 22 of the above PDF book ("Don't look down on the defilements, They will laugh at you" by Sayadaw U Tejaniya).

  That section deals with what you are asking.

• Dharmadhatu

  27 Dec 11, 19:17

  Originally posted by allkosong:

  Hello everyone,

  How does one reconcile with physical pain?  Physical pain is real, it is not something borne out of the 3 poisons of greed, hatred and delusion.  What should one do when experiencing great physical pain besides accepting and enduring it?

  Thank you.

   

  If you are practising and this is purification of past karma. So we can be glad that it purify now instead of more heavier suffering in the lower realms after death.

  2. use meditative awareness to note the pain, use it as an object of meditation

  3. suffer it for the sake of all sentient beings who are in pain.  use it to develop empathy for others' sufferings.

   

  peace to you!

• Dharmadhatu

  27 Dec 11, 19:19

  also, think of others who have more pain, a dharma practitioner said, if you've lost a toe, think of those who have lost a leg.

   

• Weychin

  28 Dec 11, 13:55

  Experience the sensation no more than neccessary, acknowledging without too much undue attention to it or trying avoiding pain. We often react to it either way, accentuating the discomfort. The difference is aggravation not arising.
• allkosong

  28 Dec 11, 19:19

  Originally posted by Weychin:

  Experience the sensation no more than neccessary, acknowledging without too much undue attention to it or trying avoiding pain. We often react to it either way, accentuating the discomfort.
  The difference is aggravation not arising.

  Thank you, Weychin, that was what I thought.  However, I have been told that one should meditate on the pain although common sense tells me to focus my attention on something else.  If we are meditating on the pain, aren't we giving it ALL our attention ie. too much undue attention, and consequently amplifying the feeling of pain?

  I am probably missing something here.  Kindly advise.

   

• Weychin

  28 Dec 11, 20:37

  We react to pain, with negativity.Because, usually we do not observe the sensation of pain with calmness. Simply observe the sensation(pain), localised or widespread, lingering or acute, sharp or dull, pricking or intermittent(throbbing). Although our reaction towards either acute or chronic pain is different, both evokes negativity.
• realization

  28 Dec 11, 21:01

  Allkosong,

  If you allow yourself to feel the raw sensation of the pain itself, adding no interpretations to it, you may be surprised to discover that you feel less aggravation/suffering.

  When focussing your attention on something else in hopes to distract yourself, you could still be at the back of your mind offering up resistance to the pain.  This resistance brings about suffering and at the same time, you are using up a lot of energy. 

  If resistance and aversion to the pain is inevitable because of its intensity, then try noticing your resistance and disgust for what it is.  By noting that a particular thought/emotion that arises is a form of aversion to the pain, that aversion has a chance to dissolve.  Consequently, you experience less suffering.