Pain, suffering and Buddha’s teachings

[five_aggregates]

I would like to share some reflections I have had over the past four weeks on pain, suffering, and the Buddha’s teachings. I would be interested to hear your thoughts.

Pain exists across a wide spectrum and may arise from conditions affecting either the body or the mind.

Physical pain is an unavoidable part of life. Whether a person is virtuous or not, noble or not, and whether or not they understand the Buddha’s teachings, every human being is vulnerable to physical pain simply because we have bodies. When the body is injured, ill, or under stress, pain can arise. As long as we have a body, the conditions for physical pain may arise at any time.

There are many different kinds of physical pain, but they also have certain features in common. Pain may arise in different parts of the body when the necessary conditions are present. For example, pain in the hand may arise when the hand is injured or affected by illness. Similarly, surgery on a particular part of the body produces pain associated with that area.

I recently spent some time in hospital after undergoing surgery, where I shared a ward with other patients. Almost everyone in the ward was experiencing pain, but each person’s pain was different. One person had pain in their lungs, another in their legs, and so on.

I also noticed that although the causes and locations of the pain were different, similar pain-relief medications were often used to treat many kinds of physical pain—for example, paracetamol for mild pain and opioids for more severe pain. Those with medical or nursing experience may be able to comment further on this observation.

The use of medicines that may cause drowsiness, sedation, or a degree of intoxication can also be appropriate when they are medically necessary for pain relief and recovery. When such medicines are prescribed, the purpose is treatment rather than intoxication for pleasure.

Wealth may provide access to better facilities, a higher standard of hospital care, and more timely and effective pain management. However, even the best medical care cannot guarantee complete freedom from physical pain. Wealth may change the conditions in which pain is treated, but it cannot remove the body’s vulnerability to illness, injury, ageing, and discomfort.

When physical pain arises, the bodily sensation itself is unavoidable, regardless of how far a person has progressed on the path.

My current understanding is that the Buddha’s teachings help us reduce or avoid certain forms of preventable suffering, particularly the mental suffering that arises in response to own or others’ verbal, physical, and mental actions.

[five_aggregates]

Why do we try to avoid pain?

My reflection was, pain is part of the human experience and serves as a survival mechanism. It can alert the body to injury, illness, or danger. Not all pain is life-threatening, but pain is often accompanied by suffering (while pain lasts). Why do we try to avoid it? Simply because being in pain can be terrible.

What does this reflection bring about? What conclusion can we draw beyond the fact that everyone experiences pain?

We should avoid unnecessary pain by avoiding its causes and conditions. At times, however, we may need to accept useful pain (such as the pain of surgery) in order to prevent greater pain in the long term. There are also some forms of pain in life that cannot be avoided, it comes on our way, no matter what we do.

The main takeaway for me is that, when physical pain arises, we cannot truly escape it merely by distracting the mind. Instead, we need to acknowledge the reality of the pain and allow it to be present without adding further resistance.

Through the teachings, we can learn to avoid unnecessary physical and mental suffering. We can also learn to accept useful or unavoidable pain.

[marinoklisovich]

@five_aggregates

My current understanding is that the Buddha’s teachings help us reduce or avoid certain forms of preventable suffering, particularly the mental suffering that arises in response to own or others’ verbal, physical, and mental actions.

This is my experience with the Buddhist practice of mettā. Miraculously, just my mere chanting of the mettā mantra (sabbe sattā bhavantu sukhitattā) with attention, I was able to reduce my mental suffering to a good degree.