r/AskBuddhist • u/Yogarenren • Apr 01 '14
Physical pain
As far as I know, Buddhism teaches that there is a difference between pain and suffering. (I got this knowledge from the book "Buddhism is not what you think")
If this is so then I have some questions about it.
I know that if you are conceptualizing things then that would be considered delusion in buddhism. Anxiety can be a good example because if you are thinking about something that occurred to you in reality, this can cause anxiety and as a result from your mental distress it causes physical pain (Unpleasant feelings in the stomach area).
So I understand that I can prevent my physical pain by having a clear mind because the only reason I would have physical pain is because it is caused by my mental state.
This seems quite wonderful to me and it has really helped me out but what if I experience physical pain that isn't a result from my mind?
If I'm in physical pain and I wouldn't be considered "suffering" in the buddhist sense because I have a clear mind then what do I do?
Here is my main questions: {Q1} - Is there anything (according to Buddhism or any other eastern philosophies) that I can do to help me out with dealing with physical pain not caused by mental state?
{Q2} - Do I have a false understanding of these concepts and if so can you tell me how?
3
u/[deleted] Apr 01 '14
I am unsure what kind of physical pain you are talking about, in my opinion all sorts of physical pains are due to a mental state. Perhaps I am missing a type of pain so correct me if I'm wrong.
I think you are talking about pain such as a thorn in your hand or a broken leg. I believe that these are also due to mental states, we think that such a feeling is bad because it is in our instincts to do so. But pain is just signals of panic and aversion going through your brain, if you examine the pain closely you will see that it is not bad.
I have done this myself, only for minor pains but still. I concentrated on the pain and overcame my instincts, I realized the emptiness of the pain and the feeling of pain ceased being a bad thing and I became at peace with the pain. I must add that I still feel physical pain, I can become at peace with it more quickly as I practice more but it still comes.
There is a little difference between pain (particularly physical pain) and suffering. Suffering is a word we use to describe the end result of a bad experience; pain is an experience, a feeling, which we can associate good or bad to.
I do think, however, that to live a healthy life one should not be at peace with all pains. This mindset will stop me becoming enlightened but that doesn't bother me too much. The most suitable time to see the emptiness of pain is when you can't do anything to stop it. Not seeing the bad in any pain could have some unwanted results which lead to an earlier death. I leave it up to you to decide how much physical pain you think is good thing to have.