In my Zen practice experience pain can occur.. Often physical pain. For me, pain more than often holds a lesson. Sometimes a valuable lesson. Where pleasure and achievement are just “so what!?”, pain can hold some profound insights.I have had some profound realisations from pain about my existence, often momentary but profound, existential insights. This is often accompanied by a ‘spaced out’ feeling recognising for the moment that I am not my mind-body, or what has been referred to as the ‘pain-body’. But words are not really adequate to explain these moments... but I would say that these moments are healing.
It is claimed by the enlightened that on the moment of enlightenment one transcends pain. From what I understand that does not mean being rid of pain, but finding a state of awareness that holds the pain, is the context of all feeling, and a realisation that it does not last forever.
Zen masters get sick too. One can read many accounts of it. I guess for me it is all about making a distinction between pain and suffering as in our world, the two seem to be blurred together in consciousness by our language.
I feel that we live in the duality of our minds, Indeed how are we to define things if there is no duality?
If there is pain then there is the absence of comfort by which to measure it.
If there is comfort then we would recognise it by the absence of pain.
Just some crazy Zen thoughts on the matter… Coming from memory of what I have learned. That is illusion… or not!
If you wish to, please feel free to share any insight that you have about pain..
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