Specialist - Pain

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In the infinite sky, various winds blow. They begin to blow. They become strong. They sway. Sometimes they blow east. Sometimes they blow west. Sometimes they blow north. Sometimes they blow south. Sometimes they blow hot. Sometimes they blow cold. Sometimes they blow full of mist. Sometimes they blow without mist. Sometimes they blow with a bad smell. Sometimes they blow with a good smell. Sometimes they blow stormy. Sometimes they blow gentle. The sky is as if it does not belong to any wind. Various winds blow. They increase in speed. Then they disappear after a while.

In a certain monastery, in a certain monastery, in a certain hotel, in a certain motel, all kinds of people come and go. There are people from the east. There are people from the west. There are people from the north. There are people from the south. There are people from the white skin. There are people from the dark skin. There are people from the yellow skin. There are people from the brown skin. There are people from the short skin. There are people from the tall skin. There are people from the thin skin. There are people from the strong skin. There are people from the weak skin. There are people from the handsome skin. There are people from the ugly skin. The monastery, the monastery, does not have any effect on who comes. The travelers arrive. They stay for a moment. Then they leave sooner or later.

In the same way, various kinds of pain arise in our bodies. They linger for a moment. Then, slowly or quickly, they depart. They do not come to stay for an indefinite period of time.

But we are influenced by these feelings. We react. We react with passion, we react with anger. Why is that? Because our perception, our identity, is valuing these feelings. It is valuing them wrongly.

One feeling is called pleasant feeling. It is called the feeling that causes pleasure. Another feeling is called painful feeling. It is called the feeling that causes suffering. Another feeling is called unpleasant feeling. It is called the feeling that causes neither pleasure nor suffering.

They think that the pain they call pleasant pain is desirable and they react with desire to that pain. They think that the pain they call painful pain is undesirable and they react with anger to that pain.

If it is a pleasant feeling, they react to make it persist and increase. If it is a painful feeling, they react to make it disappear quickly. If it is a painful feeling, they react to make it disappear quickly. If it is a painful feeling, they react to make it disappear with anger, and if it is a painful feeling, they react to make it disappear with other pleasant feelings.

If we use wisdom in place of perception, we will no longer make false judgments. Once we understand the true nature of suffering through our own experience, we will be able to correctly evaluate all suffering. Then we will stop reacting to passion and anger.

If one evaluates correctly with wisdom, one will come to realize, “Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, whether it is unpleasant or unpleasant, whether it is harsh or gentle, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, whether it is desirable or undesirable, all sensations are impermanent. They are subject to change. They are subject to change.” One will come to realize that, like the wind in the sky, like a traveler on a journey, they come to go, not to live.

We have no ownership over these feelings. We have no dominion over them. We cannot say, “Come,” to a feeling. We cannot prevent a feeling. We cannot expel a feeling and it does not go away. The feeling that arises arises naturally. If this is the case, then looking at the impermanent, the non-existent feeling and deciding something, labeling it, is impermanent.

It is true that reacting with passion and anger to pain, which is impermanent, only causes suffering.

Such a valuation through wisdom is the correct valuation. By making such a valuation, the yogi, without being biased, but standing on one level, will see and know the way to liberation from all suffering. This is Vipassana. The Dhamma Ganges that cleanses the mind. The Dhamma Ganges that gives liberation and peace.

Let us immerse ourselves in this river of insight, bathe in it, and be free from all suffering. Let us strive for our own well-being in the true sense of the word.