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| Wednesday, 2 October 2002 |
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Facing pain according to the Buddhist way by Rajah Kuruppu Pain is considered as bodily and mental suffering from a Buddhist stand point. Mental and physical pain influence each other. Physical pain leads to mental pain and vice versa.Mental pains, which include anxiety and worry, lead to physical ailments called psychosomatic diseases. On the other hand, physical pain leads to mental distress. In Buddhism greater emphasis is placed on mental pain over which one has greater control than physical pain. Pain like death is common to all. While one faces death only once, pain is experienced throughout life from birth to death or even from womb to death. It is a daily occurrence and there is no day when pain, mental and physical, is totally absent, both in good times and bad times. Although the cause for physical pain is in the body, the pain is experienced in the mind. When there is a physical injury, the nervous system ensures that the mind is made aware of it leading to mental pain. Similarly, pangs of hunger originating in the stomach are felt in the mind. The use of pain killers such as anaesthesia make it possible to break the link between the physical wound and the mind leading to substantial or total freedom from the pain. In Buddhism, the concentrated and developed mind could also overcome the pain to a significant extent by giving total attention to another object. In Burma a meditation master underwent an operation for hernia without an anaesthetic. similarly, there are meditating monks who have their teeth extracted without pain killers. It is also said that one could have relief from physical pain by engaging in anapanasati, the meditation on in and out breathing, which calms the mind. Overcoming pain Buddhism deals with dukkha, the unsatisfactory nature of life. Pain is included under dukkha which is explained as old age, disease, decay, death, suffering, lamentation, pain, grief, not getting what one wants, parting from loved ones and being compelled to associate with the disliked. So pain is a part of life. One cannot do away with pain but one could wisely understand pain, accept it as a part of life and fully or partially relieve the pain by wise attention and meditative concentration of the mind. It is said that the Arahats, who realised the Buddhist goal of Nibbana, are totally free from mental pain as they have overcome anxieties and worries by the eradication of all the defilements of the mind. Pain includes defilements of the mind such as hatred, anger, and jealousy. These evil emotions lead to agitation and cause pain of mind. The Buddhist counter for hatred is the development of metta or loving kindness, the sincere wish for the happiness and welfare of all living beings; for anger, mindfulness and being alive to the liabilities of anger; and for jealousy, the development of the noble quality of mudita, which is sympathetic joy or joy in the happiness and welfare of others. In accepting and understanding pain a Buddhist should be constantly aware of the eight vicissititudes of life - atta-locka dhamma. They come in pairs, namely, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, repute and ill-repute, and gain and loss. Life is a package of pleasant, painful and neutral experiences. One cannot experience only a part of the package. Positive aspects While no one is happy with pain, the positive aspects of pain should not be overlooked. Physical pain is often a warning that there is something wrong with the physical system. Thus, chest pain called angina is a warning of cardiovascular disease. This warning is helpful to take early remedial action to cure the main ailment. Pain is also helpful for the development of patience, a noble quality of the mind advocated in Buddhism. It provides an opportunity to understand and learn from the normal reactions to pain which includes repulsion, impatience, frustration, anger, restlessness, disappointment and confusion. None of these reactions are helpful to face pain but would only aggravate the unpleasant experience. Patience and impatience are two mental factors that exclude each other. Mindfulness of impatience lead to a knowledge of impatience which is helpful to uproot it. Another positive aspect of pain from a Buddhist standpoint is that it is an opportunity to think of dukkha, the unsatisfactory nature of life. Buddhism deals with dukkha, the fundamental problem of life, and its cessation. Happiness is also included in dukkha since it is temporary and effemerel and therefore unsatisfactory. Yet, when one is happy there is no inclination to think of dukkha. It is when experiencing the unpleasant, including pain, that one is more inclined to think and reflect on dukkha. Pain is also a subject for meditation or bhavana. When one is in the meditation posture with the least possible movement of the body and the mind deeply concentrated, pain could arise. When one is engaged in anapanasati meditation, observing the in and out breathing and pain arises perhaps due to being in the same posture for a considerable period, then one should observe the pain three to four times and then direct the mind back to the meditation subject of in and out breathing. If the pain increases, observe the pain again three or four times and back again to the subject of meditation. The idea is to observe the pain objectively and it would be good if one could stand the pain, work through it and maintain one's stability, calm, peace and reason. If the pain continues to increase, one should observe the pain again for the third time and remain longer with the pain, watch the pain directing attention to the particular area of the pain. If the pain decreases come back to the subject of meditation, the breathing. On the other hand, if the pain increases, observe it with great effort and if it becomes unbearable change position to relieve the pain. When pain arise and without accepting the pain as a part of life we identify the pain with ourselves then the pain increases. One must train not to personalise the pain as my pain but just observe that there is pain. Why pain A Buddhist should never raise the question in one's mind as to why one has to experience substantial pain while others are comparatively free from such pain. No one is completely free from pain for any reasonable length of time. The reason for experiencing more pain than others is the law of kamma, the law of cause and effect. One's own unwholesome actions, both in this life and previous lives, would be the main cause of exceptional pain. The remedy is to engage in wholesome actions. Even when confined to bed one could perform wholesome acts by thoughts of loving kindness, compassion and joy in the happiness of others, which are meritorious actions. Such thoughts would purify the mind and have a direct positive bearing on relieving the pain. Blaming others for one's pains and repulsion towards pain is not a Buddhist approach to pain and it would aggravate the pain. Thoughts of ill-will towards those considered responsible for the pain would defile the mind and add to the pain. Measures to reduce pain Pain, mental and physical, like all other aspects of dukkha are not only due to kammic actions of the past. By taking positive action to take care of one's constitution, bodily pains could be substantially reduced. Buddhist literature indicate measures that could be adopted for this purpose. One is moderate eating habits. The Buddha said that eating too much was bad for health. The Buddha advised that one should end a meal when able to consume comfortably 5 to 6 additional mouthfuls of food. Another measure for good physical health advocated in Buddhism is exercise and to be active and not lazy. Monks are advised to physically exert themselves and maintain the temple and its premises clean and in good condition. The Buddha Himself walked great distances to deliver the message of the Dhamma to as many people as possible. The purification of the mind is another factor for healthy living which
would prevent the arising of psychosomatic diseases. Related to the
purification of the mind is the development of the great quality of
equanimity or balance of mind which would enable one not to be too happy
with the pleasant and not too depressed with the unpleasant, to control
anxieties and worries that are adverse to good health. To the extent that
equanimity is developed energies dissipated by mental disturbances would
be saved and could be utilized for the effort to proceed on the path to
liberation. Buddhism around the World Global conference on Buddhism- 1200 Buddhist leaders to attend by Nemsiri Mutukumara One thousand two hundred Buddhist leaders from across the world led by World's leading Buddha Dhamma practitioners, eminent Buddhist scholars and renowned Buddhist thinkers will descend on Malaysian soil for a two-day Global Conference on Buddhism - 2002 slated for December 7 and 8 at the Grand Blue Wave Hotel, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.
Mr. Goh Seng Chai, Organizing Secretary states that the theme of the conference is "Buddhism for a Richer Life". Mr. Goh who was a leading Buddhist Youth in the country has now graduated to be the President of the World Fellowship of Buddhist Selangor Regional Centre of Malaysia. The Global Conference has attracted widespread interest in several countries. The event has overseas coordinators. Mrs. Angie Monksfield in Singapore, Mrs. Pannee Boonyakamol in Thailand, Mrs. Sumi Loundon in United States of America, Mr. Usman Lais in Australia and Ven. M. Anuruddha Thera in New Zealand. Mr. Goh says that the participants, all knowledgeable and authoritative leaders in their respective fields of discipline will discuss the major issues and challenges facing the global Buddhist community and the world in general in the 21st century. Eminent Bhikkhu Sangha and Buddhist Nuns will discuss the Role of the Sangha in the New Millennium. Mr. Goh said, the Organizing Committee took up the challenge to create history in Malaysia in holding such a gigantic conference. The GCB held its launching ceremony with Dato Ong Ka Chuan, Executive Councillor for the state of Perak on January 19. From that day, we kept the ball rolling creating GCB-2002 spirit at fever-pitch. More than 200 guests attended the launching ceremony from various Buddhist Organizations in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Telute Intan (Perak), Johore Bahru and Kedah.The Venerable Dr. Kirinde Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera, the Spiritual Adviser to the Global Conference on Buddhism led the Congregation in Panca-sila. The Nayaka Maha Thera lauded the interest of the organisers in accepting the challenging task of hosting a conference of such a magnitude. The Global Conference on Buddhism will certainly achieve the desired objective of furthering friendship and camaraderie among people of different cultures and beliefs, he emphasised. The Buddhist Prelate from the deep down South of Sri Lanka who has guided the destinies of Mahayana and Theravada schools of Buddhist Thought in Malaysia and Singapore, for well over 50 years, said, the main objective is to show the war-weary and conflict-ridden world would immensely benefit by the deliberations of the GCB-2002. The People of Malaysia would be presenting to the world at large the message of eternal peace, mental tranquillity and physical progress living with one another in absolute harmony, the Nayaka Maha Thera added. |
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Produced by Lake House |
This first ever global Buddhist Conference to be held in Malaysia in
modern times is organised by the Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia (YBAM),
Buddhist Gem Fellowship (BGF) and the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia
(BMSM).
