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Pain As It Really Is

Vipassana or Insight Meditation is based on Four Foundations of Mindfulness, namely Kayanupassana Satipatthana (Mindfulness of Body), Vedananupassana Satipatthana (Mindfulness of Feeling or Sensation), Cittanupassana Satipatthana (Mindfulness of Consciousness) and Dhammanupassana Satipatthana (Mindfulness of Mind Objects). Mind Objects here means the mind itself is the object of meditation; such as the thinking mind, the distracted mind, the seeing mind and so on. In other words the meditator must observe or note any bodily or mental phenomena which is arising distinctly at that moment.

As for Vedananupassana Satipatthana, Mindfulness of Feeling or sensation, it may be divide into five: Sukha-vedana, Somanassa-vedana, Dukkha-vedana, Domanassa-vedana and Upekkha-vedana. Sukha-vedana is pleasant sensation produced by physical phenomenon or dependent on physical processes. Somanassa-vedana is also pleasant sensation but it is produced by the mind, that is mental states or emotional states; it is pleasant sensation dependent on mental processes. Dukkha-vedana means unpleasant sensation produced by physical phenomena or dependent on physical processes. Domanassa-vedana is unpleasant sensation dependent on mental processes, that is mental states or emotional states. Upekkha-vedana is of only one type, not two; it is neutral mental (not physical) sensation dependent on mental states.

Most of the time meditators have to deal with Dukkhavedana, unpleasant physical sensation such as pain, stiffening, itching, numbness and so on. However there may be some occasion when you have pleasant mental sensation. In the advanced stage of mediation, when concentration is good and mindfulness is clear, you may be able to realize every movement of the body very clearly. As a result you feel happy, you get piti or joy. Attachment to it may arise. At that time you experience pleasant mental sensation and you should note it as 'pleasant, pleasant' or 'good, good'. When the noting mind becomes continuous and powerful, there is no time for attachment to arise in between these notings. After attachment has gone you can proceed with your meditational experience to higher stages of insight.

If you have reached the eleventh stage of insight knowlegde, known as Knowledge of Equanimity, there is no Dukkha nor Sukha, neither unhappiness nor happiness. The mind is deeply concentrated on the object, it never goes out; it is observing and realizing the appearance and disappearance of mental and physical phenomena which are arising and passing away. At that time the noting mind is as if elastic; even though you send the mind to a pleasurable object you like, it does not go to that object. At that time you need not put conscious effort into the noting but the noting is steady and energetic by itself. At that stage neutral sensation or equanimity is very much distinct to meditators. Except for that stage neutral sensation is not so distinct that you can note it.

At the initial stage however, most of the time meditators have to deal with unpleasant physical sensation or Dukkha-vedana. Unpleasant sensation, physical or mental is easy to note. Pleasant sensation either physical or mental is easy to note because the nature of a human being is to enjoy any pleasurable thing. When a meditator finds something pleasurable he enjoys it and forgets to note. Therefore you have to remind yourself and be determined to note these sensations whenever they arise. Pain is a meditator's close 'friend'. Pain is the key to the door of Nibbana because most of the time it is distinct to the mind, enabling the meditator to realize it in its true nature.

The purpose of observing or noting Vedana-khanda, the aggregate of feelings, is to realize it in its true nature. However there are some meditators who do not understand this well. Whenever they have to note painful sensation their aim is to make it stop or disappear. When they are not able to make it disappear, though they have observed or noted it for one hour or one and a half hours, they become disappointed. Their aim is to make it go away, not to realize it. The right aim of noting pain is to realize it in its true nature, that is to realize the specific and general characteristics of the painful sensation.

The Pali word for specific or individual characteristics is Sabbhava-lakkhana and for general or common characteristics is Samanna-lakkhana. 'Sabbhava' is specific or individual, 'samanna' is general or common and 'lakkhana' is characteristic. If we have attained Purification of Mind (Citta-visuddhi) then gradually we come to realize the specific or individual characteristics of physical and mental processes which are observed. The more our mind is concentrated on the object the sharper and more penetrating is the insight.

Therefore if any of the unpleasant physical feelings arise, you must observe them by noting mentally, 'pain, pain', 'stiffening, stiffening', 'itching, itching' or 'aching, aching' as the case may be. Labelling or mental noting is not vital. It only helps to focus the mind on the actual object of observation, in this case unpleasant physical feelings. When meditation is in an advanced stage, you need not label or make a mental note; you just watch or are mindful of the object as it is. Then gradually your concentration on painful sensation becomes deeper and you feel more of the painful sensation. You feel the intensity of the painful sensation increasing. You may think that it has become more severe, but actually the pain has not; it exists as it is. You know it more and more clearly because of good concentration. When you note it repeatedly, attentively and energetically the mind becomes more concentrated on it. The more the mind becomes concentrated, the more penetrating the knowledge or insight becomes. With deep concentration you know the pain more deeply and clearly. It only seems that the pain has become more severe.

If you are patient with the pain by observing it steadily and sometimes attentively then concentration becomes much better. Gradually you do not feel that painful sensation but you realize just painful sensation. Then even though there is pain while you are practising sitting meditation, you do not think "I am in pain; I feel pain" but you come to realize that "Painful sensation is being observed or noted". There is pain and the mind knows it. You are not even aware of the location of the pain. Sometimes you are also not aware of the bodily form. What you are realizing is just painful sensation and the mind that notes it. In the whole world only these dual processes of feeling phenomena and cognizing phenomena really exist. As a result you do not identify pain with yourself; pain is just pain, neither "I" nor 'you', nor a person, nor a being. That insight knowledge which discerns the nature of pain exterminates the idea of personality, individuality, self or soul. It means that you have realized the true nature of the pain and the mind that notes it. The purpose of observing the pain is to rightly understand the individual characteristic of painful sensation. The individual characteristic of unpleasant physical sensation is the experiencing of an undesirable tangible thing or object. The individual characteristic of the noting mind is cognizing only.

When you proceed to practise with clear mindfulness and deep concentration then you continue to realize some waves of painful sensation arise. You note it and it subsides. Then another wave of painful sensation comes up and you note it, it disappears. Then another wave and another arise, a series of waves of painful sensation come up one after another, and disappear one after another. It means you are realizing one of the general or common characteristics of painful sensation, that is Impermanence (Anicca).

Sometimes you may feel pain to be very strong. Your noting mind is also very powerful and concentration is deep enough, but the pain does not go away. You cannot find any waves of sensation. What you are finding is the volume of the painful sensation. At times you may see just the size of the painful area. When you put much more effort in the noting, being patient with it, gradually the mind becomes more concentrated. It gathers to the centre of the pain until it pinpoints the pain. The feeling of painful sensation is very strong and severe at that time. However you do not withdraw your noting mind. You proceed, noting 'pain, pain'. Then the noting mind pierces into the centre of the painful sensation and the pain explodes or disintegrates. You are realizing the disintegration, dispersing or explosion of the pain by means of your noting mind. You do not feel as painful, you just realize; you just know, you just see it, that is all. That means also you are realizing one of the common or general characteristics of painful sensation, Impermanence or Anicca.

There are some other ways in which you realize painful sensation. Sometimes when you note pain with good concentration, the pain suddenly disappears. Then another pain comes up in another place and you note it. It instantly passes away. Again another pain comes up, you note it and it also instantly passes away. At that time your concentration is very good. Meditators who have such experiences may be very pleased or happy with the noting of pain because they see it disappearing, disappearing, disappearing. That is also a very good experience. It means insight knowledge of the general characteristics of painful sensation.

Occasionally beginners may feel the pain to become unbearable; it reaches beyond the meditator's ability to endure. The meditator may desire to change position so that he may relieve that pain. Meditators who can sit for at least thirty minutes should not change position even once in a sitting. Instead, they should get up and practise walking meditation. Changing position in a sitting breaks your concentration. When you change your position very often, changing will become habitual. Then even when your meditation experience is at an advanced stage, you may feel like changing position although you do not have any unbearable pain, because the changing of the position has become habitual. However if a meditator is still not able to sit at least thirty minutes for some physical reason, he may change position once to relieve the pain; but only once not twice. He should then continue to sit, observing any physical or mental phenomena which is predominant at that moment.

Suppose a beginner meditator has been sitting for ten minutes and feels an unbearable painful sensation, the meditator can change position since he cannot sit even for half an hour. Changing position must be done mindfully. When the meditator wants to change position he should note, using such label as 'wanting, wanting' or 'intending, intending'; this is a mental process which must be observed. As he stretches out the leg he should note, 'stretching, stretching'. When he shifts the body, he should note, 'shifting, shifting' or 'moving, moving'. When he bends the leg, 'bending, bending', as the case may be. What is important is that the meditator must be mindful of all the intentions and bodily movements involved in changing the sitting position. Labelling is a means to keep the mind focused on the object of meditation. After he has changed position, he should continue by observing any physical or mental phenomena which is predominant. After five or ten minutes of meditation, he may feel a very intense pain again. Then he must patiently observe the pain as long as he can. When he feels it to be unbearable, he should get up mindfully and practise walking meditation.

There is another way to deal with pain. Supposing a meditator has been sitting for 45 minutes and an unbearable pain arises, then he may want to change position. The instruction in this case is that a meditator should not change position but should get up mindfully and practise walking meditation because he is already able to sit for more than half an hour without changing position. If the meditator is unwilling to walk because he has sat for just 45 minutes, then he may avoid the pain and direct attention to the attributes of the Buddha, reflecting on them. This is called Buddhanusati Bhavana or Recollection of the Buddha's Attributes, one of the Samatha or Concentration meditations. At that time the meditator feels the pain less. Actually the pain is not less. When the mind is absorbed in the recollection of the Buddha's attributes, the mind does not know the pain well so that the meditator may think that there is less pain. That is avoiding the pain.

The Buddha taught the above technique of shifting from Vipassana to Samatha meditation in the Bikkhunupassaya Sutra or the Discourse on the monastery where Bikkhunis (nuns) live. If you have a lot of distractions, you are depressed, you are reluctant, you feel lazy, you are overwhelmed by sloth and torpor or you are worried about something else then you cannot concentrate well. In this state you cannot make any progress in Vipassana meditation. So to make progress, you should change to Samatha meditation temporarily. You may choose any Samatha meditation object which makes you glad or joyous, such as recollecting the Buddha's attributes, the Dhamma's attributes, the Sangha's attributes, your Dana (generosity), your Sila (purified moral conduct), or Metta Bhavana (loving kindness meditation) and concentrate on it. Then when your mind is well concentrated on any of these meditation objects, you feel peaceful and happy; your mind is clear. Those distractions will not come to you because your mind is very pleased with your meditation and is concentrated to a certain extent. Then you can switch back to Vipassana meditation and observe any physical or mental phenomena as it is. When you note or observe any of your Vipassana meditation objects, you can be successful. That type of meditation is named by the Buddha 'Panidaya Bhavana'. Sometimes you may have to use this technique if you cannot improve in your Vipassana meditation.

May all of you be able to realize painful sensation in both its specific and general characteristics and attain Path (Magga) and Fruition (Phala) Knowledge.

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