An Introduction to Pain

　　Thanissaro Bhikkhu

　　March, 2002

　　So many people accuse the Buddha of being pessimistic: He starts his teachings with pain. And yet when you first sit and meditate, what do you find after the first five or ten minutes

　　 Pain. You can”t avoid it. Or when people just can”t sit by themselves, can”t spend a whole day by themselves without busying themselves with this, that, or the other thing, what”s the problem

　　 It”s mental pain, mental discomfort. These are things we live with all the time, and yet we think somehow that if people point them out, they”re being pessimistic. Of course, the Buddha”s purpose in pointing out pain and suffering wasn”t just to stop right there, pointing them out and saying, “Isn”t that horrible.” He says, “Look. There”s a solution.” In fact, his approach to pain is extremely optimistic: Human beings can put an end to suffering, in this lifetime, through their own efforts. So when we sit here, we have to anticipate that there will be pain in sitting still. The reason we normally move around is because we encounter pain in a particular posture, so we change a little bit to get away from it. The Buddha”s approach isn”t to try to run away from it that way. He says, “Look into it.” As Ajaan Suwat used to say, “We normally take our cravings as our friends and our pains as our enemies. We should switch that around. Learn to look at pain as your friend, and craving as your enemy.” The craving is what”s really causing all the problems. The pain is just there to teach you something. Of course, it”s a difficult friend. Some people are easy to be friends with; you can get along with them with no problem at all. Others are difficult. Pain is definitely a difficult friend, but one worth cultivating. Still, because it”s difficult, you have to go about it the right way.

　　This is why, when we start meditating, the Buddha doesn”t have us focus immediately on the pain. He says to focus on the breath instead, because whatever pain is associated with the breath—and it tends to be subtle, but it is there—is something you can manage, something you can deal with. He gives you the breath as your tool for dealing with the pain. So when you”re aware of pain, don”t yet let your primary focus be on the pain. Keep your focus on the breath. In other words, get used to being acquainted with the breath first, because that”s the person who”ll introduce you to pain properly. It”s like meeting any important person: You first have to get to know certain well-connected friends who can introduce you to that person. And that”s the way it is with pain: You have to know the breath first, for it”s your well-connected friend. So get in touch with the breath. Find a place in the body that”s relatively at ease, relatively comfortable, and focus there first; get to know that spot first; be very sensitive to the breathing at that spot. When you breathe in there, how does it feel

　　 When you breathe out there, how does it feel

　　 Is there even the slightest discomfort

　　 Can you make it feel better

　　 Can you experiment with different ways of breathing, different ways of conceiving the breath energy in your body

　　 When you find something that feels really good, the whole tone of your body will feel really good. Instead of sitting here tensely trying to breathe in one spot, think of the whole body relaxing into the breath. The more relaxed you are about the practice, the longer you”ll be able to stay with it. So think of yourself as just relaxing into the body, relaxing into the breath. Find a way of breathing that feels really good—all the way from the beginning to the end as it goes in, and all the way from the beginning to the end as it goes out. Make that your foundation. Once that feels good, think of spreading that good breath energy …

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