What is Buddha's teachings on natural disasters and physical pain?

How to overcome physical and mental pain and suffering when a natural disaster happens? For example you are trapped after an earthquake to die there!
How can I watch people suffer and detach myself from my feelings to feel better? Should I not feeling any pain watching such a thing?
I am confused, please help me understand Buddha's teachings better.

I know that words are limited and it is hard to understand a deep concept just by reading the words and that is why I believe I need more details.

What confuses me is understanding the meaning of "compassion" and "cessation of suffering", both can be found in Buddhism teachings. How can I be compassionate (The English noun compassion, means to suffer together), while ceasing suffering?

[innerlight]

There is nothing wrong with feeling compassion for a person that is going through a turbulent time, or has been caught in the midst of a natural disaster. It's that compassion that shows us that we are human.

There is a difference between feeling compassion for another, and creating your suffering over their pain.

You are, however, a little mixed up in your definition of compassion. The actual definition of compassion is:

a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

So as you can see from the definition a compassionate person wants to alleviate their pain and suffering in any means that they can. It does not mean you want to take on their suffering. The Buddha taught that pain was a part of life, and suffering was optional. There are times when physical pain creates that suffering. In those cases all we can do is be there for them, sympathize with them, and help bare that pain they are enduring.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer. You are totally right and everything you said is making sense. I have a lot better idea now.

[Samana]

Hi satil,

Compassion for others and feeling empathy for their circumstances doesn't have to include getting very emotional and making ourselves distressed and unwell as a result. Buddhist meditation practices such as samatha and vipassana help us to even out our emotional reactions.

This loving kindness meditation practice might be helpful for you too, and also includes the Buddha's teachings about the Four Sublime States (Brahma Viharas) at the Buddhanet link below:

http://www.buddhanet.net/metta.htm


with kind wishes,

Samana

[Perry J]

For the open-minded, Buddha, Jesus and many others speaks to us here:
http://www.askrealjesus.com/archives...ama010111.html

[Samana]

The site you've referenced appears to be more like 'new age' than Buddhism, PerryJ.


kind regards,

S.

[Perry J]

Originally Posted by Samana

The site you've referenced appears to be more like 'new age' than Buddhism, PerryJ.


kind regards,

S.

As I said: For the open-minded...
And Jesus was also considered "new age" for most of the people and for the religion of his time when he came 2000 years ago..

[Samana]

Buddha was born about 500 years before Jesus and it's possible that Jesus might have been influenced by some of his teachings.