How to practice meditation when in pain?.

[airair9]

I saw in the news a buddhist monk that burned himself because he was protesting and just sat there burning until he was dead. He did not move or scream. Then a different guy I saw online was only set aflame a tiny bit with only 15% of his body and was running around screaming.

So how do the monks do this? Anything you can think of please such as how to think like a monk and how to meditate and have certain thoughts to reduce pain? Anything would be of great help as I have cancer and can't wait to practice your advice.

Thank You very much.

[FallingLeaves]

Originally Posted by airair9

I saw in the news a buddhist monk that burned himself because he was protesting and just sat there burning until he was dead. He did not move or scream. Then a different guy I saw online was only set aflame a tiny bit with only 15% of his body and was running around screaming.

So how do the monks do this? Anything you can think of please such as how to think like a monk and how to meditate and have certain thoughts to reduce pain? Anything would be of great help as I have cancer and can't wait to practice your advice.

Thank You very much.

probably took a long time for the monk to learn that.

The essential 'secret' I think is that if you try to reduce a feeling of pain, you don't get anywhere... but if you attempt to increase it eventually it might become irrelevant to you.

But 'eventually' is much much longer than anyone stuck in the consensus reality wants to spend concentrating on painful things so this remains a secret... the monks spend much of their time concentrating on things that aren't 'pleasantries' and for a long period of time, and so they learn the secret.

[iamthat]

Hi airair9

Sorry to hear about your health issues. I imagine that the ability to transcend pain takes years of serious meditation, giving the monk the ability to withdraw his consciousness from the physical nervous system, and simply focus inwards. No doubt there are breathing exercises which help with this process.

Few of us have the time or the discipline or the knowledge to pursue such a life. For us, any physical discomfort can interfere with meditation - how many of us can really meditate when we have a headache or toothache or flu? When we have real pain then all our awareness is centred on that pain.

Sometimes it can help if we stop resisting the pain and if we avoid labelling the sensation as painful. If we can simply experience it as sensation, without any labels, then pain can become just an energy flowing through us. But this is not easy.

Peace.

[Gem]

Originally Posted by airair9

I saw in the news a buddhist monk that burned himself because he was protesting and just sat there burning until he was dead. He did not move or scream. Then a different guy I saw online was only set aflame a tiny bit with only 15% of his body and was running around screaming.

So how do the monks do this? Anything you can think of please such as how to think like a monk and how to meditate and have certain thoughts to reduce pain? Anything would be of great help as I have cancer and can't wait to practice your advice.

Thank You very much.

Good question - and it relates to what the Buddhist texts refer to as 'equanimity'. You might google equanimity as it relates to pain and do a little reading get an idea. If you could find a professional specialist who incorporates 'mindfulness' as part of a pain management strategy, that might be beneficial to you.

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