NEUTRALITY OF PAIN
The Greek perspective on the transformation or reframing of pain is primarily associated with two major philosophical schools: Stoicism and Epicureanism.
Stoics believe that pain can be changed through judgement, a process of thinking that alters one's perception of pain.
Stoics such as Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius argued that physical pain is a neutral external event. They believed that physical pain could not be avoided, but that suffering could be changed or eliminated by altering one's perception of it.
They believed that if you are distressed by an external event, it is not the event itself that causes your distress, but your perception of it. You have the power to change or revoke that judgement at any moment. Thus, pain can be transformed from an emotional catastrophe into a simple, objective bodily sensation, or even a means of developing inner strength.
The Epicurean view is that pain can be changed through memory. The Greek philosopher Epicurus taught that pain is the ultimate evil, but that it can be neutralised. He famously posited that intense pain is short-lived, whereas chronic pain is mild.
He argued that present physical pain can be transformed into happiness by replacing the image of physical suffering with recollections of past blessings and pleasant memories.
The Stoic philosopher Seneca suggests that when pain is manageable, bearable, and in some way expressible, then it can find a voice. But when suffering is immense, unbearable, overwhelming – when it takes one’s breath away and destroys one’s ability to communicate, leaving us speechless – it is not the absence of pain, but an intensity so great that it surpasses any possibility of verbal expression.
From a Buddhist point of view, Human suffering is considered as the fruit of previous karma. But suffering is an objective reality that is either negative or positive determined by mentale force of the individual.
Suffering is a condition of life but it is also a source of happiness or can be transformed into happiness by the mental training practice of Lo Jong and Lam Rim.
The self and suffering are an illusion until they are explored from within through analytical and contemplative reflection.
Geshe G. THARCHIN
ROME
