Written by Rebecca D'Onofrio

The first noble truth of Buddhism states that life contains inevitable and unavoidable suffering. This is the very first teaching of the Buddha. Hearing such a hard truth can at first feel depressing and hopeless — who the heck wants to suffer? But it can also help us avoid a lot of unnecessary struggle from trying to run away from and escape the inevitability of pain.

Pain is real, it is a natural phenomenon, it is a part of everyone’s experience on this planet, and the first noble truth invites us to acknowledge this with gentle curiosity versus rigid resistance.

In mindfulness practice, we are learning how to pay attention to what’s occurring in the present moment whether that be pain or pleasure, happiness or sadness, excitement or boredom — all without judgment or bias. This is the very definition of mindfulness meditation.

Similarly to how we relate to thoughts, we also relate to our body and sensory experience. We aren’t trying to suppress sensations such as pain; we allow ourselves to touch in and experience it. We also aren’t trying to dwell on our pain; we let it go by making any necessary adjustments we can to relieve it, or even pausing the practice altogether if that’s what’s necessary.

This is not failing at the practice. This is using our intelligence to discern the best course of action given the circumstances we find ourselves in.

At Dharma Moon, one of our slogans is that “everything is workable.” This means that whatever shows up in our experience, we can meet it with curiosity, friendliness, and care. This is the attitude we are encouraged to take towards our pain, or whatever feelings and emotions we may be having at any given time. It is about opening up to the full spectrum of our unique human experience.

But we do this gently and slowly. If you find yourself overwhelmed and struggling during practice, don’t keep trying to push yourself through it. Acknowledge the truth of the moment, that your pain is real — just as the Buddha acknowledged two thousand years ago — and it needs your loving attention, care, and compassion.