By
Sumedha Viraj Sripathi Ukwatta
Introduction
Human pain and suffering are produced by the brain. We do not see with our eyes. We see with our brains. When considering the other five sense faculties this statement is true. Because we see, hear, smell, taste, and touch our minds. According to this rule, humans should have the ability to control what they see, hear, smell, taste, and touch with the help of the mind. In this way, the pain and the suffering are made by the mind. There are no two types of pain called physical and mental pain. There is only one pain which is called mental pain. An American neuroscientist tried designing machines for the blind to get a sense of the world from tiny electrical pulses delivered to the tongue. And today, in Israel, scientist Amir Amedi thinks he is just a few years away from a commercial device for the blind to ‘hear’ the sights around them. Yet other researchers are exploring how we could ‘see’ magnetic fields or infrared light. The key to all this seeming-science fiction understands how the brain perceives the world – and it turns out to be a lot more versatile than expected. ‘This shows the brain is a flexible task machine.
Meditation fully goes with the mind. The mind controls the whole body as a central processing unit. Practicing meditation allows a man to get into the Central Processing Unit and take over its control. There are different methods to control the sensory perceptions of the mind. Meditation is the best way among them which has no bad side effects.
Objectives
There are many drugs which use as analgesics. But there are side effects which affect the man in a bad way after using. In this research, the objective is to find out whether meditation can be worked as an analgesic.
Methodology
As this research is based on meditation, I use self-experiment methods mostly used by scientists for experiments on medicines. I selected Nillabe Meditation Centre for taking a five-day resident meditation retreat and practiced different types of meditation such as walking meditation, working meditation, and contemplating on body, feelings, mind, and nature.
Discussions
Let us first clarify what kāyānupassanā means. There are two interchangeably used meanings for “kāya”: one is the body, and the other is whatever is involved in “kriya” or “actions”. In kāyānupassanā the latter is more general. This will become clear as we proceed below.
It is normally written as “kāyānupassanā”, and is always pronounced as “kāyānupassanā”. In interacting with the world, we see visuals (rūpa) with our eyes, hear sounds (sadda) with our ears, smell odors (gandha) with our nose, taste (rasa) with the tongue, touch (poṭṭhabba) with body, and think about concepts (dhaṃma) with the mind. Thus there are six internal “kāya”, and six external “kāya” involved in experiencing the world. Thus we are concerned with both the internal sense faculties (ajjhatta, pronounced “ajjhatta”) and the six external entities (bahiddha), while we are in any of the four main postures of sitting, standing, walking, or lying down.
When one starts on the Path, one does not need to believe in anything that the Buddha (or anybody else) said about the true nature of the world. One can start with a simple goal of “getting some peace of mind” or “get some relief from the day-to-day stresses of this world
The kāyānupassanā of the satipaṭṭhāna consists of six sections or “pabba“:
Anāpānapabba (section on “ānāpāna“)
Iriyāpathapabba (section on postures)
Sampajaňňapabba (section on habits)
Paṭikkūlamanasikārapabba (section on the contemplation of body parts)
Dhātumanasikāra (section on the contemplation of elements)
Navasīvathikapabba (section on the contemplation of the decay of a body)
In kāyānupassanā meditation, we practice one or two or all above as we wish. Though we practice one it is enough to go into a deep contemplation on the particular subject. When practicing this kind of meditation one can contemplate the present moment and just see what is happening around.
“aniccādivasēna vividēhi ākarēhi passatitī vipassana”
During my meditation retreat one day I contemplated the kamaṭahana (subject), but there were some disturbances to my attention such as pain in the legs and back, in the physical body. I found that it was very difficult in keeping continuous attention on the meditation subject. I saw how the pain grows until it becomes unbearable. At this point, it was very difficult to continue the meditation. Then I focused my attention on where the pain arises. And contemplate on that (vēdanānupassanā). When I saw the pain clearly I contemplated on pain and see how it arises and ceases. Surprisingly, the pain disappeared within a few minutes.
The next day I suffered from bad diarrhea having more than eight loose. But I managed to sit for the meditation and started contemplating the breath. After a few minutes, I felt great pain in my stomach. Although it was a terrible pain I started paying attention to the pain and accepted the signal given by the mind and appreciated the mind for giving me the signal of such pain. I contemplated how the pain arises. After contemplating a few minutes that terrible pain slowly disappeared. I contemplated disappearing pain. And then I found that my pain is fully disappeared. Finally, I started contemplating breathing again and practiced it until the end of the day. But I found that around one or one and a half hours after arose from the meditation the pain started again.
According to this meditative experience, it is very clear that meditation works as an analgesic tablet. But the problem is how it works. According to my understanding, the mind is the creator of all these pains and it passes signals within the body. When we accept the signals sent by the mind, appreciate the mind, then respond to signals created by the mind, the mind acts according to it. When the mindfully contemplates the pain, the pain is disappeared. Here vēdanānupassanā works as an analgesic tablet that kills bodily pain.
Mild analgesics, such as Aspirin, work by indirectly blocking the enzyme-controlled synthesis of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins constrict the blood vessels and thus, restrict blood flow and increase body temperature as less heat can escape from the tissue into the blood. They affect the hypothalamus (body-heat regulating center) which causes fever. These chemicals also increase the permeability of capillaries allowing water to pass out into nearby tissue causing swelling and pain. By restricting the synthesis of prostaglandins, mild analgesics can reduce pain, fever, and inflammation.
Chemical painkillers such as Endorphins and Enkephalins are produced naturally in the body. Enkephalins are naturally produced in the body as they are part of the brain and spinal cord that transmit pain impulses. These bind to neuro-receptors in the brain to produce relief from pain. The temporary loss of pain immediately after an injury is associated with the production of these chemicals. Strong analgesics (opiates) work by temporarily binding to the opiate receptor sites in the brain and preventing the transmission of pain impulses without affecting the central nervous system.
Conclusion
Pain is a pleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage. In various body tissues, there are pain receptors (free nerve endings that transmit pain). These receptors respond to thermal, mechanical, or chemical stimuli. When stimulated, these receptors generate an impulse that travels to the spinal cord and brain. When tissues become damaged, they release chemicals called prostaglandins and leukotrienes that make the pain receptors more sensitive. These receptors then become more responsive to gentile stimuli, causing pain.
By restricting the synthesis of Prostaglandins the pain reduces. This is done by painkillers. But here meditation reconstitutes the synthesis of prostaglandins and avoids transmitting pain impulses without any side effects.
Keywords: Meditation, Vēdanānupassanā, analgesic, biochemical, medicines
References
Dworkin RH, Backonja M, Rowbotham MC, Allen RR, Argoff CR, Bennett GJ, et al. "Advances in neuropathic pain: diagnosis, mechanisms, and treatment recommendations". Archives of Neurology.2003.
Mallinson, Tom, "A review of ketorolac as a prehospital analgesic". Journal of Paramedic Practice. 9, Retrieved 2018.
Online dictionary - https://www.online-medical-dictionary.org/
Edited by Richard Cammack, Teresa Atwood, Peter Campbell, Howard Parish, Anthony Smith, Frank Vella, and John Stirling, Oxford University Press, Published online: 2008
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