Transforming Pain

Transforming Pain

Change How We Think About Pain
Date of Advice:
June 2021
Date Posted:
March 2023

This mind training advice was given to a student who was very sick and in extreme pain.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche in a coffee shop in Tonasket, USA, September 2016. Photo: Lobsang Sherab.

My most dear one,
Anything that is unfavorable, that we dislike, for example, pain, we should change [how we think about] this. Normally we like pleasure and we don’t want pain. When there is pain or something we dislike, the self-cherishing thought, attachment, arises.

Now, with lojong, mind training, we can change that. By thinking about the benefits of suffering and the shortcomings of pleasure, we can look at the suffering as pleasure, as desirable, instead of disliking it.

We can start with a small thing, then we will see that the suffering is more beneficial, and we will see the shortcomings of pleasure. As we get more and more well-trained, we are actually able to see, to feel the suffering as great pleasure, and we see the shortcomings of pleasure. This is so important, and this is the basis of thought transformation.

The bodhisattva, whose mind is well-trained, wants to be born in hell for the sake of even one sentient being so that sentient being doesn’t have to suffer there. The bodhisattva wants to be born in hell for that sentient being so they don’t have to suffer. That’s what bodhisattvas like.

The arhats, the hero listeners, like to achieve nirvana, but the bodhisattvas like [to be reborn in hell] much more than that. They enjoy rebirth in hell for that sentient being so much.

If we are able to realize that our life is incredibly successful.

How to Make Your Pain Useful for Numberless Beings
Date of Advice:
February 2020
Date Posted:
January 2022

A student was in severe pain after an operation which had been unsuccessful. Rinpoche sent this advice.

My dear one,
It seems the original operation was done on the wrong day and there was spirit interference. Most Secret Hayagriva tsog needs to be done and all the monks of Sera Mey need to do the White Umbrella Deity prayer four times for you. Rinpoche is going to recite some prayers for you also. Rinpoche also said you should continue reciting Entering the Great City of Vaishali Sutra as much as possible until the pain goes down. Others can also recite this for you. The recitation is to force the spirit to leave.

Below is another message from Rinpoche:

My most dear, most precious, most kind, wish-fulfilling one,

I understand the very heavy, critical, very heavy sickness and pain you have. I am so sorry. Yes, I will see if I can take back the pain from you, the unbelievable pain. Yes, I understand. It’s either from this life or even from billions, zillions, trillions, numberless eons ago; from having caused harm like that to human beings or to animals, harm to the lower part of their body. It can happen, because karma never goes away if it’s not purified, even from numberless eons ago, still you experience it at a time when that karma becomes powerful. So you see it is the result of past karma created by oneself.

It is mentioned in the Guru Puja:

[LC 96] Even if the environment and beings are filled with the fruits of negativity,
And unwished for sufferings pour down like rain,
I seek your blessings to take these miserable conditions as a path
By seeing them as causes to exhaust the results of my negative karma.

Even if the world and sentient beings are all filled up with the results of past negative karma—that means wars, sickness, all the terrible things, like viruses, bad things, undesirable sufferings happen like rain falling. Even if it happened like that, for example, everyone doesn’t like you, everyone hates you, everyone in the world complains about you, all the bad things happen, that is causing this negative karma to finish. The result of all the negative karma created by oneself in the past, all this is finishing. By being sick, by experiencing all the sicknesses, the unbelievable negative karma which is the result of past karma is finishing, so it’s good, positive.

It’s like when a poisonous snake bites us, then we cut the part of the body where we were bitten. This is for recovery, for survival, so it’s positive, it’s taken as positive.

Then the last line of the verse is: “Please bless me to take these bad conditions in the path to enlightenment.”

When you experience these problems, the sicknesses, including death, for all the sentient beings—not just one sentient being, but numberless sentient beings, the hell realm beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, suras, asuras, intermediate state beings—you experience it for them to be free from the suffering of samsara and for them to achieve enlightenment, so you experience the problems for them. The second one, that way you achieve enlightenment; by experiencing problems you achieve enlightenment, then you are able to free the numberless sentient beings from samsara and bring them to enlightenment. The second advantage is that, so you use the experience, the suffering, the pain, even death, whatever you are experiencing, on behalf of every sentient being. No one is left out, no ant, no mosquito, no one is left out, not one person; for everyone to be free from suffering and to achieve enlightenment, so that’s incredible.

One great, great yogi, Kagyu Lama Choje Gotsangpa, gave this teaching on thought transformation:

By my experiencing this problem,
(Whatever it is, this sickness)
May all the sentient beings be free from sicknesses collected from beginningless rebirth,
(Including this sickness and all the conditions, spirit harm and the causes, delusion and karma)
May they be free from the negative karma and obscurations collected from beginningless rebirths and achieve enlightenment as quickly as possible.
By my experiencing this, may this happen to the sentient beings.

That is so great if you, the one person, use your pain so that it becomes most beneficial for the numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals. Compared to the hell being’s suffering, what you are experiencing now is great peace and happiness. Compared to just one hell being, even their small problem, their small suffering, is great, great, unbelievable. Even if it is small for them, in reality it is unbelievable suffering of pain, so compared to that, these problems that you have are great peace and happiness in reality.

What I am saying is how to make your pain useful for numberless hell beings, numberless hungry ghosts, numberless animals, numberless human beings, numberless sura beings and numberless asura beings. It becomes useful for them, to become free from all the sicknesses and spirit harm, all the sufferings of samsara, the negative karma, obscurations and to achieve enlightenment quickly. Using the pain for that, there are skies of benefit, you get skies of benefit. It’s like turning poison into nectar. Poison kills you right away, then you turn it into nectar and it makes your life long and healthy, everything.

Recite these prayers like reciting OM MANI PADME HUM—recite these verses like mantras, on and on, and keep on generating this wish, this prayer, as much as you can, while walking, sitting down, as much as possible. That causes you to achieve enlightenment quickly, to become free from samsara.  I will send more messages, but at the moment this much.

There are pujas, so we will do Most Secret Hayagriva tsog kong. We do this puja every month, one time here (in Sera Je) for many years, so we will do this for you. I will also do other prayers for you, so don’t worry.

Don’t worry, numberless buddhas and bodhisattvas have the most unbelievable compassion for you, even though you are experiencing these things from your past negative karma. They all love you so much and me too.

Thank you very much.

With much love and prayers ...

Severe Pain
Date of Advice:
June 2018
Date Posted:
September 2020

Rinpoche sent this letter to an old student who had a debilitating illness and was in incredible pain.

Long Life Puja for Lama Zopa Rinpoche at Kopan Monastery, 2010. Photo: Mikk Tamme.

My very dear, most kind, most precious, wish-fulfilling one,
How are you doing? I realized I have not mentioned this to you before, but we have been liberating animals and dedicating specifically for you every single week for over twelve years at my houses in Aptos and Washington. The Sangha there do animal liberation every week and it is always specifically dedicated to you. Also each day the Sangha make long-life tsa tsas in the Aptos house and these have always been specifically dedicated to you. Sorry I did not mention that before.

Now I’m going to send a request to all the students to dedicate Medicine Buddha practice and Vajrasattva for you for the next two months. Of course, I will just request and it is up to them if they do it. So, to make special prayers for you to immediately recover and to have a most meaningful life and to achieve enlightenment quickly for sentient beings.

What you should think—I may have mentioned this to you before—as Kadampa Geshe Kharag Gomchung said:

The present suffering finishes my past negative karma and there will be happiness in the future. Therefore rejoice in these sufferings.

That means your many years of sickness, pain and difficulties in life are a good thing, because it finishes the heavy negative karma from so many past lives. If this result is not experienced now, then you may have to suffer in the lower realms, in the hell realms, for many eons.

As it says, therefore by experiencing sicknesses and all these difficult times for many years it finishes so many lifetimes of heavy negative karma. It gets purified, so you don’t have to experience it later. You are free from experiencing the heaviest suffering of hell for eons and due to this, in the future there will be happiness. Therefore, meditate on the happiness of that suffering.

That means like the sun shining in the world, in the future there will be so much happiness, the highest happiness. It is like when the sun shines then so many beings enjoy, animals enjoy, humans enjoy, the crops grow, flowers grow, and there is so much happiness up to the highest enlightenment. That’s how to look at suffering as happiness, as success.

Also think in this way: therefore it is the guru’s blessing to purify. Then of course if you can, meditate on the emptiness of all the pain, of all the different pains; look at them in the nature of emptiness. Also, it is mentioned that it is an expression of emptiness, a manifestation of emptiness. Of course, it exists in mere name, but all the rest is a hallucination due to ignorance. All this pain, everything, is merely labeled. It appears, it is projected or decorated as truly existing from its own side, as a real one, and we one hundred percent believe that with ignorance. It came from ignorance, from the previous ignorance, then we generate ignorance again by believing it as real.

Most important is to meditate that your mind is Guru Vajrayogini’s holy mind. Always try to meditate on that, oneness with that. Don’t look at Vajrayogini as something more and the guru is much more ordinary. Don’t look down, not like that, but think oneness. Your mind is oneness with Guru Vajrayogini, so all three are one. Doing that is the most important thing.

Also, you should do Vajrasattva practice with the remedy of the four powers. If you don’t remember, maybe discuss with Sangha. If you can, do Vajrasattva with the remedy of the four powers. That is very, very important.

I don’t have anything more important to say. Even if we can actually meet, this is it. There is nothing more important to tell you, even if we meet.

Thank you very much.

With much love and prayers ...

Experience the Pain for All Sentient Beings
Date of Advice:
January 2016
Date Posted:
March 2020

A student wrote that they were suddenly experiencing incredible pain. Rinpoche recited Vajra Claws and Burning Pinnacle, and gave this advice to the student.

Think that this is great purification. You should use this situation of having pain to do tonglen, so that the sentient beings may be free from all obscurations and all the sickness and become enlightened.

Pray like this:

By my experiencing this pain, may all sentient beings be free from all the obscurations and negative karma and sickness, and may they achieve enlightenment.

By my experiencing this pain, may it be for all sentient beings.

Experience the Pain for Others
Date of Advice:
June 2016
Date Posted:
May 2018

In this advice, Rinpoche explained to a student who was in severe pain how to experience it for all sentient beings.

Lama Zopa Rinpoche teaching at the Light of the Path retreat, North Carolina, USA, May 2014. Photo: Roy Harvey.

It’s very good to think that you are not the only one in pain. My sister has so much pain in her knee all the time, for many years. Also, generally in the world numberless people have so much pain in the hips or in the knees. Geshe Sopa Rinpoche took the aspect of having pain in the knee, but he had an operation and one leg got better, but the other leg was still painful. Geshe-la took that aspect.

There are many people in the world who have pain, not only you, so it’s very good to think this way:

Through my experience of this pain, may all mother sentient beings—the numberless hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, suras, asuras and intermediate state beings—be free immediately from all disease and spirit harm, including hip and knee pain. May they be free from the cause of the pain, delusion and karma, and not only that, may they all achieve buddhahood as quickly as possible.

In this way dedicate your pain to all sentient beings.

Recite this like a prayer or a mantra, just like reciting OM MANI PADME HUM or any mantra. This is the best practice to purify all your defilements and negative karma collected from beginningless rebirths, and not only that, to also collect the most extensive merits.

Dedicate to the numberless hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, suras, asuras and intermediate state beings. In this way you collect the most extensive merits and this causes you to achieve enlightenment, so you are very fortunate, unbelievably lucky.

This advice is from one great yogi called Choje Götsangpa. This is his practice and advice.

With much love and prayers ...

Creating the Karma to Stop Pain
Date of Advice:
August 2014
Date Posted:
August 2014

A student wrote to say she had done all the pujas and practices previously advised by Rinpoche. Her operation was successful and she no longer had any pain.

My very dear, most precious, most kind, wish-fulfilling Nicole,
Thank you very much your kind letter. Yes, those pujas and so forth helped. You must have purified your karma and obstacles, so that is very good. You have created good karma to recover and now to not have pain.

With much love and prayers...

 

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