The Worst Pain Imaginable from a Single Perspective

When we suffer pain at any time, it is the most painful experience we can feel. When we suffer the worst pain of our lives, physically or emotionally, or any other of the ways, it is the worst pain we can ever feel at that time. When we think about others suffering, perceive others suffering or hear about others suffering, we imagine their pain. We don't feel their pain in a truly, deeply soulful way as we do our own pain. We cognitively perceive their pain, we think 'what would it be like?'. We take the most painful experience we can remember that relates to their situation and we perceive it as worse than it was through our mind, we do feel their pain through this relationship, but it is a pain of association that the mind has created.

   Each person, not matter how big or small their suffering has been, has suffered the worst they could ever truly feel, until a bigger pain comes along and pushes their pain identification centre further out from their centre. This can then give them deeper understanding of others pain, but they still perceive that pain. Time also allows the pain identification centre to come closer the centre so that greater suffering feels worse after longer periods of lesser suffering, yet constant pain is easier to withstand over time as the pain identification centre becomes more identified as the true centre.

   It is partly this lack of truly deep feeling of others pain and only the cognitively perceived identification of others pain, usually at least partly voluntarily, that allows people to cause such suffering to other sentient beings.

   Only when we stop cognitively identifying others pain as others pain can we start truly feeling their pain and suffering. By realizing that we all suffer the worst pain we can imagine ourselves, that all of us, no matter what type of pain we are in, is the worst pain conceivable to ourselves, that no matter how severe the pain is, large or small, great or insignificant, it is the worst we can feel in that moment.

   By starting to realize this and then starting to feel this, we can begin to end the identification of others pain and begin to actually feel others pain. By knowing that we all suffer the same amount from our own side we can begin to feel others pain.

   By focusing on this knowing during meditation the pain we suffer and the pain others suffer begin to coalesce into the suffering of all sentient beings. We no longer identify with others pain but actually feel their pain as though it is ours, for in actual fact it is ours. We no longer make differentiation's between who is suffering more or who's pain is insignificant because it is all equal suffering.

   I have found this trail of thought and feeling to bring me great understanding of pain, something I thought I knew all too well before I began this part of my journey, but realized I barely understood. I has helped me break down a strong dualistic way of being and gave a great glimpse of non-dual realization.

   It may be nonsense, sub-conscious babble or a piece of knowledge gifted upon me to pass onto you. 

You may decide for yourselves friends, I only hope it can help you in any small way.

Peace & Blessings