I recently had an experience of 10/10 pain that lasted about a week while in hospital

The first three days were the worst as they were reluctant to give me strong pain killers

During that time i had periods of almost mental breakdown (crying, rocking, begging and the like)

When i realized resistance was futile i tried meditating and accpting the pain and had periods of acceptance and space around the pain but then it would spike and i could not do it

Are there any zen stories around the phenomena of pain and the seemingly unavoidable suffering that the self endures???

Someone recently told me that Uchiyama's book "How to Cook Your Life" contains a story about a serious foot infection that Uchiyama got during the post-war period in Japan. He had no access to medical care, so he had to deal with the pain without pain killers. He developed a meditation technique that did nothing for the pain, but reduced the suffering, if you get the distinction. He ends the story by saying that he'd be fooling himself if he thought that the experience prepared him for the next time he was in extreme pain.

Having experienced recurring pain myself, that sounds about right. Getting hit by a Mack truck doesn't prepare you for the next time the truck hits you.

Nov 9, 2009 -- 6:03PM, sixth step phobia wrote:

Its been four months now and i almost pain free again

I'm glad. :-)

Nov 9, 2009 -- 6:03PM, sixth step phobia wrote:

...morphine is an amazing creation

Truly.