Comments on: Philosophical Conundrum

By: Justin

Justin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 16:20:57 +0000

fellow follower, i may have some unique insight to your dilemma. i hope it helps. first, let me say that i agree with jonathans take. second, my wife has severe chronic back pain and takes oxycodone daily. because of this, i know that taking those types of medication for a true problem should not affect your mind in the same way it would affect you if you were taking them for fun or pleasure. thats not to say there is no affect, but because the meds are blocking your pain (doing their job), consider that each dose is being used up for its purpose and there is little or no medicine left over to affect your mind. any mental side effects if there is left over medicine, would not cause near as much of a karmic ripple as purposely drinking (or any arbitrary drugging) the pain away. and remember that you don’t want to take so much med that you don’t feel *any*thing. just enough to reduce the pain to a functional point, so you are able to maintain focus, etc. if you can’t feel any pain you will inevitably end up going past your limits and hurting yourself more. i hope this is helpful to you or anyone else that is having a similar problem. good luck and feel free to email me about your progress/decision.

By: Jonathan

Jonathan — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:59:39 +0000

“Mind-altered,” “mind-not altered,” or “no-mind” at all is all the same. Mind. When you are in pain, you are aware, probably very aware, of your relative self. This is attachment to ego. How can one liberate oneself, albeit benefit all beings, in this state?

Don’t be attached to dogmatic dharma! If you are seeking relief from physical discomfort in effort to reach enlightenment for the benefit of all, you are doing just fine.

The Middle Way applies to our views of the way itself. Regardless of the reason for the cause of the pain, karmic, evolutionary default or injury, you need to break attachment from pain to be able to function in the world. Could you do it through meditation if you were able to devote all of your time to training? Sure! But, this is not the case! You are in your situation now and are living your life in this human form as of it were your last! Give yourself a break and because you are not suffering in pain, help relieve someone else’s pain!

-a fellow Buddhist who hurts

By: Cdot

Cdot — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:29:57 +0000

Interesting dilemma. Don’t know much about Buddhism. Sounds like the pain is mind-altering in a different way.

@kyle A former boss of mine who had severe back pain for years because of a car accident was basically cured of her pain by acupuncture. Not saying it will work in every case, but it might be something to look into.

By: Brian

Brian — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:46:32 +0000

You should give the medication and therapy a chance. Don’t self medicate, (higher OR lower) doctors hate prescribing medication only to have the patient ignore the dosage and schedule.

A break from the pain and being able to sleep on a regular basis will probably make a world of difference in your perspective and state of mind.

By: Michael Fienen

Michael Fienen — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:46:12 +0000

Been doing stretching since September. Had some chiropractic work before that. Starting Tuesday I begin physical therapy for three weeks to see if that does anything. Had X-rays today too, so that might shed some more light on things.

By: Kyle James

Kyle James — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:36:43 +0000

Yeah you have been having those back problems for as long as I’ve known you. That’s a tough situation. Me personally I hate taking medicine in general, not so much for religious reasons, but because I think people are always taking medicine to solve all their problems instead of toughing it out and building up their immune system. I’ve got really bad allergies to cats and dust mites so going into an old dusty house or one heavily populated by cats is absolutely miserable for me. In that situation I always go for the medication to stop it.

I guess my unmedical, unreligious, moral 2 cent would say to try and not rely on the pain killer until it just becomes unbearable then it’s ok.

Have you talked to a doctor about stretches and other things like acupuncture (don’t know why I think that might help… probably something I read) that could be options?

By: Michael Fienen

Michael Fienen — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:07:57 +0000

Unfortunately, down here in little ol’ Southeast Kansas, my resources are limited. Hence the blog. This wouldn’t normally be something I’d talk about so openly, but I figure it’s the best way to tap into most people who might be able to offer advice. Thanks!

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:53:41 +0000

Michael–While I am not a Buddhist, I applaud your loyalty and faithfulness to your beliefs.

Have you sought counsel from someone who shares your beliefs that you feel might have a better understanding of your particular situation as it applies to Buddhism?

I might think on this some more. If I come up with anything else, I’ll post it.

I hope you get to feeling better soon.