The Arrow We Fire At Ourselves
What the Buddha taught about pain, what neuroscience just confirmed, and why the distinction matters.
ANXIETYPAINMINDFULNESSCONTEMPLATIVE SCIENCE SERIES
Dr Corey Jackson
The bottle of Dettol looked older than me.
I’d just crashed a motorbike in a small Indian village in the Himalayas. Not a spectacular crash. Just me trying to avoid a street dog that seemed determined to get run over, but it may have been the most interesting thing to happen all week here.
I was fine, but the locals’ natural concern for visitors meant I was sat on a chair, handed chai, and had superficial scratches doused with Dettol from an antique bottle.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” my friend (who had come out unscathed) asked.
None of the old guys spoke English, so I exhaled and, in the calmest, most relaxed voice, smiled and answered, “Yep, this really hurts a lot.”
I didn’t want to alarm anyone.
My friend laughed, the locals smiled and relaxed, I sat back and finished my chai, looking down the valley, barely thinking about the crash or the more traumatic Dettol incident.
Even the dog was napping on the side of the road as if nothing had happened.