Pain is inevitable, suffering is not. Pain and suffering are two different animals. We will inevitably encounter various pains. When faced with pain, we should not run away, but instead use the right method to deal with it.
However, we don’t deliberately seek pains. When inevitable pain arises, we should resolve it with the right attitude and method. Question 1: How do we face physical pains? When it comes to leg pain during meditation, it may be because your clothing is too tight and restricting blood flow. Therefore, when meditating, wear loose clothing. Of course, whatever blockage is due to blockage inside. Slowly, it will become unblocked. Sometimes we are not feeling well because our Qi is too weak. When our body hurts, we need to have the right attitude: the first is the simple sensation — pain itself. Simply feel the pain. Second is your resistance to that sensation. Even if it’s an instinctive reaction, learn to relax. Accept pains without any attachment. For example, when your legs hurt, your mind — and then your legs — will tense up, causing even more pain. If you relax your legs, then your mind will completely relax too. Let it be painful, and accept the pain with joy. You should love it, rather than reject it. You should love the pain and completely accept it. Complete acceptance is difficult and may be impossible at the beginning. You may think, “How can I accept pains?” When you feel pain, you can think, “Let it hurt more, let it hurt more — it is eliminating my negative karma. This is good.” The more it hurts, the better it is, because it shows your energy channels are opening and your negative karma is being eliminated. Pain indicates that your energy channels are blocked by karmic obstacles. Once they open, it shows you have experienced the karmic result, and therefore the karma is eliminated. How good that is. So we should accept pains. The tension in your muscles is subtle — so relax your body, and then relax your mind. When you have greed, immediately turn on your mindfulness, and the greed will disappear. When you have anger, turn on your mindfulness, and the anger will weaken or even disappear. This is what practice is all about — bring up mindfulness, maintain awareness and equanimity.