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The relationship between meditation and pain threshold is an issue that has aroused a growing interest in the field of neuroscience and contemplative practice. Meditation, particularly Soto Zen Buddhism, It is not proposed as a technique to suppress or avoid pain, but as a means to observe it with equanimity, dismantling identification with experience and exploring its changing nature.
Pain is not a purely physical phenomenon. It is a complex process that involves the interaction of the body, the mind and the context in which it occurs. Pain arises from a combination of sensory stimuli, cognitive interpretation and emotional reaction. In this sense, we don't just experience pain, but we also actively build it.
From the perspective of the aggregates (skandhas) in Buddhist teaching, pain can be broken down into:
- Shape (rūpa) – Body sensation, nerve stimulation.
- Sensation (vedana) – The pleasant quality, unpleasant or neutral experience.
- Perception (sanñā) – The categorization of pain as “burning”, “prick” or any other label.
- mental formations (sankhāra) – The reaction to pain: aversion, fear, resignation.
- Awareness (viññāna) – The presence of the experience of pain in the mind.
When examined from this perspective, pain ceases to be a solid and immutable entity and is revealed as a dynamic and interdependent process.
When we talk about pain threshold we refer to the minimum intensity at which a sensation is perceived as painful.. This threshold is not static, but it changes according to the mental state, the emotional context and attention training.
Research has shown that meditation can modify pain perception in various ways:
- Reduced emotional reactivity: Meditation allows you to observe pain without the burden of the usual narrative of rejection or fear.. In neuroimaging studies, Experienced meditators have been shown to show less activity in the amygdala (center of fear and emotional response) when they feel pain.
- Increased pain tolerance: In practices like zazen, where the body remains still for long periods, the opportunity arises to directly confront discomfort without reacting impulsively. Over time, this exposure changes the relationship with pain, expanding the tolerance threshold.
- Change in pain perception: Instead of experiencing pain as a monolithic mass, mindfulness allows you to break it down into individual sensations, watching how they arise and disappear. This process dilutes the solidity of the pain, reducing its impact.
- Greater activation of brain areas associated with pain regulation: Studies have shown that meditation activates the anterior cingulate cortex and insula, regions involved in pain modulation and self-awareness.
In the practice of Soto Zen Buddhism, pain becomes an integral part of training. It is not about seeking pain or heroically resisting it, but to welcome it with openness and without identifying with it. When discomfort arises zazen, the instruction is not to move immediately or ignore it completely, but to observe it with equanimity. This attitude reveals a crucial aspect of the practice: It is not the pain itself that generates suffering, but the fight against it.
Accepting pain does not mean passively resigning oneself or surrendering to a fatalistic attitude.. In the practice of Soto Zen Buddhism, Accepting pain means being completely present with it., without adding unnecessary suffering through resistance, judgment or identification. It is not about enduring it heroically or dramatizing it., but to open ourselves with sensitivity to his presence, letting it speak to us from the silence.
Pain can become a profound teacher, a door that opens towards the direct understanding of impermanence, the interdependence and insubstantiality of the self. It reminds us that everything changes, that nothing exists in isolation and that the boundaries between “I” and “what hurts” are not as solid as we believe. Instead of running away, we stay. We sit and listen. We listen not with our ears, but with the whole body, whole-heartedly. We let the pain pass through us, reveal what lies beneath: fear, strain, endurance…
But this attitude does not lead us to the extreme of hardening ourselves or glorifying suffering.. It is not about becoming rigid ascetics or indifferent fakirs. The practice also includes the humility of recognizing our own limits.. If the pain becomes excessive, If the posture in zazen becomes unbearable, We learn to let go with kindness.. We don't judge each other, we don't blame ourselves. We understand that perhaps, at this moment in our life, We are not yet sufficiently trained or available to sustain that experience.. And it's okay.
So, with full awareness, we undo the posture. We do it with the same care with which we took it when we began. And in that simple and honest gesture, the entire universe of suffering that seemed to enclose us begins to dissolve. What seemed solid is revealed to be fluid. When you stop resisting, we allow the pain to transform. Y, sometimes, no trace left. Just a more lucid presence, softer, more human.
To practice in this way is to honor the heart of the Way: be with what is, without clinging or rejecting, with a quiet kindness that knows when to stay and when to let go.