Mindfully Facing Disease and Death Quotes

“the idea is not that one should just endure any pain without doing anything about it at all. Instead, one properly takes care of what has led to the first arrow with whatever reasonable and appropriate medical means are at one’s disposal, and alongside that one trains the mind in such a way as to avoid the second arrow.”
― Anālayo, Mindfully Facing Disease and Death: Compassionate Advice from Early Buddhist Texts

“Every time one reacts to pain with irritation, this activates the underlying tendency, anusaya, to aversion in the mind. The more this underlying tendency is activated, the stronger it becomes, and therefore the more readily a future arising of aversion will be triggered. Conversely every single instance of not reacting to pain weakens the underlying tendency to aversion and promotes the growth of liberating understanding. In this way pain is not only a taxing challenge, it also affords a powerful opportunity to make progress on the path to freedom.”
― Anālayo, Mindfully Facing Disease and Death: Compassionate Advice from Early Buddhist Texts

“In contrast, by approaching with mindful understanding the experience of feelings in general, and of pain in particular, this experience can become a powerful source of insight. All it takes is to remain aware, in the present moment, of the changing process of feelings as it is, without reacting.”
― Anālayo, Mindfully Facing Disease and Death: Compassionate Advice from Early Buddhist Texts