Beware of the Second Arrow
We often hear that the Buddha taught an end to suffering. But this is not 100% accurate. In fact, it isn’t even half right. It is only a third right because there are three types of suffering:
Suffering of physical pain
Suffering of loss
Suffering due to the dissatisfaction of life
A badly sprained ankle is an example of the suffering of physical pain. A sprain is very painful and Buddhism cannot really help much here. It hurts and it should hurt. About ten years ago, I was getting ready for our Sunday morning mindfulness service and I slammed my thumb in one of the drawers in the Nokotsudo. In that instant, my Buddhist practice went on pause as I yelled out in pain. I also blamed myself for not being more mindful.
The grief of losing a loved one or a close friend is an example of suffering of loss. One Sunday, a woman at OCBC told me that her dog had just died. She was overwhelmed with grief which is understandable. She said that she would never own another dog. It is just too hard because dogs have lifespans that are so much shorter than our own.
These two examples above also illustrate the suffering that is due to the dissatisfaction of life. This is where we add another level of suffering. My thumb hurt badly but it was an accident, not something I intended to do. Sometimes things like this just happen. It was not my fault. I am not to blame. Dogs also pass away before we do. They are on a different clock than we are. I wish it wasn’t so but we need to accept it. The grief we feel is actually a wonderful gift. It is due to the intimacy we are able to experience with another being.
This dissatisfaction with life is the suffering that the Buddha is speaking of when we see the word “suffering” in Buddhist teachings. This is called the second arrow.
The following is from an essay on Guilt and Buddhism:
“The Buddha taught that when we experience something painful — a physical illness, or the news that someone we love has died, or witnessing suffering all around us — it’s as if the world has shot an arrow into us. It hurts! That pain is totally normal, and it’s fine to acknowledge it. In fact, it’s good to acknowledge it, to let ourselves simply be with the experience of pain.
But often, what we then do is shoot a second arrow into ourselves. That second arrow is any thought we use to spin up a ‘story’ around our pain, as a way of resisting simply being with the experience of pain. This can manifest in many different ways.
The Buddha, in the Sallatha Sutta, teaches that there’s another way. The well-instructed disciples of the noble ones, when touched with a feeling of pain, do not sorrow, grieve, or lament, do not beat their breast or become distraught. So, they feel one pain: physical, but not mental. Just as if they were to shoot someone with an arrow and, right afterward, did not shoot them with another one, so that they would feel the pain of only one arrow. … As they are touched by that painful feeling, they are not resistant.”
It is this second self-inflicted pain that we need to be mindful of. This is the focus of Buddhism. In life, Suffering is inevitable but the additional pain of the second arrow is optional.
“We can even say that Buddhism is a way that relieves the suffering of people whose hopes are not fulfilled.”[1]
In gassho, Rev Jon Turner
[1] What is the meaning of chanting “Namuamidabutsu”?, Yasushi Kigoshi, Otani University
