| | I don't have a direct answer, but I recall reading the following in U Pandita's "In This Very Life" pg.55
Healing Body and Mind
About fifteen years ago there was a man who'd been suffering from gastric troubles for many years. When he went to his checkup, the doctor said he had a tumour and needed surgery. The man was afraid that the operation would be unsuccessful and he might die.
So he decided to play it safe in case he did die. "I had better go meditate" he said to himself. He came to practice under my guidance. Soon he began to feel a lot of pain. At first it was not bad, but as he made progress in practice and reached the level of insight connected with pain, he had a severe, unbearable, torturous attack. He told me about it and I said, "Of course you are free to go home to see your doctor. However, why don't you stay a few more days?"
He thought about it and decide there still was no guarantee he would survive the operation. So he decided to stay and meditate. He took a teaspoon of medicine every two hours. At times the pain got the better of him; at times he overcame the pain. It was a long battle, with losses on both sides. But this man had enormous courage.
During one sitting the pain was so excruciating that his whole body shook and his clothes were soaked in sweat. The tumour in his stomach was getting harder and harder, more and more constricted. Suddenly, his idea of his stomach disappeared as he was looking at it. Now there was just his consciousness and a painful object. It was very painful but it was very interesting. He kept on watching and there was just the noting mind and the pain, which got more and more excruciating.
Then there was a big explosion like a bomb. The yogi said he could even hear a loud sound. After that it was all over. He got up from his sitting drenched in sweat. He touched his belly but in the place where his tumour once protruded, there was nothing. He was completely cured. Moreover, he had completed his meditation practice, having had an insight into nibbana.
Soon afterwards this man left the center and I asked him to let me know what the odctor said about the gastric problem. The doctor was shcoked to see the tumour was gone. The man could forget the strict diet he had followed for twenty years, and to this day he is alive and in good health. Even the doctor became a Vipassana yogi!
I hae come across innumerable people who have recovered from chronic headaches, heart trouble, tuberculosis, even cancer and severe injuries sustained at an early age. Some of them had been declared incurable by doctors. All of these people had to go through tremendous pain. But they exercised enormous perseverance and courageous effort, and they healed themselves. More important, many also came to understand far more deeply the truth about reality by observing pain with tenacious courage and then breaking through to insight.
You should not be discourage by painful sensations. Rather, have faith and patience. Persevere until you understand your own true nature. |