I had this question put to me directly when on vacation. My wife had a planned a trip, she had been organizing it for months. Before the trip I had some dental pain, and I had it taken care of before we left. Well, sure enough, the night before the flight, that very tooth started hurting. Not in the sharp pain way, instead in the dull throbbing pain way. Mental pain set in, too, as we were going out of the country to some remote areas - fear of nerve pain in a strange land. The pain sort of came and went and I wasn't about to ruin my wife's trip. I brought plenty of Motrin and hoped that would do the trick. That night we were in Lima, Peru and the pain came back - very strongly. Plus more mental pain since Lima was the last big city we'd be in. I was unable to sleep and ended up laying awake in bed all night.
Bringing awareness into the situation, I was watching the thoughts. The pain at this point was probably 7-8 out of ten. There were some thoughts about making the pain go away. I could probably get some narcotics as they don't have the same rules as the US. I have heard too many stories of people getting addicted to painkillers, so I really didn't want to go that route (I have since read that even the narcotic pain killers are not that effective against tooth nerve pain). I could get a dentist, though I was worried about the level of dental care in Peru. And it was Saturday. And it was Peru's independence day. Though at this point I didn't care if the tooth had to be pulled. Watching the thoughts, there was a thought about jumping out of the 7th story window of the hotel - finally, the point of this story!
As a practicing Zen teacher, the primary practice is to watch the thoughts but to not attach to any of them. So it was interesting to watch these thoughts in this much pain. Pain changes things. The generally happy, outgoing guy who loves to travel was replaced by the "don't touch me... leave me alone" guy. So what about this thought of jumping out the window? I have done much practice on death, not attaching, and being OK to die at any moment. After all there is only now - and one of these "nows" will be the moment of death.
So if death isn't a big deal. Why not jump? Well, to start with, I have a wife who was looking forward to a nice vacation with her husband. I have parents, brothers, and other family members that would be very upset by such an action. The list goes on, from the two dogs that I feed to the guys that would clean up the mess. I hope you see where this is going. What am I? Is there a single independent I? Do I live my life for me and my pleasures? Or do I live for all beings? I ask you, what do you live for?
By the way - the picture is from the Parque Reserva in Lima.
How did this play out?
The pain in the jaw
went on
and on
and on
The person had changed
from the friendly, outgoing guy
To
"leave me alone!"
The ache was intense
The fear took hold as
This was only the beginning of
A two week trip into remote parts of South America
A dentist search began
In Lima, Peru
On Saturday
Independence Day
Thoughts of
Life and Death
Impermanence
and "Fuck!"
Went round and round
A dentist was found
She was very nice
Her equipment was old
She used a lighter to sterilize the needle
She worked for two hours
on the bad tooth
The worst of the pain went away
the vacation continued
with a lot less pain
Getting a root canal in Lima, Peru on independence day
