Penang Retreat Nov 2019 Q&A Group 4 Round 4 (49:35-51:09)
Yogi: The stones of the reflexology path were sharp; I could feel the physical pain, but not the mental pain. Was the physical pain covering it?
Sayadaw: The physical pain comes first and later the mind reacts. Because the object is very strong, the mind reacts.
The physical pain is not covering the mental reaction; it is just that the physical sensation is more obvious. The mental pain is already there, but you don’t know what mental pain is.
You cannot differentiate between physical sensation and mental pain because the physical sensation is strong and obvious, and you don’t know the mind process yet.
When the awareness improves, you can tell apart physical sensations and mental pain.