In Buddhism, the “Second Arrow” comes from a teaching attributed to the Buddha about suffering.
The First Arrow
This is the inevitable pain of life:
- Physical pain
- Loss, illness, aging
- Unpleasant events
Getting hit by the first arrow is unavoidable. It’s what happens to us.
The Second Arrow
This is the mental suffering we add:
- Resistance: “Why me?”
- Rumination: replaying the pain
- Self-blame, anger, fear, shame
- Stories like “This shouldn’t be happening” or “This ruins everything”
The second arrow is optional. It’s how we react.
Key insight
Pain is unavoidable. Suffering is optional.
When touched by pain, the uninstructed person sorrows, grieves, and laments—so they are struck by two arrows.
The instructed person feels the pain but does not add mental suffering—so they are struck by only one.
Practice implication
Mindfulness and wisdom aim to:
- Fully feel the first arrow
- Notice and not fire the second
Examples:
- Physical pain → feel sensation without panic
- Criticism → hear the words without self-attack
- Loss → grieve without collapsing into despair
If you want, I can explain:
- How this shows up in daily life
- How mindfulness stops the second arrow
- The original sutta context
- A modern psychology parallel
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