This teaching is from the section The Human Condition: From "In the Buddha's Words" by Bhikkhu Bodhi.
“Bhikkhus, an uninstructed ordinary person experiences a pleasant feeling, a painful feeling, and a feeling which is neither-painful-nor-pleasant. Similarly, bhikkhus, a learned noble disciple experiences a pleasant feeling, a painful feeling, and a feeling which is neither-painful-nor-pleasant. Therein, bhikkhus, what is the distinction, the disparity, the difference between a learned noble disciple and an uninstructed ordinary person?”
“Venerable sir, our teachings are rooted in the Blessed One, guided by the Blessed One, and have the Blessed One as their refuge. It would be good, venerable sir, if the Blessed One himself would clarify the meaning of this statement.”
“Then listen, bhikkhus, and pay close attention, I will speak.”
“Yes, venerable sir,” those bhikkhus replied to the Blessed One. The Blessed One said this:
Uninstructed Ordinary Person
“Bhikkhus, an uninstructed ordinary person, when touched by a painful feeling, grieves, laments, wails, beats their chest, and becomes distraught. That person experiences two kinds of feelings—bodily and mental.
Suppose a man were struck by an arrow. Then, a second arrow were to strike him immediately afterwards in the same spot. In this way, the man would experience a feeling from two arrows.
In the same way, bhikkhus, an uninstructed ordinary person, when touched by a painful feeling, grieves, laments, wails, beats their chest, and becomes distraught. That person experiences two kinds of feelings—bodily and mental.
Furthermore, bhikkhus, when an uninstructed ordinary person is touched by a painful feeling, they become resistant (aversive [paṭighavant]). In one who resists painful feeling, the underlying tendency of aversion associated with painful feeling gets reinforced (persists [anuseti]).
Being touched by painful feeling, they delight in sensual pleasure. And why is that? Because, bhikkhus, an uninstructed ordinary person does not understand an escape from painful feeling apart from sensual pleasure. As they delight in sensual pleasure, the underlying tendency of lust towards pleasant feeling gets reinforced.
They do not understand, as it truly is, the arising (origin, source [sambhava]), the passing away (disappearing, vanishing, subsiding [atthaṅgama]), the gratification (satisfaction, pleasure, enjoyment, sweetness [assāda]), the drawback (disadvantage, unsatisfactoriness, inadequacy [ādīnava]), and the escape in regard to these feelings. Since they do not understand this as it truly is, the underlying tendency of ignorance associated with neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling gets reinforced.
If they experience a pleasant feeling, they experience it while being entangled with (bound to, linked with, identified with [saññutta]) it. If they experience a painful feeling, they experience it while being entangled with it. If they experience a neither-painful-nor-pleasant feeling, they experience it while being entangled with it.
Bhikkhus, this is called an uninstructed ordinary person—one who is bound to birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair. I say that they are bound to suffering."
Related Teachings:
Mindfulness of felt experience in and of itself (From MN 10) ↗️ - Mindfulness of the felt experience in and of itself, the second establishment of mindfulness, per MN 10 Mahāsatipaṭṭhānasutta is described in this post.
Wisdom should be developed, consciousness should be fully understood (From MN 43) ↗️ - First 11 questions and answers from MN 43 concerning wisdom, consciousness, perception and felt experiences.
Being unrestrained in the sense faculties can lead to death or deadly suffering (SN 20.10) ↗️ - The Buddha uses a simile of a cat to illustrate how not setting up mindfulness and being unrestrained in the sense faculties can lead to death or deadly suffering.
So, it's like they're saying that typically a person experiencing a negative feeling will end up abusing themselves in some way as a result of that feeling. As if they're punishing themselves for having the negative feeling. They will also associate the negative feeling with what they believe is its origin, and avoid it in the future, which could itself be another kind of self-inflicted punishment. E.G. I twisted my ankle on a hike through the forest, I'm upset at myself for having twisted my ankle, so now I avoid forest hikes, which costs me the tranquility of hiking in the forest.
Thus the negative feeling is exponentially increased through our reaction to it.
The uninstructed person experiencing a positive feeling will, just like with the negative, associate it with its imagined origin. This, similarly, leads to abusing oneself, through abuse of the origin. E.G. I had a great time last night having a drink with friends, so I will drink again tonight (with or without friends) to experience the great time again. With each repetition, or in trying to sustain the length of the 'great time,' it is lessened, costing me the happiness that comes with enjoying time with friends with (or without) a drink.
Thus the positive feeling is lessened and dulled through our lust to repeat it.
Whereas its through the understanding that all feelings are temporary that one can truly experience them, without having it affect them negatively. Pleasure, as much as pain, will come forth, rise, fall, and recede into absence. Once we learn to experience it without attempting to harness it, can we live more completely, without the self-abuse that typically follows from attempting to avoid/repeat feelings from the past. The mindfulness involved requires daily practice, and can be attained through meditative practices that involve you turning your mind off and experiencing life without comment or rumination. To me, that means doing a daily workout, but for you it can be anything.
This is an interesting frame, and spot about the value of mindfulness and daily practice to see these more clearly. I would also consider the aspect of the neither-painful-nor-pleasant feelings, which per the Buddha are associated with the abiding of the fourth jhāna and which one cannot experience and thus have an opportunity to gain wisdom about until the mind keeps cycling through pain resistance and pleasure seeking behavior