Meaning:
A persistent difficulty or annoyance.
Background:
From the Bible, 2 Corinthians 12:7 (King James Version):
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of
Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
- www.phrases.org.uk [edited]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The passage perfectly demonstrates the idea of yin-yang: there is always an
amount of yin, however small, within the predominant yang, and vice versa.
As for the thorn itself,
Christians would be toiling daily toward its riddance,
a Buddhist would be too busy breathing to notice,
the stoic realizes the thorn's beyond his control,
and the taoist is the freeist, he can stay put or do anything.
