You have clearly never experienced extreme pain. The last time I suffered a severe shoulder dislocation was almost like an out-of-body experience. The pain overwhelmed the ability to form coherent thoughts, it was like an electrical storm in my brain. The intuitive motor system took complete control as I writhed around, limbs flinging in random directions. I heard someone scream at the top of his lungs, and only afterwards realised that it was me.
Pain absolutely does have a physical component, and it is not something you can overcome just by practicing meditation. Though, I'm not saying that doesn't help in some scenarios.
If you learn Rust, you'll find that you'd choose it over C/++ even without the brrow checker. Every little part of the development experience is just so much better.