Although anyone with a body undergoes physical suffering (even Buddha Sakyamuni took ill and died) the difference between sages and ordinary beings is that sages always keep the mind unmoved - empty and still. See the following passage:
[In the Vimalakirti Sutra,] the sage Vimalakirti discussed the experience of illness at great length... With many visitors assembled to inquire after his health, the infirm sage took the opportunity to speak out against the human body and its limitations.
"O, virtuous ones, the wise do not rely upon the body. It is like a mass of froth which cannot be grasped, like a bubble which bursts in an instant. The body is like a flame arising from the thirst of love... like a shadow, appearing as a result of karma. It is like an echo, responding to causes and conditions... The body does not act of itself; but it is spun around by the force of the winds of passion." (Raoul Birnbaum, The Healing Buddha, p. 13.)
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