disserting on the wrong quote. Intentional?

Unfortunately not. I suspect my s/pearls/a pearl/ on the quote was merely the (un-Enlightened) desire to make the epigram a little punchier. ;-)

And the immediate actual truth which I do not need to be beaten to understand is that I prefer not being beaten.

Of course. Me too. :-)

But the unpleasantness of being beaten is not the immediate actual truth that the Zen master is trying to beat into the student. Nor is it the immediate actual truth that the Zen student is trying to perceive by submitting to the Master's beatings.

The lesson is not "I don't like being beaten. Ever."
The lesson is "I am being beaten. Right now."