Do not take physical functioning for granted. This is a gift that shouldn’t be overlooked.
- Rabbi Abraham Twerski
- Rabbi Abraham Twerski
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Gratitude on the conventional level is a response to favors, kindnesses, and good fortune received from others, but gratitude on thee religious level is an affirmation of the gift of life itself, whether we are young or old, poor or wealthy, in good health or ind bad, living all alone or surrounded by loved ones. - Taitetsu Unno
HERE'S SOME VERY POSITIVE, HELPFUL INSIGHT ABOUT THE PANDEMIC FROM A SENIOR THAI BUDDHIST MONK3/26/2020
Venerable Phra Paisal Visalo, the abbot of Wat Pasukato, a Buddhist monastery in Thailand’s Chaiyaphum Province, and a respected monk of 37 years in the Theravada forest tradition, offers a Buddhist perspective on this turbulent situation. He offers three ways of looking at this pandemic from a practical Buddhist perspective:
1. This is an opportunity to understand and accept reality: We have to understand that humankind will continue to live with infectious diseases in various forms. In the past, we could feely used our hands to clean and touch our face, but now we can no longer do so. Even if we need to, we have to make sure we cleanse our hands thoroughly first. This mindful hand-washing helps to make us more careful and, at the same time, gives us more opportunities to be mindful in our daily lives, whereas in the past we might have taken many things for granted, including touching our face as many as 15–20 times an hour without even realizing it. 2. This is an opportunity to practice mindful living: News reports about conflicts and armed fighting have taken a back seat to the coronavirus outbreak. Even news about the US and Iran has stopped. In Thailand, reports on the political unrest have also declined. Conflicts between the government and opposition parties are being ignored by the people as their attention is focused on COVID-19, to the point of driving them crazy. We have to find a careful balance between carelessness and craziness. We should be aware that the coronavirus is not the only dangerous virus that is spreading in our society—even though COVID-19 harms our body. Fear is also spreading, harming our minds and even impacting our humility, causing us to become selfish and to look down on those who are infected. We stock up on masks, alcohol, and other hygiene products, even though they may not be necessary, especially for those who are not infected. Now masks are out of stock throughout Thailand and are not available for those suffering from tuberculosis, pneumonia, or influenza. The shortage of face masks has serious repercussions as it means that caretakers and medical personnel such as doctors and nurses do not have enough masks to wear while they work. Warnings are being given to people who are not sick that they shouldn’t buy and use masks. This demonstrates that COVID-19 itself can be less harmful than the fear of COVID-19. Therefore, as well as recognizing that we need to act to prevent COVID-19 from infecting our body, we should also ensure that we prevent our fear of COVID-19 from infecting our mind. Let’s support each other on both levels. 3. This is an opportunity to be generous and support each other: Let’s be thankful for the countless people and groups who have been volunteering at hospitals. We have heard stories that when COVID-19 began spreading in Wuhan, China, many people began volunteering to support each other. These acts of selflessness and kindness included providing rides for nurses returning home to rest and then bringing back them to the hospital for work. Some volunteers drove all night long to serve those doctors and nurses so that they could have an opportunity to rest before continuing their work. Actions such as these may begin with one volunteer, but can quickly multiply as many more follow their example. These small volunteer activities can build up into a network sharing the volunteer spirit during times of crisis. This situation has great potential to help each of us to reduce our selfish behaviors and attitudes and increase our generosity in support of each other. We need to stay connected and encourage people to express their goodness from within, which ultimately helps others. (please free free to re-post and/or share on your social media) (source: www.buddhistdoor.net) We should guard our speech. Just a sentence can lead us to the path of success or failure. - Hsing Yun
LIFE IS THE BEST GURU . . . Learn from anyone who is more awake or conscious than you. In this way, you will surely grow personally. Life is the best guru. - Deepak Chopra When Hindus were wishing each other with Namaste - They laughed
When Hindus were washing hands and feet before entering home - They laughed When Hindus were worshiping Animals - They laughed When Hindus were worshiping Plants Trees Forests - They laughed When Hindus were primarily having Veg diet - They laughed. When Hindus were doing Yoga - They laughed. When Hindus were worshiping God and Goddess - They Laughed When Hindus were burning the dead - They laughed When Hindus bathed after attending a funeral - They laughed. Well guess what ? No body is laughing now.. - Pravin Agrawal Many of us are so busy and work so much that we don't have time to live. Our work can take up all our life. We may even be addicted to our work, not because we need the money, but because we don't know how to handle the suffering and loneliness inside and so we take refuge in our work. - Thich Nhat Hanh
Almost every time I sit for meditation I think of a man named Allan Bennett. At the beginning of the 20th century he went to Sri Lanka, became a Buddhist monk and returned to his native England to share meditation and Buddhism. Circumstances resulted in his "failure" to spread Buddhism: World War I and his own deteriorating health. He died in poverty at the age of 50 yet he planted an important seed from which Buddhism would grow and flourish in England and Europe. I think of Allan Bennett every time I sit for meditation and think of him with gratitude for his sacrifice.
Here's a link to my short profile on him published at the website Buddhist Door: https://www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the-man-who-brought-buddhism-to-great-britain-allan-bennett Let me give you a wonderful Zen practice. Wake up in the morning...look in the mirror, and laugh at yourself. - Bernie Glassman
There is no permanent reality except the reality of change. Permanence is an illusion of the senses. - David Carradine
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
March 2020
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