March 17, 2020 Tuesday Evening, Dharma Path II Class, Small Group
Saying a Compassionate No to the Coronavirus
We opened with a class discussion. Someone said, “We talk about dharma practice and meditation practice, the need to practice. I feel like now is the concert or show!” Aaron refers to this idea below.
Aaron: My blessings and love to you. I am Aaron. I want to thank you for sharing so deeply and with such open hearts; to thank you for being willing to share your joys and your sorrows, not to hide anything from each other.
You speak of isolation. Isolation means cutting yourself off from others by living from a place of fear rather than the open heart. People can experience isolation in crowds or even in groups like this if they are only willing to share that which looks good about them, not wanting others to see anything negative. You are in no danger of isolation because you are willing to speak so honestly to each other.
Moving on, here. There’s a beautiful opening of the Dhammapada: “We are what we think. With our thoughts we make the world.” It goes on to say, if you think a thought grounded in lovingkindness thought, what will happen. If you act and speak from negative thoughts, where that will take you.
We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with an impure mind
And trouble will follow you
As the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart.We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.
Speak or act with a pure mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow, unshakable.
You have been practicing, and this is not THE concert but A concert.
This is showtime.
You’re on.
This is opening night.
This is what we’re here for…)
Life gives you many such performances, opportunities to practice what you have been learning. I think an important part of this is mindfulness of thought and of impulse. When a thought arises and you realize it as a fear-based thought, that which notes thinking a fear-based thought is not caught up in the story. This is not dissociation from the thought but able to see the thought as it is, having arisen from conditions, impermanent, and just to bow to it and say, “Take that seat; have your tea.” The more often you do this, the more opportunity there is to rest in the one who observes the arising of the thought, to shift the self-identification from the thinker to the one who simply is present and watching the show.
“You are what you think. With your thoughts you make the world.”
Remember that even a virus is a sentient being and has its own kind of intelligence. What if everybody on Earth at a set time were willing and able to sit down, take a few deep breaths, and say to the virus, “Thank you, teacher. Thank you for coming to remind me of the deep love that is inherent in each of us. Now we have met you and we are paying attention. You may not do harm to any of us. We send you love, and we tell you, ‘that’s enough, it’s time to go.'” Not said from a place of fear but said from a place of deep kindness.
It’s the same thing you would say to let’s say a group of children running around your backyard, being loud. You’re trying to nap. You don’t come out and yell at them. You come out and say, “I’m trying to sleep, and there’s a park down the street. Please take your games down there; you are disturbing me.” And if they look at you and say, “Nawww,” you say, “No, this is not appropriate. You may not stay here in my backyard.” You don’t yell at them. Power does not come from yelling but from lovingkindness. Compassion is strong and is able to say no, whether it’s to noisemakers in your backyard or to a virus.
So, what if everybody on Earth were to say to the virus, first, “Sit here and have tea. I’m not yelling at you, I don’t hate you, but no, you may not take charge here. You can stay and listen to all of our thoughts of love and well-being for all beings, Mr. Virus, Mrs. Virus. We wish you well also. But you may not destroy us. It’s time to leave.” Think what a shift that would be to speak like this, rather than acting from all the fear that’s going on right now.
The virus is a sentient being. Do not hate it but use it as a chance to practice compassionately saying, “No, that’s enough. I wish you well. Now that’s enough.”
And then the second step. You also want to educate the virus, which needs something on which to live. “if you kill us, as your host, you will die.” Let it know, “I choose the well-being of all beings. Each being is not my brother but myself; we are one, including you, virus. We are one. And any harm that any being does to another harms itself. Virus, when you destroy us you destroy yourselves.” The virus feeds off of people. If all sentient life on Earth died, could the virus live? Could it thrive? “It may not thrive here.” And we don’t send it on to another planet, either. We begin to teach it. Yes, you can teach a virus. We begin to teach it the essence of non-harm is taking self and other as one. The essence of non-harm is first learning to love the self so that one can love others.
How do you teach this to a virus? By ceasing such fear of it. That doesn’t mean lack of caution, that doesn’t mean lack of wise relationship to it, but releasing the fear of it and literally speaking to it: “You may not do harm, not on our watch. But we will never come to hating you. Rather, we will hold you in love and keep saying no until you finally get it.”
Think what might happen if the whole Earth could do this. To quote another piece of Buddhist scripture, “If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it.” “Abandon the unwholesome. If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it. Cultivate the wholesome. If it were not possible, I would not ask you to do it.”
This is what we have come to: an opportunity finally to wake up ourselves and for all sentient life to wake up. The world has gotten so small that nothing can hold itself apart and the world survive. The virus gives you an opportunity to face and resolve what is perhaps a much bigger problem, which is, the destruction of the environment. It’s unlikely that the whole world is going to sicken and die from the virus. Many will be healed from it. If everybody on the Earth got it, many would heal and then be immune to it. But the environment is not the same thing. You CAN destroy all sentient life on Earth through the mistreatment of the environment. If you learn how to say no to a virus, perhaps you can learn how to say no to those who hold themselves as separate and better than and totally disregard the needs of others and of the Earth, thusly destroying the environment. So, think of this challenge as practice for that work.
Finally, just a thought. The word ‘corona’. A corona is rays around the sun, the light that spreads out from the sun; a corona. You are all radiant suns. It’s interesting that it is called coronavirus. Perhaps it’s inviting you to get the know the radiant essence of yourselves and not fight the corona in terms of a virus but be the corona, be this radiance, be the love that you truly are. So, when you hear the word coronavirus, instead of shaking with fear or shuddering in anger, you can say, “Ah, yes—light; coronavirus. I am light, I am the corona, and I’m stronger than any virus. But I do not separate myself from the virus. The virus and I are one.” As I acknowledge that I am one with this virus, might I not become immune to it? Please reflect about this. If you know your true radiance, does that change the way that the virus could affect you? I don’t have an answer for you, here; it’s just a thought.
So I see that it’s 9 o’clock. I’m going to pause here, give the body back to Barbara.
My blessings to you all. I love you. Thank you for giving me a chance to speak with you. If you’ll hold out your hands to me, Barbara will feel your energy, just as she would feel if you were holding her hands…