Finding Kindness & Meaning Amidst Covid-19

The COVID-19 pandemic is pointing out to us what is truly valuable in our lives. If we look closely, we'll find that growing in kindness, expressing compassion, and cultivating the path that leads to freedom from suffering all hold more worth than anything else.

Transcript

Very few people predicted that this would happen in our day and age.

We've heard stories of previous times,

Such as during the life of the Buddha,

That there were severe plagues that went around.

And we thought that if there was going to be a lot of harm and damage done to the world,

That would come about through something like nuclear war.

But now it turns out that it's the smallest enemy that's causing all the suffering.

And nations are fighting with a virus that they can't even see.

So we can observe many new things going on.

And people are reacting to the situation in different ways.

Some people are increasing the price of the goods that they sell in order to make a profit out of this difficulty.

And others are reacting by sacrificing their lives,

Such as the doctors,

Nurses,

And medical staff who put their lives on the line to help relieve the suffering of others.

So some people have wealth,

But they give that up in order to help other people who are going through difficulty.

And some share their food that they have in order to relieve the hunger of others.

This is all an expression of the kindness and compassion that we have in our hearts.

And there's an instance here in Thailand of a doctor who opened up a clinic a while ago and all she charges is one baht for each patient,

Which is the equivalent of about 5 US cents.

And she's treated hundreds of thousands of people already.

So if people come from a very difficult background,

She just asks one baht from them.

Healthy people come and she doesn't think anything of that,

All she asks is one baht.

If foreigners come,

She doesn't increase her prices,

It's just one baht.

And she's able to do this because she sees the happiness that comes up through giving,

Through being generous.

She feels that her business affairs are already in a good order and that she has enough.

And this is something that's really difficult to find in this world,

Someone who feels like they have enough.

So whether we have a lot of possessions,

Whether we have few,

If we know a sense of enoughness,

Then this is a really important wealth that we own.

So we give in the ways that we're skilled and also in line with our means.

And this is an outward expression of the qualities of kindness and compassion that we have there in our heart.

And it's important that we keep those qualities there constantly,

Be always cultivating and developing them.

Because these are the qualities that form the path that lead us to purity.

This kindness,

Compassion,

Our morality and our generosity,

These all become a ladder that take us to collectedness of mind and to wisdom.

So there's a story I'd like to share with you about a little girl who had a lot of wisdom.

She was only seven years old.

But she lived at the time of the Buddha and she liked to go to listen to the teachings of the Buddha.

And she would contemplate into their meaning,

Into the changing nature of life,

Until she saw things in line with this,

That life really isn't sure,

That it's unstable.

And this allowed her mind to become very calm and peaceful.

So there's one time that she went to see the Buddha and she told the Buddha that she'd just come from her house and that she was on her way to her father's cloth weaving shop.

But then the Buddha asked her,

Where did you come from?

Now it's true that this girl was just a child,

But her mind was grown up already.

There was already deep peace there in her heart.

So she responded to the Buddha,

I don't know.

Now the meaning here is very deep.

Normally you would expect her to reply that she'd just come from her house,

But that's not what the Buddha was asking.

He was asking a deeper question,

A dharma question.

He was asking her,

Before you were born,

Where did you come from?

So she replied,

I don't know.

He then asked her,

Where are you going to?

And she replied,

I don't know.

Now the Buddha already knew where she was going to after this,

But what he was really asking was,

After you die,

Where will you go to then?

And so she replied,

I don't know.

The Buddha then asked her,

So you don't know then?

And she said,

I do know.

It sounded like she was just playing with words,

But really she knew that one day she would have to die.

The Buddha then said,

Ah,

So you know.

And she replied,

I don't know.

She didn't know when she would die,

Or how,

Or where.

The Buddha was aware that even though externally she was a child,

Her spiritual qualities were already full and complete.

And so he exclaimed that this world is dark,

And those who see clearly are few.

She saw clearly into the nature of physicality and mentality that these things are inconstant,

That they're stressful,

They're not self.

Even though she was a child,

She had already seen into the nature of Dharma with great clarity.

She was a Sotapanna,

One who had entered into the stream of the Dharma.

She accepted the truth,

And none of her views or ideas were opposed to that truth.

She saw how conditioned phenomena are,

And she accepted that they are just like that.

So for us,

We should contemplate into this nature of conditioned phenomena,

That these things all change.

And we can do that whenever we see anything,

Whether we're looking at a mountain or a tree or a flower,

A river,

We can contemplate that these things are constantly changing.

And nowadays it's especially easy to contemplate in this way.

We can see the changing nature of the world on a daily basis.

When we read the news and we see that in this country so many people passed away,

What that's telling us is that life is unsure.

When we bring that back into ourselves and see that these lives are also unsure,

We don't know how long we're going to be here for.

So we take all this back into our own hearts,

But not in a way that makes us sad or depressed.

But conversely,

If we do this contemplation skillfully,

And we really see that these bodies of ours are impermanent,

Then the mind will become radiant and shining.

If we understand that at some day we need to pass away,

Then we'll get the feeling that all of the physical things around us,

They're not really ours,

And we don't really want them.

But what we're after is truth,

Is dharma.

When we perceive life in this way,

Then it's easy for our minds to collect together and for us to experience emptiness.

We'll see that the external wealth doesn't hold much value for us,

But what's of great importance is this internal wealth.

The developing of peace in our hearts,

The growing of wisdom,

Seeing into the nature of conditions and experiencing liberation,

These things have so much more value for us.

We'll feel that even if someone were to come and offer us all the wealth in the world just for ourselves,

We wouldn't be pleased by that in any way.

Because we've seen that the joy that arises from inner wealth is more important.

So we're willing to put down our external wealth and instead be focused on the dharma.

Now it's a really good opportunity for us to do this.

Many of us are working from home,

And so we can use the situation to develop our practice,

To do a lot of chanting,

To be contemplating a lot,

To be listening to the dharma frequently.

And this is of great importance,

Listening to the dharma,

Listening to truth,

Because it helps us to raise the level of our hearts to the point where we're able to understand that wherever we attach to,

Suffering will arise right there.

We can then let go.

So all of us should feel proud,

Proud that we've gained this human birth,

Proud that we're able to meet with these teachings.

No matter where we live,

No matter which country we're in,

We should be devoted to building as much goodness as we can in this life,

Because we see that life is not sure.

And this is especially obvious in this difficult time that we're going through.

So we should all take care of our hearts,

Making sure that they're always in a good state,

That they're always prepared.

And if we have the good fortune to live further,

Then we live through the dharma.

And when we die,

Then we die in the dharma.

So may you all see into this dharma and realize truth for yourselves.

Reviews

Simply beautiful. Thank you.

Thank you have a beautiful day Namaste

Thank you for sharing!

Stunning. Deeply meaningful. Thank you for this wonderfully freeing perspective.

Thank you. This touched me deeply.

🙏many thanks for this guidance.

Wonderful talk. I love dharma. Thank you for making this so clear. 🙏🏼
💐🐾🌸💖🦋🌺🙏🏼🌷🌹🌿🙏🏽💕🌱

Thank you for your gentle voice and kind compassionate guidance. Sending good wishes.

Thank you 🙏 well received. I wish you well 🙏🙏

Very thought provoking, I’m trying to let go of more and more, but they come up in cycles for me. I am more aware of the cycles! Thank you 🙏🏻

So inspiring thank you

Really lovely...thank you...

Thank you. Beautiful meditation.