The world as we know it has changed a lot. What we have taken for granted for so long, has temporarily been removed and we most likely feel a sense of loss. In some places and areas of our lives things might be really out of hand, unpredictable and uncertain right now. Nevertheless, as scary as it may be, this is the human condition and things are happening according to causes and conditions, as always, just not in the same old way we have grown so accustomed to. The earth and all forms of life on it are fragile, tender and vulnerable, that’s why we have to gently care for all of them.
Some have suggested rightly that the coronavirus has to be faced with lots of Karuna (empathy, understanding & care). Especially its cousin the “I-don’t-care-virus”, which is also making its rounds globally and making the current situation only worse. Along with unconditional kindness/love, rejoicing in the goodness (which is still around as well) and with balance and a general groundedness in goodness.
As borders are closed and flights are cancelled, let’s keep our hearts open. The time has come to take things into our own hearts now. Let them in, accept and welcome them and let them touch us. Respond with wholesome mind states however, instead of reacting with unwholesome habitual thought patterns and behaviours. Fear, anxiety and frustration are to be expected and normal, but we can meet the current circumstances and our reactions to them with understanding, with a sense of gratitude (for what we still have or had), as well as with acceptance, gentleness and resilience to find balance and a grounding in peace again. Let us find ways to rest in reality, with a open and kind heart.
You are invited to join Bhantes Bodhidhaja and Cunda for another online we-retreat via the platform Zoom, offered free of charge from 17 to 19 April 2020. We will be practising and discussing the four highest hangout places for the mind, the four Brahma Viharas again. The teaching material was already presented during the Relax & Grow WE-Retreat 2019 at Jhana Grove (if you have attended that), but we will be building on it and making it relevant to the current circumstances.
Please click here (https://bswa.org/event/online-relax-and-grow-2020-2/) to find more information on the BSWA event page.