Here in France the lockdown is now on its 18th day. People have many different reactions to this situation. Some people are frightened, some people have a lot of anxiety, some people are depressed. Some people are feeling a kind of alacrity, an exuberance. They are relieved of their normal responsibilities, there is a kind of freedom in not having to go to work and so on. Others, because of their not having to go to work are very worried and anxious. What’s going to happen to their income? Are they going to be able to survive? Will they be able to pick up the pieces when this is all over? Will it ever be all over? Are we entering into a different situation, a different kind of social arrangement? Will some of the things that are happening now stick or will they all just disappear away and we go back to business as was before?
Everybody has a unique reaction to the present situation and having a look at what our personal reaction is can tell us a lot, can be very useful, can be a good reflection. It’s a good meditation, an inward looking, a naikan if you like. We can see what’s happening inside us in relation to what we know, what we hear in the news, what we hear from our friends. Perhaps we know somebody who’s in hospital, perhaps we are related to somebody who’s in hospital. Perhaps somebody that we know has actually died. We may be frightened for ourselves, we may be anxious for others and so on. But from a spiritual point of view, from the point of view of practice, faith, this is a time when our faith is tested. This is a time when we find out a lot about the reality of our faith.
It’s very easy to join a group, adopt an idea, hang out with nice people and so on, and think that we have entered into a faith, a practice, a commitment of some kind., but it’s not really until it’s tested that we know whether it’s real or not. In my case I’m happy, my faith has held up in this situation. I don’t feel afraid, I don’t feel depressed, I am not defeated by it. I might say to myself, “Well yes that’s alright but you’re healthy at the moment, what happens if you get the illness?” but I know, also, that it’s only been a couple of years - three years or so - since I myself was in hospital with a life threatening illness and I know that my faith held up in that situation too.
So this experience of our own process can give us confidence - gives me confidence, certainly gives me confidence - makes me feel that whatever comes along, I’ll be given whatever I need in order to handle it, in order to be a faithful servant, as it were, in the new situation, whatever the new situation is. Whether I remain in isolation here for a very long time, not seeing any of my friends; whether I’m carted off to hospital and attached to lots of tubes and machines and suffer much pain and so on; whether I actually die, I feel confident that whatever happens I shall be okay. I shall be okay spiritually. My body may suffer, but I shall be alright in my heart, in my mind, in my spirit. This is because of the faith that I have. This is all down to Namo Amida Bu.
Namo Amida Bu, the only thing that is real and true. All these other things are conditions, they are all circumstances, they are things that pass. They are things that affect us and then move on. We move on, they move on. Who knows what’s coming next? We’re not in control of the situation. That’s okay. Great acceptance is the nature of Amida Buddha and as a servant and disciple of Amida Buddha I can have faith, and I can be at ease even in this situation. I hope you can too.
Thank you very much
Namo Amida Bu
Dharmavidya
David
Replies
Yes, it will be partial for everybody - there are so many offerings nobody will be able to do everything.
Daniel Bairey said:
I am considering a partial zoom attendance. Thank you for the invitation.
David Brazier said:
Nice to hear from you Daniel. Are you going to come to the Bodhi Retreat?
http://www.amidashu.org/Bodhi-2020/
Withering Afflictions, Stabilizing steadfast Faith.