We are all living under lockdown and sharing stories about what it’s like. I’m here in France where the lockdown is pretty strict. When it was first announced, we were told that we should make no journeys that are not absolutely essential. So about the only shops that are open are supermarkets, pharmacies, that’s about it. And you're expected to go to the nearest one, not travel further than you absolutely have to.
So around that time I went to the supermarket and I spent about three times as much as I would normally spend on a once-a-week trip to the supermarket. Three weeks after that I had used up most of that stuff and I was planning to go to the supermarket again. I sat down and thought about it. I thought, well, actually, it isn't absolutely necessary, I haven't actually run out of anything essential and I could go a few more days. So I didn't go to the supermarket at that point. That was Thursday last week. This is Thursday this week. So I'm a week on from that and I'm doing the same exercise and having the same result. I was starting to think I would go to the supermarket today. But actually when I look at it I've got enough to survive for several more days.
Being in the lockdown situation makes you think about what is essential. What do you actually need? In the lockdown many of us are putting aside things that we would normally consider part of everyday life. And of course we’re very apt to use this phrase “I need this” or “I need that.” When we look at it carefully most of these things that we think we need, we don’t actually need. We desire them, they’d be handy, they’d be useful, but we don't actually need them. This is a consideration that’s quite relevant to the Buddhist way of life.
The Buddha started an order of monks, friars might be a better name because they weren't in monasteries, they were wandering about. They were called bhikkhus. The word bhikkhu means a person who has a share, has a lot, you might say. So the expectation of the bhikkhu would be that the bhikkhu is content with his lot, he was content with what he’d got. And actually they lived the most minimalist life. The bhikkhu had three robes, a water strainer, a bowl, that was about it. One or two other things possibly. They didn't have anything more than they could carry. They wandered from place to place and they owned nothing more than they could carry. This emphasis upon great simplicity and upon trusting in providence - trusting that somebody would put something in your bowl - this was a foundation of the bhikkhu life. Not many people live that way these days. Even Theravadan bhikkhus don't really live that way. They have a more guaranteed food supply laid on and they tend to live in houses that have been provided and so on. But still the leaning towards great simplicity is something that is well worth reflecting on.
In this time of lockdown, in this time when we are restricted, this is a very good time to make this reflection. To consider: what do we really need? What do we need it for? Needs never stand completely alone. A need is always for something. So I suggest that we all use this time to reflect on this basic question. What do we really need? What is really essential? This is a great aid to the spiritual life. It’s something I’m doing and I hope you’ll be doing it too.
Thank you very much
Namo Amida Bu
Dharmavidya
David
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