Facing the challenge of Coronavirus.VIETNAMESE TRANSLATE ENGLISH BY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.

 

Face to face with the challenge of CORONAVIRUS

( Facing the Challenge of the Coronavirus )

           

         

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Sincere Respect for the Blessed One, A-la-Han Chief Justice Chief Justice Awareness

At this very difficult time, I wish all of you good health and peace. I would like to take a few minutes to share with you some of my thoughts on how to deal with the current Coronavirus disease crisis.

The first thing is that we must be very diligent and carefully follow the instructions of the medical experts. Their top concern is our health, although their instructions may be a little difficult to follow. But to prevent the spread of disease, we need to follow their instructions diligently and consciously. This virus can spread very quickly and widely if we are not careful, but if we are careful and diligently follow their instructions, then we can slowly reduce the infection. of this virus, meaning that instead of letting the infection skyrocket, we try to slow it down, then the rate of infection of the virus will decrease and hopefully it will continue to decrease until when disappearing.

This virus does not spread in a peaceful way, but it spreads exponentially very quickly, one person infected 3 people, 3 people infected 9 people, 9 people infected 27 people, etc. such. Therefore, we must follow the advice of health professionals to prevent the spread of the virus. Some of the key tips that health experts give us advice are:

• The first is called "social distancing", which means we must keep a set distance between ourselves and others. The natural tendency of human beings is to socialize, to draw close to each other, shake hands when we meet, hug, tell each other kind words, meet in groups, etc. But now if they If we do that, we will become the agent that receives the virus for ourselves and transmits it to others. Therefore, to avoid this, we must follow the principle of "keeping a safe social distance", keeping a distance between ourselves and others, not participating in group activities, not going to public places or public meetings, but try your best to stay in your home, in your room.
  
  
  The second principle that health professionals guide us is: wash your hands often and wash your hands with soap. The reason we have to wash our hands with soap is because soap bubbles entrain virus and destroy it, washing our hands with water alone will not kill the virus. Use soap and rub your hands together for 20 seconds to create a lather before washing your hands.
  
  

Thus, following the instructions of health professionals is first to take care of ourselves, and by taking care of ourselves, we are also taking care of others. We protect ourselves from virus infections, and by avoiding ourselves, we are also protecting others, because we do not become agents that transmit viruses to others. Taking care of yourself may seem like a selfish act, but in fact this is a genuine act of compassion, a way of protecting others.

We can see this illustrated in a discourse given by the Buddha, which is the Sedaka-Sutta Sutta (Samyutta Sutta, Chapter III, Samyutta Samyutta - 19 (9) - Sutta Sedaka). In this sutta, the Buddha tells the story of two acrobatic performers in one town, one teacher, one disciple. They went to this town and erected a bamboo pole, and the teacher said to the disciple: "You should climb on my shoulder", the disciple climbed on the teacher's shoulder. Then the teacher continued, "Protect me, and I will protect you, and by protecting each other, we can perform acrobatics with our feet, and then we will climb down the bamboo pole. secure, and earn money ”. But the student said to the teacher, "Teacher, that is not the right way, you have to protect me, and I have to protect myself, when each one protects himself, We will be safe. In this way, we can perform acrobatics with our feet, and we will make a living. ”

 Then the Buddha taught, "That discourse of the disciple is the right way to perform acrobatic circus with feet." The Buddha then applied this to our daily life, saying, "Likewise, you protect yourself, and by protecting yourself, you are also protecting others; and by protecting others, you also protect yourself. "

Thus, by protecting ourselves properly, we also protect our families, members of our communities, members of cities, towns, and everyone in our country.

Now, when we face this coronavirus pandemic, we are overwhelmed by fear, anxiety, and sometimes even panic. So how to solve this problem according to the Buddha's Dharma, how will we apply the Buddha Dharma to help us overcome fear and anxiety so we can live in peace and serenity ?

I would like to mention three different methods, each of which will be appropriate according to one's tendencies, the first is based on faith and sincerity, the second is based on mindfulness and meditation, and the third method is based on wisdom and meditation. Of course, these three elements need to be intertwined: faith, mindfulness and wisdom. But each person with different tendencies will have a different focus on each method.

The first method, for those who tend to focus on faith and sincerity, the way to keep the mind strong, calm and peaceful is to focus on the noble qualities and virtues of the Three Bao. Thus they will turn their mind to the Buddha, who is the supreme Samma Samma with immense compassion. They turn their minds to the Dharma, which is the path of practice leading to liberation and enlightenment; and they turn their attention to the Sangha, which is the community of the liberated Arahants, or the community of pure and compassionate Bodhisattvas. They turn their minds to their pure virtue, wisdom, compassion, as well as their elaborate practice and aspiration. And when we turn our mind to the Triple Gem, we can choose whatever object we like, Buddha, Dharma or Sangha; this will help us to generate confidence and a silent rejoicing,

The second method emphasizes the practice of mindfulness leading to strong inner peace and mental stability. So, according to this method, we sit down to meditate on the pillows and set up mindfulness. First of all, reciting the whole body feeling, you can examine the whole body feeling, feel the impact of the tabletop on the meditation pillow, your feet on the surface of the mattress, and then you have able to direct attention to the breath. When you breathe in, you are aware of the in-breath, when you exhale, you are aware of the exhaled breath, when an idea arises, the idea of ​​anxiety, fear, anger, anger, etc., any idea. If you arise, you only need to be aware and let it come, then let it go, the idea will disappear, and you will return your mind to the object of contemplation, return to the feeling of your whole body, and then transfer from your body. to the breath. If any idea of ​​fear or anxiety becomes too strong, you can ignore the breath and focus your attention on the fear itself, turn that idea into a mindful object, or you can focus on the sensation of the body when that idea is invading. entering the mind, you feel fatigue, contraction, tension in the body, then you use your mind to calm your body, and when you feel less stressed, you can bring your mind back to your breath. This way, whatever happens outside, you can still keep your sense of lightness, calmness, peace, and serenity. You can bring the mind back to the breath. This way, whatever happens outside, you can still keep your sense of lightness, calmness, peace, and serenity. You can bring the mind back to the breath. This way, whatever happens outside, you can still keep your sense of lightness, calmness, peace, and serenity.

The third method is to use wisdom or reflect on anxiety / as an argument (yoniso manasikara) as a way to deal with the coronavirus crisis. Thus, with more profound reflection, we can see that the environment is teaching us the true nature of life. Normally in our daily lives, we continue our activities and think that things will continue normally without interruption, we think everything is always safe and stable. But what the Buddha taught is that, beneath the peaceful surface of everyday life, there are always hidden dangers. So now this virus is the danger that stepped out of hiding, and appeared in the middle of life.

 The Buddha taught his disciples to contemplate daily: "I have to depend on old age, I cannot escape being old. I have to depend on disease, I cannot get rid of it. I have to depend on death, I cannot escape death. " Thus, we take this form at birth, and then bring this body to live in life, we are also dependent on old age, illness and death. Now that this virus is spreading all over the world, we are facing the reality of life, especially sickness and the potential for death. Therefore, we need to keep our mind strong and prepare our mind to face this reality.

A fourth theme that the Buddha taught us to reflect on is: "One day I will be separated from all the people I love." Even if we are still alive, our loved ones, relatives, and friends depend on death. So, when those people die, what will we be like? If we are not prepared, when our loved ones pass away, we will be overwhelmed with grief, suffering, and even depression. However, if we can bring this subject to reflection every day, then when our loved ones die, of course we will be sad, but we can maintain strength and military power. inner peace before suffering, to be able to stand stronger and ready to face the challenges of life.

The fifth title the Buddha taught us is: "When we die, all we can bring to the afterlife is karma, which is the legacy of their good and unwholesome actions. me. ” When we think about this, we see that right now, we can begin to do some good work, such as contributing to charities that are trying to help solve the crisis caused by This virus causes, or health agencies, health care organizations, food distribution centers for the poor ..., to help those who are suffering from this disease.

We can choose whatever method we like, the method based on faith and sincerity, the practice of mindfulness and concentration, or the method of insight, to keep our inner peace and quietness. , and have enough inner strength to face this crisis courageously. When we have a calm, strong and courageous mind, this will strengthen our immune system, helping us reduce the risk of infection with this virus if we face it.

I hope that all of you who are listening to this talk will be safe, healthy, and health professionals will soon find a vaccine to eliminate this virus and we will be able to return to the conversation. live normally.

I would like to end this talk with a powerful chant, prayer of the Three Jewels to protect and protect those who listen to this talk. The sutta is in Pali, with the following meaning:

                        Pray for all of you from all diseases,

                        And enjoy long life,

                        Thanks to the protection of Buddha and Dharma Sangha,

                        And with the protection of the gods,

                        You will all be safe and healthy.

Pray that all of you will overcome this crisis, with stronger inner strength, and a greater sense of responsibility for each other, with a heart full of compassion, and with a determination to work to build a community, a society, a world in which people can develop and realize their dreams. END=NAM MO SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA.( 3 TIMES ).GOLDEN AMITABHA MONASTERY=VIETNAMESE BUDDHIST NUN=THICH CHAN TANH.AUSTRALIA,SYDNEY.23/4/2020.