Intent - 3
Can a disease have an intent? The general answer would of course be NO. However results usually follow a cause, so maybe the answer has to be yes, or there would be no results at all. Right? In the case of most folks, the Covid is considered to be a Trouble-Maker. Trouble makers job is to create trouble, and certainly this Covid virus has resulted in a lot of troubling problems for all of us.
According to Indigenous People all over this planet, the real trouble-maker is the ignorance in those who have interfered with the Native Peoples jobs of caring for this planet and maintaining homeostasis. Where homeostasis is missing, there is imbalance. The planet Earth works well when all things are in balance. So this Covid is both the result and the cause of the imbalance seen and felt by water shortage, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, emotional instability and the displacement of so many people from their place of birth. One of the benefits of forest, like the Amazon, is preventing disease. Destroyed forest results in releasing factors for disease. Can something be done to return to a state of balance on some level at least? Yes!
We can begin by creating this Healing Dance Choreography together. Below are some suggestions and guidelines I offer to begin with. You are invited to explore and experience them. I welcome any suggestions you may have. Please share them in the comment section,
The result of my having spent several months in solitary mountain retreat, as well as three years in a Dudion Lineage Drupada retreat has deepened my appreciation for life itself. My having a clairvoyant mother and compassionate aunt and uncle were my inspiration toward a deepening of spiritual practice. My retreat and personal experience inspired one of my sangha* friends to suggest I "share with the readers some of my personal story, to make what I am about to suggest a little easier to digest". Ok, so done, enough history shared!
Covid has also offered or resulted in more opportunity for reflection. Life changes always offers a moment to look deeper at our circumstances, and in some cases makes survival possible. For others just surviving is not enough. Instead, the expanding of awareness become the means for going forward.
So let's look closer at COVID 19, letter by letter at what the process of expanding awareness can entail:
C..............Compassion and Contemplation Compassion if understood correctly is not sympathy, which is the feeling of sorrow for oneself. "According to Buddhism, compassion is an aspiration, a state of mind, wanting others to be free from suffering. It's not passive — it's not empathy alone — but rather an empathetic altruism that actively strives to free others from suffering. Genuine compassion must have both wisdom and lovingkindness. Jul 9, 2018"**
This has been a good time to check in with those we care about in our circle of family and friends. But what about those at a distance from ourselves, and even those we may not even like? Are we able to muster up some compassion for them as well? Contemplation can support our self recognition, expanding our awareness.
O..................Observation
"When one looks at a thing subjectively, there is mental affinity between oneself and the thing that one is looking at. Then one brings oneself mentally very close to what one is looking at. However, if one looks at a thing objectively, one keeps oneself mentally far removed from the object. In short, the practitioner is a bare observer, as distinguished from an interested observer. The observer should be always uninfluenced by the observation. That is the real observation. When the observer has observed a thing, if the observer is influenced by emotions, the observation becomes a completely distorted process. Then the facts are definitely distorted, discolored and disorientated."***
After observation, take a few minutes to relax and contemplate what you may be feeling or knowing on a deeper level. Just breath in and out and relax awhile. Don't try to do anything.
V...................View
Buddhists believe that nothing is fixed or permanent and that change is always possible. This is proven by this fact, seasons change. The basic belief is the unity in the nature of all things. Like everything else, humans are seen as ever-changing, impermanent, parts of one big whole. The whole is important, not individual elements. Though the result can be influenced by the interdependence of circumstances.
Wearing a mask can reduce the spread of infection, but cannot cure the virus. Likewise the vaccination can reduce the spread of the infectious virus, but is not a cure all. Because we live together on this lovely planet, it is important to preserve all healthy circumstances. Ill health in one part can influence worsening circumstances in another area.
Uncontrolled emotions may not be seen as a virus, but they certainly can create explosive circumstances because both the giver are the receiver are not in a healthy state, and in control of their body, speech and mind. Pure awareness, our source, is key.
When George Floyd's mother spoke immediately after his death, she said: "Look into your heart, look into your heart." She was referencing the policeman who killed her son.
I think she, as a Christian, was a good reflection of the view, compassion and contemplation, having taken fruit in her expression. The source of goodness and purity is within each and everyone of us, we just need to recognize this. Try!
I.....................Impermanence
"Impermanence, called anicca (Pāli) or anitya (Sanskrit), appears extensively in the Pali Canon as one of the essential doctrines of Buddhism. The doctrine asserts that all of conditioned existence, without exception, is "transient, evanescent, inconstant."****
"Impermanence, also known as the philosophical problem of change, is a philosophical concept addressed in a variety of religions and philosophies. In Eastern philosophy it is best known[by whom?] for its role in the Buddhist three marks of existence. It is also an element of Hinduism. In Western philosophy it is most famously known through its first appearance in Greek philosophy in the writings of Heraclitus and in his doctrine of panta rhei (everything flows). In Western philosophy the concept is also called [by whom?] becoming."*****
And in relationship to the Covid 19 epidemic, even though impermanence has been witnessed by many deaths, and other losses, I say:................"THIS TOO SHALL PASS".******
D....................Determination is
to have the resolve or strength of will to change what is possible. This also means one must have the diligence to keep going no matter what adversity (loss) may be presenting itself. In doing so, one is not distracted from the goal. In other words one maintains:
Commitment to the Opportunity to keep Vigilance while Integrating our Diligence
to keeping oneself and others well and happy. In doing so, another letter D is avoided. Many suffer of depression, which undermines their own restoration toward health. Often times this depression was an underlying factor before the virus epidemic and thus easily triggered. Seeking the specialized help needed is strongly recommended. Each of us has our own individual way of coping, whether through prayer, meditation or keeping our daily routines.
Surrounding ourselves with those who offer support through similar practices is very helpful. Or maybe you will want to begin a support group yourself. Your determination is the key.
19.........................1 and 9 (beginnings and endings)
The one (1) is you, ill or healthy, whether you are caring for another or not. The nine (9) is the coming to an end of the illness (Numerologically speaking), because this is the end of the counting cycle. There are only 9 numbers, anything else is the combination of the numbers 1 to 9. And of course added together 1+9= 10. The zero is the absence of a number, so we end up with the one (1) again. I pray that we are at the end of thIs Covid cycle.
No matter what, we always end up with ourselves in health (1) or illness/death (9). So what to do? All the information above can still be utilized on a daily basis to help our beginnings, in-between time, or ending awareness and support the needs of others.
I just ended my nine year cycle again, and am in the midst of beginning a new cycle (1), and am busy as ever with new adventures. Please join me in my intent and inspiration to bring more and more benefit to all our relations in the world through our compassion and diligence in this HEALING DANCE.
As much loved Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche used to say, quite often in fact, "KEEP GOING".
Perhaps this is the real intent of the Covid 19, reminding us, no matter what we face to just
KEEP GOING!
Genuine compassion must have both wisdom and lovingkindness. Jul 9, 2018.
*sangha.......attended the three year retreat with me and others therefore, m.D. was part of my sangha.
** Genuine compassion must have both wisdom and lovingkindness. Jul 9, 2018
Karuna and metta - Buddhist beliefs - Edexcel - BBChttps://www.bbc.co.uk › bitesize › guides › revision
***Satipatthāna: The Objective Observation | Bhavana Societyhttps://bhavanasociety.org › article › satipatthana-object.
****Impermanence - Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Impermanence
*****"History of Western philosophy" redirects here. For the 1945 book by Bertrand Russell, see A History of Western Philosophy. See Wikipedia.
******Is the Phrase, “This Too Shall Pass” in the Bible? - Christianity.