Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.
Fear Not...
Shoshin
No one in particularNowhere Special Veteran
in Mindfulness
Novel Crononavirus is from what I gather big news all around the world...Hearing how it can spread (people can be infectious for two weeks before any signs of the infection presents itself), is cause for concern...
I guess in times of crises like this, it pays to be mindful of one's thoughts and feelings...It's important to practice to maintain a level of mindfulness which will help to nip any fearful thoughts in the bud, before they get out of hand...
This article (November 2016) has some tips on how to stop the mind from becoming charmed by its own thoughts...especially the negative ones...
An ancient Buddhist strategy for overcoming paralyzing fear
May all sentient beings be well....and mindful 
2
Comments
Fear is no fun
Fear festering and indulging? No thank you mam.
Novel Crononavirus (sounds like a fictional time travel vampire) is something to absorb for breakfast and breath out garlic and sunlight ...
In the words of the undead daywalker Bodhi Blade:
The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping. There is another world beneath it. The real world.
Did I go wrong again? Tsk, tsk ... I'll be in the naughty corner behind the Silver Blade ...
Buddhists typically do not deliberately engage in fear, since fear is about the future, and no one knows what the future will hold. Yes, you prepare for possibilities, but the Buddhist focus is on what is happening NOW, in THIS second.
True, there's no fear in the NOW ... it comes with one's ability to remain present, however for the untrained mind, getting hooked up with fear is common place...Just look at some of the threads that have been started based upon the poster's worry, anxiety and or fear...
The idea of this thread is to remind members (especially those new to Dharma practice) of the importance of staying present and not allowing the mind to wander off track....Hence why it is in the Mindfulness section...
Fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) and its cousin panic can run rampant if left unattended...
Bearing in mind that in times of crises, for some their practice may fly out the window....I'm just attempting to close the window beforehand, ...locking the practice in...so to speak
Fear sees things like terror attacks, potential pandemics, anything that disrupts the bubble comfort zone one makes for oneself, as an open invitation to burst the bubble ...
There's no time like the present to practice being present...
The media love to project images of fear and alarm, largely to prove their usefulness, when in fact they are not at all useful.
The Populations of every country are controlled by three factors: The Militia, Religion or Misinformation. That's it in a nutshell.
I feel everyone (apart from me) has got it exactly right. However some of us are fearful, anxiety ridden or athletic style worriers (warrior worriers). How to deal with such useless thinking/feeling?
... returning to the present or the breath. Yep that seems a way. In the Buddhist cult I belonged to, martial arts training empowers the warrior and the worrier wimps away ...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onna-bugeisha
meanwhile in ancient China ...
Hmm which reminds me of Mind turned outwards lost in its projection AKA Samsara
On Sunday quite near me, a man/terrorist/unhinged Islamist was shot shot dead by armed police. He had stabbed two people. The police had been following him. A few hours later even nearer, another stabbing occurred. Increased police presence in my area to reassure the public.
Do I panic? Not go out? Of course not.
Having a calm mind frame, I can sense danger and tend to move into to induce calm or stay away ...
Buddhism is a personal calm and eventually we can project it. Sadly I do not have much of a range (shakyamuni had a legendary calm mile around him)
http://www.bodhipath.org/226/
As a precaution Plum Village has temporarily closed its doors..
It would seem they are practicing what they preach by being mindful in taking precautionary measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19...No doubt other places will follow suit...
What some Buddhist centres are doing regarding the "Corvid-19" outbreak...
A dedication to recite when washing your hands...
“May all beings be safe.
May all beings be content.
May all beings be healthy.
May all being live with ease.”
~Portland Insight Meditation Center~
People are already panic buying emergency foods, for example:
Death not funny? Tsk, tsk ... started wearing my wrathful mala again ... 💀🥱🤗
... and now back to normality ...
Here all events with over 100 attendees are cancelled... concerts, anything of that type. Museums are shut, sports events played without crowds. The schools are still open but a lot of universities have cancelled live lectures.
But I think it remains to be seen whether it can be stopped, I think at most it can be slowed and mitigated. We will have to see what happens, how long it all lasts.
Certainly I don’t fear it, what’s there to fear? At worst you die and that is going to happen anyway...
At this point its not about stopping the spread so much as what they are calling "flattening the curve" so that not everyone gets it at once and overwhelm the health systems.
Well it would seem that sooner or later some of us may have to self isolate ( some may prefer the term social distancing, which takes the mental sting out of the term isolation)....
Anyhow social distancing can be seen has a blessing, which present an opportunity if one starts to views it as a time/kind of 'retreat'...
From what I gather most of us have access to the internet and Dharma books, so along with daily mediation practice, and Dharma studies, it should enrich, no only our lives, but the lives of others......
Stay safe, stay well, stay mindful, be sensible...
And remember...
Metta
Rather than social distancing or self quarantine, I prefer the phrase "Exiling oneself for the good of the realm"
Or one could simply call it a 14 day 'compassion & patience' retreat ...In times like this we all need to be compassionate and patient...
I wonder if there are some who are already on a long retreat and are not aware of what's happening...
all those people freaking out over the corona virus. many more people will be affected by lack of housing. many more by lack of food or safe drinking water. Yes, we do have to be careful, be mindful, be compassionate.
as with every virus, those with compromised immune systems must be extra careful, as must those in contact with them.
Follow the common sense guidelines.
Pray or meditate as is your personal custom or tradition,
Do not live in fear or you will not live at all.
Don't forget to smile, to laugh. life is still good.
Peace to all
Sadly many travelers on arrival in NZ are having to go on retreat for 14 days (self isolate)...
@Lionduck has mentioned about lack of housing, which also presents a problem for these tourists, some accommodation places may now be reluctant to host them...leaving them stranded in a strange country with no where to stay...
The owners of accommodation are facing the dilemma of Damned if they do (the possibility of catching the virus) and damned if they don't ( leaving the poor travelers/tourists in the lurch)
Such a painful/unsatisfactory situation to find oneself in...
Dukkha it would seem, is in its element ...
I’ve taken this time to reflect on things with my family. My wife is sick today( seems like a upset stomach and not so much the dreaded COVID), so i checked on her a few times. I started the task of installing insulation in my new garage so that was a perfect activity to practice mindfulness. I didn’t even think about this crazy virus until my mother called...
cv20 or zombi apocalypse virus, offers fun for all the family
Here are the symptoms of cv20 (upgraded version corona meme) - coming soon ...
What you can do:
Here to help
Shit happens @lobster and judging by the photo, it would seem for some it's severe