Surrounded by Buddhas as the Pandemic Unfolds
We live in a time now where most of our citizens are under siege from a creeping terror of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they lack any sense of security. People in the cities, towns, and countryside in the United States are scared for their own lives, the lives of their loved ones and their communities. They frantically search for gloves, masks, sanitizers, thermometers, and reassurance, as they leave their houses to buy the basic necessities.
And when you think about it, it’s ultimately a call for (and an expression of) universal love.
The Greeks distinguished 4 different types of love:
1. philia (friendship)
2. eros (romantic)
3. storge (familial), and
4. agape: universal love.
This is the way universal love looks: the random helping of an elder lady cross the street, delivering food to people who are shut in, offering the street person some help, holding the door open for someone who is struggling, running an errand for a sick neighbor, purchasing clothing made by women trying to reform from sexual trafficking, and so on.
This happens as people reach across the social and cultural “borders” in our society and say: I will help you no matter where you come from, or what you believe. This could also be described as unconditional affection and goodwill.
This love has been manifested by such great beings as Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Gotama Buddha, Jesus Christ, and the Dalai Lama. These teachers (and I call all of them teachers) had an all-embracing love for their fellow human beings and felt connected to them without judgment.
And because the majority of communities in the nation are now in a state of “shelter in place,” many people find themself in pretty extreme isolation, staring at their own helplessness and anxiety.
While uncertainty and mystery rule the day during these weeks, as the casualties mount exponentially each day, and — lo and behold — people in communities around the world are transforming themselves into Bodhisattvas and Mother Teresas.
• Doctors and nurses are putting their lives at risk, working inhuman hours to save other lives.
• Restaurant workers are dedicating themselves to feeding a frightened and needy public despite obvious risks of exposure.
• Delivery people are working from early morning to night probably without proper protection to get much needed supplies to those who are housebound.
• All kinds of out of work people are sitting down and making masks on their own because of our dire shortage.
• Distilleries are making sanitizer.
• Young people in medical school are volunteering to join the front lines in the hospitals, and many younger folks are volunteering to walk the dogs of seniors.
And the list goes on.
Hospital tents are being built in metropolitan parks amidst the urgency of treating people and saving lives, journalists are working non-stop and for long hours from their homes to get the necessary information out to people, and city and state governments are easing up on many hardcore rules about debt and rent.
As I write this, I keep thinking of more and more heroic souls who are working hard to make a difference in this crisis (and opportunity).
My daughter is sheltering me (since I’m in the at-risk group of the population), returning to her important restaurant job because she must help them survive, and she brings home all our groceries. I have a granddaughter who works in an emergency room as a technician in Oklahoma, a situation we all hold in our hearts with trepidation.
In The End, It’s All About Making A Difference
When we can pitch in and support those in dire straits and make a difference, then we are better able to stomach the dark statistics and the tragic stories. We are strengthening our hearts and joining the larger effort against this biblical health crisis.
And quietly and persistently online, so many different businesses, schools, spiritual leaders, and health practitioners are inviting us to engage in webinars, or take courses (often for free) so we may support them emotionally and feel less disconnected.
Because of the enormous economic fallout, we know many businesses could fall away and die under the weight of the crisis, and so we stay-at-home folks are urged to buy gift certificates, or donate money when possible to help shore up those who are in peril.
From what I understand in all my internet traveling, these pleas for support seem to be making a difference on a deep human level. This too is a manifestation of agape, that universal love that says we are all responsible for one another, and we owe one another our care, thoughts, and our time.
So, as I said, Christ and the Buddha (and more) are alive and working hard in communities large and small as diverse as San Francisco, Detroit, Portland, Austin, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Denver, St Louis, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, and so on and so on….
So Now I Look Inside My Heart
I’ve looked inside my heart and seen that I can use my financial resources to help businesses and various causes that are in more jeopardy now, and. I also can use my voice and speak up about what I see, how I feel about this tragedy, and how much I’m grateful to be a human with good intentions and some resources at this critical juncture.
I will follow the saying of Martin Luther King who famously said, “I will choose love” when faced with racial hatred back in the ’60s, and I will write.
Because words matter. Our voices matter. I beg you to give voice to your words, to remember your connection with your fellow humans.
Write, sing, paint, knit, cook, dance, make phone calls, plant a garden… and please join these Bodhisattvas in our daily lives in the good fight, even if you have to do it from your living room couch!
Our words matter.