The 2nd #Anniversary: Enlightening Moment Can Come From To Not Be #OK Circumstances
Author: Minimal Modernist & Virtual-world Indy
Date: 15th August 2021
Keywords: #Lent, #pandemic, #Vassa, #vaccine, #Zoom, #enlightening, #disruption
Length: 1248 words
🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹
Two weeks have passed since the start of the #2021BuddhistLent or Khao Phansa. What has made the annual Rains-retreat different this year is in the general setting, Thai Buddhists across the country entered the Lent under the #pandemic atmosphere instead of religious celebrating vibes. We at Dhammakaya Temple kicked off our #Vassa observation with the implication of #BubbleAndSeal measure as the Temple’s administration decided to play safe by going another step stricter, seeing the official reported figures of Delta variant cases and fatalities reaching new high daily.
In keeping #Vassa, traditionally, on the first day of the Lent, each monk formally declares he will remain in residence in the temple for the three-month period. During these months, effort increases a few notches. More time is given to meditation and scripture study. Senior monks give more time to teach younger monks and novices. This more intensive schedule might be exhausting if attempted year-round, but for just three months, it is more sustainable.
Laypeople also make commitments to #Vassa, usually to step up alms-giving, precept-observing, meditation-practicing, including to give up some kind of indulgences, such as drinking or smoking.
But for this year, the #pandemic altered some elements of the traditional practice in the Temple. Barred by big crowded gathering in one place, the Temple opted for the benefit of online technology to hack the #COVID-19 #disruption causing traditional declaration ceremony in person impossible. The declaration activity was scheduled and performed as usual but moved to virtual platform live via #Zoom application, enabling each monk to stay put at his own place and participate real time. It made the continuity of this annual practice unbroken. This IT-based adaptation has been initiated since the early of the lockdown restriction. At that time, the Temple wanted to keep the Temple’s member network and branch centers stay in touch while avoiding contagion.
The online #Zoom popularity had not yet taken place in the Temple's community until the #2021MaghaPuja ceremony. It was seen as the real breakthrough of religious #Zoom meeting. The highlight of the #MaghaPuja event together with virtual participants joining live on #Zoom was uploaded to display on the huge LCD curved screen standing at the center of the ceremony on the ground of the Dhammakaya Cetiya, that international media agencies reporting on site like Reuters, coined the caption of the feature on the event as the Temple of #Zoom.
It is interesting to see this striking contrast scenario between Theravada Buddhism which is regarded as being conservative and orthodox, and the online technology which is considered modern and cutting-edged, working along in this Temple. The age-old Theravadin teachings are seen being taught in a way that does not fall out of fashion but blending well with the use of IT innovation and social media tool, to reach wide range of audience on the internet. It is fascinating.
Not only are that, the Temple’s Dhamma teaching programs have been designed to be suited with each social media platform in terms of length and language. The teaching monks are aware of the complexity and archaic words used in the original monastic texts. They, therefore always carefully select and simplify the profound religious topics to present in each occasion in the way that is straightforward and practical; offers a valuable insight to life and existential comfort for the Temple’s present materialistic and atheistic audience, that make up the large portion of the Temple’s social media fan base.
Another aspect that make the Temple’s teachings attractive to online consumerists and materialists is they do not go against the practice of accumulating wealth if it is done through a means of Right-livelihood. The monks said a common misconception about Buddhism is that it condemns and opposes wealth or materialism. The misconception is based on a misled interpretation of the Buddha’s teaching to avoid worldly attachments.
Buddhism certainly recognizes the danger of becoming overly-attached to things in the material world and advocates the monastic life as a valuable spiritual path; however Buddhism also recognizes the spiritual growth available through wealth and prosperity in the way of providing convenience to practicing generosity and supporting the religion, as well as more spare time for precept observation and meditation practice.
Back to the present reality, the government #vaccination program is running but intermittently due to the delayed arrival of the imported vaccine; we at the meantime are recommended to continue face masking, social distancing and vigilant hand-washing to protect our health from catching the #coronavirus. A #vaccine is a collective health measure. We all have to take part for it to be truly effective. At the middle of waiting to get two jabs and probably plus one extra booster shot, we found that the #pandemic has evoked in us the bewildering paradox of embracing death and sickness while doing our best to avoid sickness and death.
The by-products of the on-going unique set of health crisis are fear, stress, loneliness, awareness of mortality, and a number of other emotions brought on by this seismic circumstance. However, we can also see them being a source of spiritual growth, openness and learning, as it challenges us to explore our religious beliefs more and exposes us to more principles. For billions of people around the world, religion and spiritual belief provide a source of comfort especially at this critical time. It is also a great opportunity for being more contemplative and self-aware.
If we explore the fundamental philosophical tenets of Buddhism, namely impermanence, non-substantiality and unsatisfactoriness, we will get a new perspective on life. The encountered difficulties and death are the result of the impermanence and non-substantiality of previous comfort and life, and now the trajectories bring us unsatisfactoriness and suffering. It is how things go. We can feel not OK with the situation. It seems appropriate for our non-OK-ness at this point because we are human. But the reality is the world is full of things that are not always OK. If we want them to be always OK, we might have come to the wrong planet.
The Buddha explained even our joys, in their temporality, remind us of impermanence which is subjected to unsatisfactoriness. Having been born, we are all subject to the pain of loss, of grief, of sadness or even plain disappointment. But, if we can look at them carefully, in a sense, they can definitely help us fight against bigotry and stuff like that, that we have in ourselves. And it is really enlightening.
Lastly, this article will be published on 15th August 2021; it is the date of our Blogg’s 2nd #Anniversary. The 1st #Anniversary was celebrated with 87,000 views last year. Expectantly, the page views will be pretty close to 700,000 when this article is uploaded. The past two years of hard-working to give our Blogg’s fans the forward-looking vision brought to us the realization that the challenges of walking the talk seem endless. But they were always fertile ground for greater wisdom and perseverance.
Our own practice of the teachings in life enlarges the sandbox of possibilities in thinking about the world and our co-existing with others, and gives us the vision to share. Seeing our vision has been supported, we feel that our Blogg’s fans are in it with us. It makes our 2nd #Anniversary a cheer. We are two-year-old!
🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑🍑
Related article(s):
Buddhist Lent Period Does Not Mean the Absence of Normal Life But Effort to Concentrate On Virtuous Living
Author: Nano-organic Elixir
Posted on: 15th
July 2020
Keywords: #Lent, #retreat, #friendship, #meditation, #intimacy,
#virtuous, #pandemic
Length: 1271
words
http://aloosechitchatblogg.blogspot.com/2020/07/buddhist-lent-period-does-not-mean.html
Proud Of The First Tiny Step: The 1st Anniversary
Author: i-team
Posted on: 15th August 2020
Keywords: #anniversary, #change, #blogg, #join
Length: 457
words
https://aloosechitchatblogg.blogspot.com/2020/08/proud-of-first-tiny-step-1st-anniversary.html
No comments