Overcoming fear and Worry.
~ Bhante Mahinda
The more attachment the more fear worry we have. Fear and worry is a common thing now.
I have encountered for the first time in my life, isolation. I could see the fear so great. I had arrived just before the rains retreat. It was pouring rain. But the monks and novices then took me to one place. Somebody then escorted me to my kuti, 5ft by 6ft size. There were no doors, there’s an opening, there’s a window, opening, but can’t close it.
My belongings were not with me as the monks and novices were having it. I couldn’t speak a word of Thai and they couldn’t speak English.
I was very scared then. Then I remembered to pay homage to the Buddha Dhamma Sangha, then recited itipiso, then the Metta Sutta.
I recited aloud, that helped me overcome fear. It was just then my belongings came.
That was my first experience. Like this I have encountered many other experiences.
Wherever I go there’s some form of fear. I go for refuge in the Triple Gem. I strongly recommend all of you when you have fear, worry, anxiety, this practise of paying homage to the Buddha Dhamma Sangha can be very peaceful.
Of course there are also some mantras that you can learn to recite. In the forest, the mantra was Buddho Buddho. There are others, according to your affinities, you can have mantras to protect your mind from dispersing. These are just little tools that we can learn.
What I would like to talk to you about today…there is long term and short term solution. I know most people would like to have quick fix, short term solution but the long term solution is very important because this fear and worry has been there all the time, even before this pandemic outbreak, I am sure all of you have experienced fear and worry. With this pandemic outbreak throughout the world and lockdown everywhere, most people are asked to stay at home, confine themselves into a limited space.
But they also have other family members there. There is a lot of activities that goes on in the mind.
Constantly thinking when is this pandemic going to end. So the worry goes on. Even when this pandemic is over, fear and worry will still be there.
That is why you need to make good use of this crisis that there is this heightened awareness of fear and worry which is connected to your own craving, clinging, attachment to self, things around you, loved ones.
That’s how your fear and worry comes. We need a long term solution to overcome that craving.
Buddha taught the way to overcome suffering, not only fear and worry, all other kinds of manifestations of it, right understanding, right thoughts, right speech, right body action, etc.
These are the steps.
Now there’s not much time for me to go into the details but there’s ample materials you can read about this.
The training, traditionally we train ourselves in the practice of the 8NT – sila Samadhi panna
– 3 stages.
There is training of speech – wrong speech, dividing people. We speak politely, courteously, bring people together.
Right livelihood is the livelihood that you earn, without killing, cheating, lying, etc. What has happened today the people have, indulge in that gives suffering to others. The characteristic of this is they earn a lot of money but they give a lot of suffering to others.
What goes around comes around.
Not right livelihood is production and sales of weapons to kill, to destroy this whole earth, sabotage, then the poisons – do farming, kill many beings. Production and sales of intoxicants that causes one to lose control of one’s mind and you can see so much cruelty. There is slave trade. Today we are seeing little boys and girls are taken away and sold. There’s so much of prostitution going on. Breeding animals for slaughter – livelihood that causes so much suffering. The number of animals slaughtered every yr (based on UN in 2018)
635 million chickens are being slaughtered in Australia. These chickens if allowed to live a normal life they have a life span of 7 to 8 yrs but when they bring out this chicken for meat in a farm, they hardly live for 4 – 6 weeks and some a little bit more. 4-6 weeks life, this creates a big deprivation of life. Then there are cows, 7.913m cows slaughtered in Australia when they are 18 mths. This what we call untimely death. When this kind of activity goes on in the world unchecked, the destructive emotions within ourselves, these things are reflected in suffering and then comes back to us.
Right livelihood is to respect the sanctity of living beings, instead of stealing you respect other’s belongings, establish relationship with others with respect instead of sexual misconduct. When we put them into practice we restrain from body speech and action. The tendencies of hatred, cannot manifest, there’s no transgression, doesn’t hurt ourselves, others. The aim of the 8NT is to purify the mind from the tendencies, the first 3 things.
Then after that you have Right Effort, Mindfulness, Contemplation.
Right Effort has 4 fold – avoiding bad thoughts and wrong thoughts.
If you can’t sometimes bad thoughts arise then have to make effort to overcome it. The term effort is to cultivate good thoughts, good states of mind like metta.
Once you have cultivated this good state of mind then you have to make effort to maintain it. This is why you have to practise metta not just once a day. During this period, it is good to practice morning and evening. Traditionally ppl practise during sunrise and sunset. In btw you practices mindfulness – body, feeling, state of mind and dhamma.
This takes a longer time to explain to you. Generally you can say that if you cultivate metta, morning and evening, during the day just mindful of your thoughts, speech action bcos during this time when you have to live at home with others, your restrain of speech and action is very important.
Must be patient, tolerate then you can maintain some peace. Practise right speech, action, livelihood, concentration. Right concentration is simply concentrate, in the beginning you may have pains, etc, when you sit long enough when you focus on your meditation object, the aches and pains are gone and you have some joy and bliss. When ppl around you have all sorts of worry and fear, if you practise this dhamma you can experience joy. You have to do this again and again.
Right thoughts, understanding is wisdom. Sila Samadhi panna.
Samadhi refers to effort, mindfulness, concentration. Panna is right understanding, understanding of the 4NT. If you have this Right understanding your fears and worries will be contained, whatever fear worry sicknesses you know there’s a cause, there’s an end and a way ie the 8NT. When you have thought of living contented and simple, free from anger, grudges but overthrown with loving kindness, thoughts of compassion, free from cruelty. 3 kinds – renunciation, letting go, simple life, free of anger, lovingkindness. When doing loving kindness meditation you are arousing one ingredient of wisdom.
This is the long term inv, if you do it little by little, you keep your mind become more and more silent, still ,then tendency to create thoughts…is going. Remember it is very impt bcos don’t think the situation that we face now is the only, there are so many situations that we have to face eventually. The world will not going to end yet.
Suttas says the earth will end when there are the 7 suns. There is enough time for you to practise, that is the path that lead you to liberation and help others.
Short term solution. Something that you have planned. When at home you can still communicate and this is why are encouraging you to have these metta circles. People are finding difficulty in getting some food they want. Even after this pandemic there will be scarcity of food. There will be unemployment, these are worries ppl have. When there are more and more young ppl unemployed there will be more and more crime.
Education, unis, schools are shutdown, hopefully temporary.
What is happening now in education, it has become a big biz.
This is why they are telling students lockdown to do e learning.
In unis there is the transfer of info.
Education is to lead forth from darkness to light. Must have the quality of humble, kindness, compassion, trustworthiness, adaptability.
The 1st 3 things you think about is food, jobs to earn your living and education. If you put these 3 together you can’t do it yourself. It is through communal support, then you harness the knowledge, skills, potential of so many people, how you can create employment, food production, employ those unemployed and also in the field of education, we have to innovate various things. We have also to think about how to care for our elders, aged care. Remember you need to have strong communical support.
Buddha said there are 4 kinds of individuals – those who only care themselves not others ; those who care for others and not for others, those who do care about themselves and do not care for others,
those who care for themselves and others. We need this group of ppl, bring them together – those who care for themselves and others, this is how we can reduce the fear and worry.
There’s one more thing that bcos now that lockdown, you have to practise on your own, there are so many sources that you can get, build up this spiritual level, the world need this, in the long run we need to return to righteousness.
Right way of life is simple way of living, be contented, have high practice and good practices of realization to find liberation. In the teachings of the Buddha, Maha Mangala Sutta life’s highest blessings. When you live your life well, you will have the highest blessings.
Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu
