‘Facing Fear, Finding Peace’

Excerpt from a Special March 15 Facebook Broadcast with Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

Photo by Salvador EspinosaI hope all of you are all doing well at your home safe. This moment is very unsettling globally. The coronavirus [COVID-19] impact globally is affecting everybody’s life and bringing up so much fear in society. I think this clearly is a great moment for us to reflect in our life. It is the universe’s teaching to us. So I hope that all of you are taking it positively and trying to do your best.

I am here in California. Senghe’s school just closed on Friday so that means he’s not going to go back to school until April 10 or something like that. Here in California it is one of the harder hit in the US. But people I think are doing quite well, being together, supporting each other and not completely getting freaked out with fear but trying to be prepared. That is what we are trying to do.

As many of you know, I was taking a year off next year. Clearly, this situation indicated to me to take it earlier than waiting for a year. So am taking six months off now and six months off next year. We are all fine here, we are well.

This is a very great time for us to really connect with each other. Now as health experts are advising us to social distance and physical contact is not the most hygienic thing to do, I think the ancient tradition with distance, with namaste and bowing down, is good. Facebook and Zoom meetings are a great way collectively to do the practice right now. We hope to organize more Zoom practices. We already have a bunch of different Zoom practice groups. On cybersangha.net you can see more places where different sangha groups are doing practices.

I think it is important for all of us to really learn to connect through Zoom, to reinforce our cyber sangha’s connection, strength, and support each other. This is a great moment to do that. Personally, as I’m taking time off I am already liking my retreat. I felt, I am on retreat, I did not want to do the social media thing. But as this a very important moment, very unsettling, I think there are a number of our sangha members who feel the need to be supporting each other. So I thought not to completely cut off and to do this Facebook. Every now and then, even though I am on my retreat, when I feel the need to do something, just to practice together and support all of you, I will do it. I will announce this in advance. Other than that, I will not be answering my email or any phone. Like I am right now, I am on retreat here.

[Rinpoche offers a guided meditation. To view the entire Facebook broadcast, click here. To listen to the SA LE Ö mantra, click here.]

This is the moment I think we all need to come together. We have different Zoom practice groups in different countries. Our cyber sangha team is very much engaged in organizing it. I hope you all are able to join somewhere; when you feel the need of support somewhere you can find the support. Also, I think it’s a great idea not only to feel the support but to see what you can do to help others in the community and in society.

Personal Reflections on the Coronavirus

As far as a way to understanding this coronavirus situation in the world, I feel personally the universe is giving a teaching, a teaching that many times I’ve been talking about. Don’t just do things from pain identity. Don’t overly speak from pain speech. Don’t trap into the imagination of your pain mind. Because it is exhausting, it’s not coming from the right place, it’s not manifesting for the right reasons. It is not even necessary to do what you do; even if it looks good, still it’s not necessary because you are not connected. The universe is saying, the Mother Earth is saying: Let me take a break. I need a break from all of you. Slow down and take a break for yourself.

Many different governments and organizations and situations are being very supportive of people taking leave working from home, working less. Clearly, I think this is a great moment to do a little bit like a personal retreat, at least reflecting deep in oneself. The whole world is always running from the collective pain identity. Our pride as human, our tendency to control each other, control the world—this is deep inside as a sickness of humanity. Either one country is trying to control another country, one community is trying to control another community, one business is trying to control another business, one organization is trying to control another organization, one religion is trying to control another religion, suppressing each other, or one family member is trying to control another family member.

This virus, regardless of whether it is human made or naturally arising, is trying to say: You don’t see me. Even the metaphor of crown, corona, is like a symbol of power: I’m in charge, I’m in power, not all of you. The universe is teaching us just to be more humble. Yes, it’s very true. I’m not in charge. I’m not the controller. I don’t want to control my own life; I don’t want to control someone. And there is no need to control.

So this is a great teaching that this virus is giving us. And also constantly testing your fear—fear is absolutely the immediate manifestation of ignorance. What is ignorance in the dzogchen tradition? Ignorance is disconnection from the self, lack of realization of yourself, lack of knowing who you are. Fear is the immediate manifestation of that disconnection. Every activity or many unnecessary activities that occur in our life, at the bigger collective level or the individual level, all are fear-driven. Many things you do in your life that are probably fear-driven, that you don’t have to do or you should not do, it’s best not to do. You will be healthier and happier not doing those things because you are doing them from the wrong place. Or many things that you should do—it’s a question of doing the right thing from the right place.

There are many things you are good at doing, or you should do, that will be great to do—you will bring a lot of light and healing and goodness in the world—that you are not doing because your fear is not allowing you to do. There is so much you should not do, stop doing—sooner is better—or at least take a break. This is what the coronavirus is advising: Take a break the whole universe, and let me take a break. The sky needs to breathe. The air needs to process itself. The water needs to clean itself. The environment needs to clean itself. So give me a break.

It’s a strong way of teaching it, but it’s definitely teaching, humbling, making us more human.

Probably you have seen the way people in Italy have been handling it. In all the different apartments, people are singing music, sharing. Imagine—many of these people in big apartment buildings probably don’t know who’s living downstairs, living upstairs, who is living across the window. But because of this virus, everybody comes out of that window, expressing their skills of music, singing, joy, connecting, playing with each other, when you have never seen, never known the other people before.

This is what it is bringing. It is bringing a time of connection. These moments we are going through, I think we truly need to learn to connect and live and recognize our fear. Don’t wait for this level of incident to recognize it, but recognize it much before—and always.

It is very important not to worry too much, not freak out. Just have a balanced amount of looking at social media information, and look at the right source of information—because so much news is there—such as the World Health Organization. And take care of yourself. Be prepared, whatever is coming. Be alert. But deeply try to connect with that sense of peacefulness inside.

Even though personally am taking this time off and am liking my retreat, I felt that this is the moment our cyber sangha’s needs are there. It is my joy to connect with all of you and at least have a session of practice together, sit and feel each other, support each other.

During these days every now and then I will try to lead short practices. And if you visit cybersangha.net we will have different Zoom practice groups in different places, some of healing mantras.

The last 24-hour Full Moon Practice [of Sherap Chamma] was a great success. We had over 20 countries participate, 72 people hosting our practices, more than 1,000 people registered and close to 2,000 people participating back and forth. This connection is so important to support each other. I am so grateful that we have a great team who are really working hard to make more and more a way to support each other. And I will try to do my best.
The next 24-hour Full Moon Practice begins April 8 at 10 a.m. New York Time. Learn more here.

View March 15 broadcast: Facing Fear, Finding Peace
View March 19 broadcast: Discovering Your Refuge Within
View March 21 broadcast: Making Friends with Your Fear

Upcoming broadcasts:
March 26: Being Playful with Your Fear
March 28: Dancing with Your Fear
March 29: Music from the Heart
April 1: Prayers and Rituals for Healing (check cybersangha.net soon)