鲍鱼tv

A spiritual comment and prayer to begin the day with Vishvapani

Good morning.

In the second covid lockdown I鈥檝e missed the rituals that made the first more bearable. I miss clapping in the street on Thursday evenings and sharing the moment with my neighbours. Cocooned in our households, we were both isolated and uncomfortably close to our immediate families. Applauding together reminded me that everyone else was sharing my strange experience.

I know the people in my street a bit, but not well. I can鈥檛 say they鈥檙e my friends, but neither do I dislike them. They鈥檙e people to greet with a polite hello, and my feelings are broadly neutral.

That鈥檚 natural, but Buddhist practice teaches me its possible to go further if I use my imagination. I know that every stranger is a human being and therefore like me, in many ways. They think and feel. They want to be happy and avoid suffering, and have their own ways to find it. Like me, they are born and grow old; and our lives share a common destination.

It can be surprisingly powerful to connect with people in the neutral zone of our lives. The woman in the shop; the man on the bus; the neighbours we usually don鈥檛 see. Each has a vivid life that we just glimpse. That鈥檚 what happened when we all emerged from our houses, clapped together and the applause reverberated across the city.

I speak this prayer:
I am not alone. I share my life with others.
May my heart and mind open to their lives and struggles.
May they be well, may they be happy, may they be free from suffering.