The Covid Pandemic, a Wakeup Call for Humankind

The global outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has become one of the most discussed topics on daily news and social media throughout the world for the past three months. At present, the outbreak is considered out of human control, and nobody knows for sure what the future will hold for all of human beings.

Normally in March, the beginning of spring, the weather is usually nice. There is no more heavy snowfall in most regions of the world. However, it is quite different this year. Many natural disasters had happened that scientists could not predict or intervene. Snowstorms, volcanoes, earthquakes, forest fires, floods, and hurricanes have occurred all over the world as we have seen so far.

In the mist of these phenomena, as genuine disciples of the Grand Master Dasira Narada, we are following the guidance of Thay and Co, what do we think and what should we do?

Here are my personal thoughts on these unfortunate events.

Like any other members of Divine Dharma Meditation, I am still a student of Thay and Co, my views on such vast topic may not be fully comprehensive, but I will try my best to share my thoughts with everyone here.

The Grand Master's teachings are so wonderful and so vast. Over the years, following the guidance of our Masters Thay and Co, I have tried to contemplate deeply the Dharma of the Grand Master; and now I would like to present my understanding of the teachings.

1. The Covid Pandemic has literally frozen all major activities of the world. So, how does it affect the activity of the DDM discipline and our cultivation? Actually, this is a good opportunity for us to turn inward and ponder more deeply the teachings of the Grand Master, concerning the relation between human beings and the Universe. Furthermore, we should take this break to contemplate on how to improve the service of our Meditation centers and the development of DDM Discipline for future generations, when everything is back to normal. In this way, regardless of external circumstances, we are always conscientious with our cultivation. As we have learned from the Grand Master’s The Truth.

There are times we work for the Divine Will in quiet ways.

At other times we outshine while bringing benefits to life.

2. The direction of DDM is to practice a dual path of cultivation. This implies that while we work to fulfill the necessities of our ordinary life, we also cultivate ourselves spiritually. On the path of ordinary life, we have the responsibly for ourselves, family and society. We learn to treat our human fellows with respect, understanding and loving kindness. On the path of spiritual cultivation, we open our hearts to receive the Divine Grace of the Grand Master so that we have the ability to serve humanity. The Grand Master will continue to bless and guide true disciples on the path returning home to reunite with the Higher Beings.

The teachings of the Grand Master are current innovations, and are in alignment with the evolutionary level of humankind, that have not been disseminated elsewhere.

The followings are some of His Dharma that Thay and Co taught us.

The world is at the end of the current evolutionary cycle and is precariously on the verge of annihilation. It is a blessing that His Dharma comes to our world to guide cultivators towards the shore of true peace and happiness… There will be massive and extraordinary transformations to bring the secular world to the next cycle of evolution, the cycle of virtuous beings. There is a blessing for the Earth as well as for individuals who have passed the selection and progressed into the new cycle. Disciples must cultivate and evaluate themselves to see whether they are qualified and deserving of the blessing from the Higher Beings. Divine Dharma Meditation is a discipline of altruistic love. Disciples should aim to cultivate the seed of loving kindness and follow the Grand Master’s teachings diligently to establish a virtuous foundation and develop wisdom. These are the essential requirements to be chosen for the next cycle of evolution…

3. This whole Universe is the creation of the Supreme Being, and all living beings on Earth are His children. I myself always appreciate the mysterious aspects of life, and now I would like to share my thoughts:

We are the Minute Souls of the Supreme Being. Whenever I think of the Supreme Being, our Heavenly Father, I also think about my biological parents. During the time when I was in Vietnam, most people had large families and they took great efforts to raise and teach their young children. Depending on the children’s nature, sometimes a moral speech was employed and other times a few spankings were needed. Parents can be quite strict, but in reality, no one wants to harm their children. Of course our Heavenly Father’s love for all of humanity is far greater than our biological parents, and He also wants to educate His children properly. In particular, He has employed the Law of Karma or Cause and Effect to educate humankind. This Law implies that when we create a bad cause, we will suffer a bad result. Karmic retribution is applicable for individuals, families, societies, as well as for the whole humanity. All natural disasters, including the Covid pandemic, are indeed karmic lessons that the Supreme Being has set up for His children to learn. This pandemic will pass and a large number of people will become more awaken as we continue to tread forward on this journey of evolution.

4. The world we live in is a tangible world. This world provides necessary environment for the Minute Souls to learn all the lessons of evolution. I think there are no bad souls or bad people. People make mistakes, simply because they lack understanding, they are learning the lesson of wrongdoing. At present, although human population has reached over 7 billion, but no one alike. Is it due to the difference in the evolutionary level of a soul? Have you ever thought about this?

5. We are surrounded by nature, from the vast seas to the high snow-capped mountains, from the lands filled with colorful flowers and beautiful green lawns to the majestic rain forests. All are the mysterious wonders of the Universe. However, everything will not be here forever, for their existence always follow the Law of Impermanence of Heaven and Earth.

In one of the Dharma, Thay and Co mentioned that humans and all other beings as well as nature all belong to an inseparable whole. Do we actually lead our lives with this comprehension? Our life in today's world is so busy that we hardly have time to appreciate nature, or take a careful look at ourselves.

All human beings have gone through a long period of evolution and we are more evolved than all other previous forms of beings. By the time we take on the human form, our soul has accumulated quite a few experiences and it is now called an intellectual soul. However, as being human beings, we start to create all sorts of karma. As a result, we have to bear the miserable consequence and get ourselves mired in the secular world of suffering. The best way that enables us to be free from suffering is to practice spiritual cultivation. If we strive to cultivate virtue and correct our mistakes, we will come to understand the mysterious wonders in the Universe, and feel the blessing of the Supreme Being.

The Grand Master teaches that each person has two aspects, the True Self and the Ordinary Self. We must aim to develop virtues and lead our lives with the True Self. This is the essential foundation for us to develop the three attributes of “Benevolence Wisdom and Fortitude”. Sufficient development of these attributes will give us the ability to waken the latent compassionate nature in others.

6. The lessons from the Dharma of the Grand Master and the teachings of Thay and Co, that I like most cover the following topics: The purpose of a human life. Where do we come from? Why are we here on Earth? Where do we go after we die? These are teachings of Truth that I absolutely believe and apply them in my cultivation practice. I myself have come to a realization that I came to this world to learn in order to evolve. This is indeed true for all the Minute Souls. Everyone is here on Earth to take education and to acquire knowledge for the evolution of their souls. Ultimately, evolution is the One Truth.

7. In order to learn and awaken to the wondrous reality of the Universe, the most essential virtue we need to cultivate is humility. It is important to be humble in order to learn more effectively. The more we learn, the more knowledgeable we become. Human life is so short compared to the vast Universe. The knowledge that we can acquire in one lifetime is so little compared to the vastness of Heaven and Earth. Therefore, we need to learn continuously one lifetime after another. And remember, it is the collective knowledge that determines our evolutionary level, not the number of lifetimes that we have been going through.

8. We are cultivators who practice the method of Divine Dharma Meditation. Therefore, we should act and behave as a genuine cultivator. Level 4 members should be more humble than Level 1, 2, and 3. Level 5 members should be more humble than Level 4 and so on. The higher we advance, the more humble we should become. This would bring about the good name for our Discipline. Especially for the instructors of DDM, whose responsibility is to help our Masters to convey the teachings of the Grand Master, humility must be placed on top of their cultivation, so that they can set examples for younger members. Only humility and true love will ensure proper conveying of the Divine Dharma of the Grand Master and the teachings of DDM to the general public.

These are words of sharing from a sincere heart to brothers and sisters in the extended family of DDM during this pandemic outbreak in 2020.

Warm regards to everyone,

Instructor Diep Nguyen