“Now the whole world is attacked by the virus. The virus is caused by the wrong view and wrong actions of human beings. Liking someone and disliking the others are the causes of problems between each other among the living beings. This is why they are fighting each other, destroying or killing each other. These kinds of evil actions created even the first and second world wars. There are only causes and effects.

Disliking, hating, blaming, fighting, killing are the causes of being killed, being disliked by the others. Killing and being killed, attacking and being attacked are concerned with all living beings. Because of attachment on these bad deeds living beings have to suffer bad results for sure. Bad actions are the cause of bad experiences; good actions are the cause of good experiences.

This is natural law. There are worry, fear, doubt, ignorance about killing and being killed. We are what we do. Breaking precepts by killing the others will create fear in us to be killed. This is why we get the same bad experience just as we did to the others. By not killing anyone, any living being we won’t be killed for sure. If we destroy the insects or viruses by using chemical medicine, we will also be killed by the insects or virus. Same cause, same effect. By destroying the environment, trees, by throwing rubbishes on the ground, by searching for gold, ruby, oil, we are destroying the environment, this is why we are destroyed by earthquakes floods, typhoons, tsunamis, etc. If we are not destroying something we won’t be destroyed by something. If we don’t destroy someone we won’t be destroyed by someone. There are causes and effects. We get what we give. Because of giving what is bad we receive what is bad. The same. This is why keeping precepts is really important for all.

We should keep the precepts in the mind every moment. We should accept not to kill, not to steal, not to make sexual misconduct, not to tell lie, not to take intoxicants. This is the best protection for us. We should keep precepts not only for us but also for the others. This is why I opened a meditation center in every place in which I am concerned. Volunteering, donating, keeping precepts, and practicing meditation or
mindfulness with detachment are the best we can do. All these activities are concerned with everyone this is why we try to open multi-use meditation centers like this one so it can make benefits for all. Here we go alms round daily. It means we are not greedy, we will not work for money and we will not eat what we like in restaurants. We will do good deeds and then we will give a chance to the others to cooperate with us by going alms round.

Most of the people in the society cannot keep precepts, cannot volunteer, cannot donate like us all the time. They cannot meditate because they are busy with their business, education, healthcare and family. This is why going alms round to their place are effective for them. They can donate once a week. They are free to donate what they want. Most people cannot come to the center to donate but they cook food for themselves every day, so they can cook more for us. And then they can donate easily in front of their house. This is cooperation. It is sure they are busy with their family all the time, therefore, we have to go there. The more they are supporting us like in this way the easier for them to keep precepts and to meditate like us.

This is step by step for the people in the society. The first step is just to donate what they want and can and then they can come to volunteer and meditate here especially during the holidays. Especially in the Water Festival, in April, many people will come to meditation centers to practice meditation. But most of other people will enjoy water festival. Especially during the festival they will drink alcohol, they will fight each others, there will also be many car accidents, and usually many people die during that festival. But this year, because of the virus, the water festival will not happen; besides most of the meditation centers are closed so most people may stay at home. We need to be careful for the whole month of April because most of the people are happy to visit the water festival, they cannot control their mind, and they make many mistakes so there are many problems. Because of the tradition and also the weather is hot. It is difficult to control the mind. Because of the unstable minds, there will be many problems in life for sure.

So we are preparing for one-month-retreat here and there to prevent the virus also. We should try to keep precepts, to control the mind to be stable and pure. Keeping precepts for all, controlling the mind for all. The mind means we are together, now the whole world may be together because of the virus. The war between human beings and the virus became more and more serious. We need to do more and more good deeds to be free from dangerous the virus, to prevent ourselves. Because of the bad deeds which we have done before, we have to pay back now. Relying on Dhamma or doing good deeds is the best, without side effects. We should not think only for ourselves, we should think for all. We should not think of business, education, politics, religions, just think of doing good deeds, to keep precepts, to help each other, to control the mind to be stable and pure. The virus doesn’t concern with keeping precepts and helping others; the virus is concerned with breaking precepts, destroying everything and everyone, unstable and impure mind are concerned with the virus. This is why we should not support the virus by keeping precepts, doing good deeds, controlling the mind, losing our belongings, our jobs, our life is to experience-only; not to be angry and not to be disappointed. Not losing our stable and pure mind is really important.

Most of the people in the world may not have the right view. They may not be doing what is right also. This is why we should do what is good with the right view, not only for us but also for the others. We can understand, we are able to do good deeds. In this condition we should be serious about doing good deeds. The more we understand the more we can do. Whatever we do we should try to be doing only, with a stable and pure mind. We should not grasp something or someone. It is difficult to teach about the truth, so also it is difficult to listen about the truth but we should continue doing like this. Only by practice, we can be perfect. Only by doing good deeds continuously, we will have more and more Dhamma friends who are able to do good deeds all the time. At the beginning of Thabarwa center, everyone was quite the same, just beginners, not much understanding about the truth but we continued to do good deeds day by day.

Now we have been doing good deeds over twelve years in this place, we get more and more friends, many people have been supporting this center. In this way Thabarwa center has become a big organization in society. There were difficulties in the beginning because we were not skillful in doing good deeds. If we continue doing good deeds we are sure to become more skillful and there will be always less problems and difficulties. For Thabarwa center, we are not working only for human beings but for all living beings. This is why the virus problem concerns only with human beings. We are working only for ourselves. Because of not doing like this, not doing for all; not doing for the whole society, not doing for all living beings.

We are what we do. Dare to do like this and you may understand about doing good deeds like this and then you can continue in the future. I have been dealing with many people in the world. I experience many ways of solving the problems but this is the best we can do!”