Today morning, a man over 40 years old, who came back from Myawaddy, the border of Thailand. He stayed at the cement bench beside the fence of the Military [the roadside in Thabarwa Thanlyin with many benches where homeless people and mental patients come to sleep]. So he have arrived 2 days ago. Yesterday night, he took a shower and got sick, maybe. He also drank alcohol. So in the morning, he fell down on the floor and nearly die. When we found him, we didn’t know his name as there was no information in the office. Some people especially alcoholics may not inform to the office, they came here and stayed by themselves. Here is food provided, so he had food and could use our toilet, shower and then he stayed by himself. He was a patient of diabetes but we didn’t know, no information, only when he fell down to the ground. That’s why we arranged to send him to the hospital in Thanlyin. At the hospital he died. No virus, because of drinking alcohol. Those people stay on the benches and then they can get money from the donors who come here so they can get pocket money to buy alcohol. In the past, we arranged to send all the alcoholics to Hlegu Thabarwa center, but most of the people came back, only a few stayed there and became normal. Now we are arranging a place at the old Dhamma hall, we are washing the firewood to make a temporary wall and we will make sleeping beds for them. Then we will take all the people who are staying at the benches to stay there. Not to let things like this happen, like falling down from a bench and die… We’ve already cleaned the space, so tomorrow we can move them there, especially for the alcoholics.

Besides, at the old Dhamma hall place, we are making Dhamma hall among the big trees. Now you may see a car with Buddha statues, that car intends to go around the streets in the city for those who want Buddha to come to their places. Like when we go alms round, monks and volunteers go around the streets. So this is Buddha statues they may go to the quarters, then people can worship and donate. In this way, they can do good deeds at home. Now it is difficult to go anywhere. Most people stay at home. They are cooperating with the government by not going out and staying at home. So in downtown Yangon, there are not many people and no traffic; only a few cars. By staying at home by themselves, they intend to prevent the outbreak of the virus. Now in North Okkalapa General Hospital, a patient is concerned with the virus is stay there without informing about coming back from a foreign country. The danger comes closer and closer to Yangon, a big city with many people.

Besides, more and more worries about this center also. Over 3000 people with foreigners; old and sick people are a lot here; so we need to be careful more and more. Because most of the places were no activity but staying at home. We must accept for those who are in an emergency to go out only. Many young people went to Thailand to work. Some of those workers came back from Thailand, but not by flight, by land borders. So it is difficult to control the virus in the villages when the workers came back from the other countries. Therefore, there is a quarantine place in most of the villages in Mon state where a lot of young men and women went to Thailand to earn their living. The Government announces them to come back after Water Festival – the third week of April only. But some workers may not be able to stay in Thailand anymore, so they came back illegally. That is dangerous, so we need to be careful more and more. It is difficult to control because of a lot of border parts with other countries. Therefore, it is better to do good deeds especially practicing meditation by ourselves.

Many illegal things are happening in this country. What we don’t understand is much more than we understand. For Thabarwa center, we emphasize on what most of the people don’t understand. We are solving the problems which are not understood by most of the people in the country. That’s why we have to rely on Dhamma and doing good deeds. If we rely on money, power, education, medicine, we cannot do this. We are not rejecting the laws and regulations, but we are trying to do good deeds without limit. Because of the virus, we have more connections with the government than before. Because of the new situation, we need to be careful. We should try to see the view of the government. But comparing with the former government officers, it changed a lot. We can negotiate. We should try to cooperate with the government official in the best way. They are also trying to cooperate with us. For Thabarwa center, we are skillful to cooperate with anyone, because we are not grasping something or someone. We try to doing-only or not doing-only with mindfulness and detachment. You all should learn the method of doing or not doing-only with mindfulness and detachment. If you are doing with grasping, you cannot do everything. If you are doing without grasping, you can do many things.

Today, we get some complaints about the foreigners went to the village, it is better not to. You should stay away from the public areas, public roads, public places are concerned with the village. This is the most dangerous time for Thabarwa center, so we need to be careful at least 2 weeks seriously. We can volunteer at the garden Dhamma hall. Now we start cleaning the place and then we will try to make a temporary wall and shelters for meetings and meditation there. Visitors can also stay there at night. Now we should wear the mask also, more carefully than before seriously. The danger is close and closer. Don’t invite the virus to this center. This is especially to solve the fears and worries in the mind which are concerned with Thabarwa center. No virus in the center but there are more worries and fears in the mind of the people who are concerned with Thabarwa center. That’s why we need to protect ourselves with mask and reduce the activities. In this way, we can reduce the fears and worries of the mind are concerned with our center. Prevention from the virus especially in the mind, the mind is the most important. There is no virus in the center, but the virus is in the mind is concerned with Thabarwa center, so we need to solve the problems of the mind. If we can solve this problem successfully, we can be safe from the virus also. This is worldly protection, not spiritual concerned, not concerned with cause and effect. We are skillful to use cause and effect for the protection of the center. But we need to not rejecting the worldly protection, that’s why we have to do like this. We should try to find out the way how to solve the problem. This is the biggest problem for the whole world on how to deal with the virus in the right way with fewer side effects. By using all the methods that we know.

Even going alms round may not be able in the future. Now there is more worried about alms round also. Most of the monks in other monasteries may not go alms round anymore. There are different groups in Thabarwa center Thanlyin, the monk’s group, the nun’s group, the group of international volunteers, the group of old and sick people… Each group is responsible for not making mistakes with the virus at this moment. We all are doing good deeds together, but we are also making mistakes because of not having enough knowledge about good deeds. Present actions of doing good deeds are complete, but there is weakness in the side of human beings. No one is complete. In every group, there is cooperation, so there will be right actions and there will also be wrong actions. That’s why there will be competition between the power of good deeds and bad deeds. For the group in which the power of good deeds is much stronger than the power of bad deeds, there will not be problems for sure. But we are together in Thabarwa center, that’s why we should try to get success for the whole Thabarwa center Thanlyin. That is very important. It is easier to do more good deeds than bad deeds by ourselves and not making many mistakes. But it is difficult to do good deeds together. Doing more good deeds and less mistakes together to get the success of the whole organization of Thabarwa center is more difficult, but we should try to be like this. Not only for this coronavirus but for all the problems and difficulties, we must try to get success in the whole center. By thinking-only, it seems impossible. But by practice, we can find the solution to get success. Even if you are practicing by yourselves at other centers, you should let us know about your updates. In this way, we can know about each other. There are many places concerned with Thabarwa center and many people also, so we can cooperate with each other.

Now there are more and more difficult to do good deeds, but we are trying to find out how to do good deeds in harmony with the present situation. We don’t give up doing good deeds at the present moment. We are trying to do our best. Most of the people are not much skillful to deal with the virus, so they may think only for themselves. They may not think about the others, but we are still thinking about the others. We will not close the center. Besides, we will also not open the center fully. We will try to be doing-only. Closing the center or staying open is not important for us. To be doing-only is the most important for us and for all. We emphasize on doing-only or not doing-only. Now you should try to learn about that method. Only by doing good deeds continuously, you can understand. The virus can stop our physical and verbal actions but It cannot stop the mind, so even if we can go nowhere and we can do nothing, we can be mindful and detached. In this way, we can continue to do good deeds by ourselves or by the others who are concerned with Thabarwa center Thanlyin. We are busy doing various good deeds at every present moment. You should try to learn by practice. Even if we cannot be together, we can use the Messenger or WhatsApp groups to do good deeds together. The virus is new for most of us, so we must be careful, not to be the victims of the virus. That’s very important. Because we are not alone, we are together with many old and sick people. So if we make mistakes, there will be many losses. So if you are not sure about yourselves, it is better to stay by yourselves with mindfulness and detachment. For me, I have been dealing with the patients over 17 years continuously. I went to many hospitals. There are many patients and old ages in this center, so I am skillful to deal with the patients, diseases, medicine, virus… to not be attacked and to not be defeated by diseases and viruses. I am not a doctor but I am a meditator. That’s why I use the power of mindfulness and detachment to overcome diseases and viruses.🍀”