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News and social media are more divisive than ever. Covid has exposed a lot of mis- and disinformation and conspiracy theorists. It's a natural response to be reactive and combative. This is leading to the breakdown of relationships. What can we do about it?
Parable: The Wild Elephant
One of the many lives of the Bodhisattva was spent as an ascetic. This one time, he came back as the most superior ascetic in the whole order and everyone used to follow him. There was another ascetic in the same order who was jealous of the Bodhisattva. So, to remove the Bodhisattva from his path, he asked some elephant keepers to intoxicate a ferocious elephant by giving it liquor and then letting it loose on the Bodhisattva’s path. The ferocious and drunk elephant was let loose on the street and people ran in every direction to save their lives. The Bodhisattva continued walking down the path and looked calm. Suddenly, a woman, who was very frightened, accidentally dropped her child at the feet of the Bodhisattva. The wild elephant walked up to them and as it was about to trample them, the Bodhisattva placed his hand on its forehead and gently stroked it. Suddenly, the wild elephant became calm and bowed in front of him. Everyone was amazed to see this miracle.
Questions:
- From Max in Newton Aicliffe - “Where do you think psychedelics fit into the picture of Buddhism & spirituality? Some people cite them as catalysts for spiritual growth & great tools for personal development whereas others would argue they’re a lazy attempt to by-pass the work required to gain spiritual enlightenment & peace. Please share your thoughts.”
- Joao from Pará - “You talk a lot about meditation practice. Are there things you do in your day to day lives - other than literally sitting down to meditate - where you think some of the same benefits of meditation might apply?”
- Luke in London - what kind of microphones are you using?
Links:
https://bit.ly/3izpZNb Kidsgen: Stories from Buddha Teachings (The Wild Elephant)
The location of the short version of the wild elephant story, along with many others
https://wapo.st/3BtkiJh The Washington Post: Elephant Walk tests the Buddhist principles of a trained mind and inner peace
A medium length examination of the relevance of the wild elephant to the concept of mindfulness and the importance of meditation
https://bit.ly/3wMsTmy Wikipedia: The Noble Eightfold Path
A basic summary of the Eightfold Path