 Welcome back to this special edition of Out and About, because every edition is a special edition that we have here, but we are delighted and honored to have a guest back from a couple of weeks ago and before who you love, Dr. Karma Lexi Somo, and we're going to be talking about awakening through a pandemic in the face of death, tools for staying calm in the time of coronavirus. You know in this current moment in this pandemic that we're in, there's a lot of fear. There's a lot of potential loss of suffering, distress, uncertainty, and staying calm has been a major concern for everyone. What do the world's wisdom traditions teach us that will help us navigate this shared moment in human history? And it is shared. If you think about it for the first time, it's happening live around the world. So we are delighted to welcome back Dr. Somo, who's a professor of Buddhism and world religions at the University of San Diego, and a founder of Sakyadita International Association of Buddhist Women, and the founder and director of Viam Yang Foundation, which is a charitable organization that provides education to girls and women in India, Bangladesh and other developing countries. So thank you so much for coming back again, Lexi. Thank you. Aloha. Aloha. So yeah, it's been a very, we last met two weeks ago. And it seems like things are going by so fast. And yet a lot of people, you know, were sort of sheltering in place. So on the other hand, things seem very slow. So a lot is happening and a lot isn't happening. What's your perspective on what's going on right now? Well, I think it's a very special moment in human history. There is a lot of suffering in the world, as you mentioned. And it's also great opportunities for developing ourselves, our capacity for awareness. We now have time, ironically, to spend looking at inside instead of always rushing outside. So maybe we can use this opportunity for spiritual growth and not simply thinking about the externals, you know, material pursuits. So maybe we can turn it around, transform it into a teaching moment. If we can learn to calm our minds and quiet our minds, it's a great opportunity. Okay. And actually, I don't think we've done it on ThinkTech before, but why don't we incorporate a couple of short meditations in here, maybe one to get us going, and then one at the end of the show to center us and calm us for the day. So maybe you could lead us into a short one beginning. So folks at home, just, you know, join in. We will be done when Alexi lets us know and we'll continue on with the conversation. Okay. That's a wonderful idea. If we can incorporate stillness in our everyday life, it becomes a happy habit. We know that we can go to that place of peace inside, even if it's only for a few moments. And it really does help to offset the fear, anxiety, and craziness of this moment. So let's just sit comfortably, close our eyes, or slightly open, and relax into the present moment, being aware of everything that's going on around us and inside us. Very good. Now I think you've got it, right? It's a matter of just paying attention to the present moment. So we can do that. Whatever we are, any time of night or day. So just practice makes perfect, yeah? What does a day like, thank you for that, because it's, it was, it just takes a moment for us to just focus in and just be in the moment. Remind me of the title of the book, I'll be here by now, you know, and it's exactly what it's about. We're pulled in so many directions that it's, this is just so useful to just even take a brief moment like that and go on. You know, what does your day look like? How is it structured? Did you begin the day with meditation and then meditate throughout the day? Or is it an evening thing, or how does that look for you? Well, I like to meditate throughout the day, but especially in the morning and the evening. It's really important to start off our day by getting centered and calming down. First of all, just to be delighted that we're still alive. How often do we remember how fortunate we are to be alive? But that's what I mean right now in this moment. Every day that we wake up still alive is a great blessing, isn't it? So by taking a few moments in the morning and for sure at night before we go to sleep, it's important to put our mind in a positive quiet space before we drift off. But then we can also catch moments throughout the day. Just when we're washing dishes or washing clothes or sweeping or waiting for a call. Time that we might otherwise waste or get frustrated by. Use it as an opportunity to practice mindfulness. By that we mean mindful attention to whatever we're doing. So it doesn't have to be grandiose, it's very practical, it's very real moment to moment awareness. It's a chop wood carry water. There you go. Yes, so what it is what we're doing, just have attention on it. Even if it's not a meditation, it can be a meditation in and of itself. Right, especially now that we need to wash our hands, right? And people are still boring, 20 seconds. But in fact, that can be a mindfulness exercise. Instead of resenting it, we can appreciate it. We can appreciate everything. This is the thing. Instead of getting bored and upset, we can actually be comfortable, be completely content in the moment. And that brings great joy. So it's bringing awareness to whatever it is that we're doing, washing our hands, playing with the dog, going for a walk and being as present as we can in the moment. And meditation helps us with that focus and that concentration when we're just purely meditating being the moment, then also taking that outside into, I don't know if you call it walking meditation or living meditation or meditation and action, meditation and action sort of never stop meditating as we're being aware of where you are and what you're doing. You know, what is Buddhism? And if you had to choose another word for Buddhism or words for Buddhism, what would that be? I think we can just call it a path to liberation. So path to liberation means that we want to wake up and be free of all the things that make us unhappy. So getting rid of fear, getting rid of anger, getting rid of attachments and whatever causes us distress, right? So we can become liberated from all of the conflicting emotions, all the disturbing emotions of the mind and be completely present, completely content and completely happy in each present moment. So that's why they call it a path to liberation or a path to awakening, yeah? A path to awakening and awakening to what, to our Buddha nature, but what would that Buddha nature be? What would, what are we awakening to a sense of just life in the moment or? Awakening to the true nature of things, okay? Awakening to the true nature of things rather than our projection of things are the super imposition of fear and worry and distress that we put onto things, onto situations. If we can be completely present in the moment, awake to the moment, then we can be free from all of the needless worry and imposition of thought constructs, you see? We can see directly into the true nature of things as they are. And so for, for example, let's, let's look at what we're, you know, a lot of people right now, they're facing in the ultimate, I suppose, we're worried about our own deaths or the deaths of those that we love or maybe being sick or incapacitated or maybe less than that running out of money or, or maybe our relationships having trouble because of all of this. So when we're going to these things where I suppose at the end of the day, a lot of it might be fear of death. How can we not be afraid of death or if we're afraid of death, how can we get out of that fear and go into a moment like you're talking about? Okay. Well, first of all, I think we need to recognize that death is natural. Death comes to us all eventually. I mean, it's inevitable, right? So anything that takes birth inevitably dies, what arises perishes, right? So, and we never know when that may be. It could be today, or it could be 10 years or 20 years from now. We don't know. So if we worry about it, we're again, imposing some kind of expectation on our experience instead of being completely present in this very moment. This is the precious moment. But by worrying about the future, we miss this precious moment. You see, now we have time with our families and each moment of it is, is powerful and precious because we don't know how long it's going to last. So I think the idea of paying attention to things as they are helps to dispel that added worry and distress about, oh, how long is this going to go on? Am I going to have a job at the end of it? Am I going to get sick? Am I going to die? All of that in a way is useless thinking. It doesn't change anything, right? It certainly doesn't improve things. In fact, it actually impairs our present experience. You see what I mean? So how would that, if we're translating that to maybe I'm afraid to go to the supermarket or afraid to go to a hospital or anywhere and I'm afraid of touching the card or whatever that is, how do we get, how do we actually take recognize that, yes, the virus can be there and we want to protect our kupuna or ourselves and everybody? How do we take those necessary steps but take the fear out of it? So say, OK, I do need to wash off the shopping cart. How do you separate the fear from that so that it becomes a non-fear motivated thing? If you understand what I'm saying. Sure. Now, that's a perfect example to let go of the fear and come back to handling the present moment as best we can. The fear may actually distract us from doing what we need to do. That is making wise decisions, making compassionate decisions. So we want to choose the time if we need to go to the market. We want to go at a time that will have the least risk for ourselves and others. Right. But being afraid may impair our judgment on that. Set aside the fear, set aside the worry and just concentrate. OK, I looked online and it said that from, you know, nine to ten, the place is empty. That sounds like a good time to go, right? Then we also know that we could take a few wipes with us and help protect ourselves and others by wiping down the cart. Then we shop and we have a list so that we know exactly what we need. No more, no less. We can do it quickly, minimizes our risk and it minimizes the risk to others. We don't have to touch everything. We just touch the one we need, right? OK, and then we get in line spacing as as directed. And then we go home. You see, so setting aside all that needless fear, those extra layers of anxiety and just doing what needs to be done in a wise and compassionate way. So it's sort of looking at it and I'm sorry, sometimes we have a lag or that is a sort of whatever it is we need to do, we can do it, but we take away that extra layer of angst or worry and just say, I need to go to the store, but I don't need to be afraid of this, but I just need to be aware that these this circumstance exists and the fear makes it worse, certainly. But are we motivated by fear in some ways? Is it fear there to protect us or to to guide us in some ways? Well, what are we afraid of? Basically, we're afraid of death. We're afraid of not being who we are. So we need to understand that we are impermanent by nature. And this is one thing that we can learn by direct experience. So this would be another object for contemplation and we can do it as an exercise. We can do it right now. You see, we have this illusion that we're permanent, that we ourselves, this eye is so permanent, is so precious, is so enduring. But that's an illusion. That's a fantasy. We are impermanent by nature and we can get in touch with our own impermanence through contemplation. Would you like to try it? I would. And I had a question to follow before because I. Please hold that thought and I know you can hold a thought. What don't we get to go on? So many of the world's traditions tell us that after this body goes are either we get to come back again or we go to a hopefully a better place, sometimes not always, depending on what your belief traditions are. Does Buddhism have anything to say about that? Yes, in fact, the Buddha sort of accepted the South Asian belief in further rebirths, multiple rebirths. We've been born an infinite number of times and we will continue to take rebirths depending on our actions. So but the important thing is how we live our lives, because if we live our lives with wisdom, ethics and compassion, we will naturally get a favorable next rebirth. We don't have to worry about it. So all the different religious traditions, all the different wisdom traditions have ideas about what comes after this life. But the important thing is to live this life as best we can with wisdom, compassion, mindfulness, right? So whether or not there is a future life or not, by living well, by living ethically, kindly, then we'll be in good shape for whatever comes after. So don't really worry about the afterlife as it were. Worry about this, not even worry about it at all. Just be here now in this life in a loving and kind manner as you possibly can be. Right. Well, right. This is the way they teach it is that death is inevitable. Death is definite. We can't escape it. Nobody's getting out of here alive. Right. Life is a terminal condition, they say in fact. Right. I remember one time I was in Dharmsala in India and I had hepatitis for the umpteenth time and I asked I went to the Tibetan doctor and I was completely yellow. So I asked the doctor, oh, am I going to die? And he said, well, of course you're going to die. Everybody's going to die and he cracked up. So, you know, this is the reality. This is the human situation. Right. Why should we be surprised? But the important thing is to focus on this life and to realize that death is definite, but the time of death is indefinite. Death can come at any time. We all hope it will be later rather than sooner. But we don't know. So in a way, this current crisis is a blessing. It's an opportunity to remember that death can come at any time and we need to be prepared for that. How do we do that? We prepare our minds to be calm and quiet and attentive. So in fact, rather than thinking about the afterlife, we should think about this very present moment and live it fully and meaningfully, right? Not just fit it away, waste it, but use each precious moment meaningfully, mindfully. And to that end, right now, a lot of people are wondering how can they be? How can they best be utilized? A lot of people are out of work now. We have got 37 percent unemployment in Hawaii, and it's probably going to go up from there, and they're probably rethinking a lot about what am I contributing? What's my purpose in life? What what is life? How do how am I probably at the end of the day? How am I of service to others? How am I of service to myself? Good suggestions as to what our responsibilities are to ourselves and others, especially at this time, we're times like this. Well, I think it's a very good time to reevaluate our priorities until now. We may have been completely focused on like getting a big pile of money or getting prestige or whatnot, accumulating material objects. But now in the face of this pandemic, we see that a lot of thought is really meaningless, right? It doesn't matter how much we have piled up. In fact, it can even be an obstacle. Sometimes the more possessions we have, the more worries we have, right? The more you have, the more you have to worry about. And so learning to live a simple life. And I think a lot of people are now appreciating quiet. Why is it that we've been just filling up our time with all these different activities, which often turn out to be a big castle, getting there, getting back, you know, the cost and all of that. Learning to enjoy each precious moment actually will let us let go of a lot of meaningless activities that we've gotten involved in. Our schedules no longer have to be packed. But and so re-evaluating and re-evaluating our priorities. It's like, what's it all about? Isn't in the end the time that we use to help others the most precious? And I mean, including being able to comfort others who are going through all kinds of distress, right? If we can calm our mind, then we can be a resource for others and help them to learn how to calm their mind also. In the end, they say, although death is definite and the time of death is indefinite, what's really important is our spiritual practice, our spiritual practice, meaning how well have we learned to control our minds? Yeah, how well have we lived our life? Sometimes my teachers, my Tibetan teachers used to say, the whole point is to live a good life and die without regret. And it may be, you know, the law of cause and effect that the Bible also talks about, what you read, feels so that if we do wholesome deeds, then we don't get we don't stay awake at night worrying about all the things we've done wrong, right? Yeah, right. Without regret and sleep well at night. You're right. It is it is never of our kindnesses that we repent. A quick question before we we we have a meditation at the end to bring us together, our minds together again or coherently. A lot of people are, you know, they're anxious about how do we open up? What's going on in the national scene? Is it too much? Is it enough locally? How do we how do we meaningfully engage with something like what's happening on our national stage, no matter our thoughts this way or that way? How do we can we stay engaged with that? Should we stay engaged with that? And how do we do that? Without going crazy or getting upset? All right, right. Well, I think we have to be mindful. We have to be aware of what's going on in the world. Yes, it's a tragedy that we don't have a functional government, that they're not attending to the the important things of the of the hour, the testing that we need and all the equipment that we need and the jobs that we need, but worrying about it is not going to help. I think signing petitions can help because it voices our concerns. We need to be more concerned about our health care workers. This is important that we influence our policymakers to the best that we can, at least we can try, right? To make our representatives aware of what we feel is important. It's important that health care workers have protective gear and we can make that known through a click of the months. So I think that's important. I think that's good. But worrying about the future. Oh, what's going to happen? You know, when is this going to be over? All of that is senseless because we cannot make plans now because we don't know how this is going to unfold if we tend to the present moment to be safe and try to urge others to take precautions. Then the thing will wind down earlier, right? I think this is just common sense, right? So we can contribute in a positive way because everything that we say and do affects others. We see that now. That's another upside of the pandemic is that we see how we're all globally connected that one person's irresponsible, irresponsible behavior or uninformed behavior can affect the whole welfare of the world. Right? So we need to be aware of our actions. It may seem like a bother to wash our hands for 20 seconds. But with a positive motivation to protect ourselves in order to protect others, then it becomes actually a kind of spiritual practice, right? We're doing this not only for my benefit, but for the benefit of the world. We're all interconnected. We're all interrelated. We have a responsibility to the world, to human beings, to the animals and to the earth itself. And that's we're coming up on 50th anniversary of Earth Day two days now. So that's it's a it's a this is the I've heard it called the Great Reset or a Great Awakening for us to reevaluate where our our priorities are. And also the Earth just to have a breather. We're reading these stories about animals coming out into, well, where they have always lived before humans have just sort of taken over. So we will get some we'll be able to come back from this and use this as a very powerful tool. I remain optimistic most of the time, except when I'm on Facebook too much. And I wonder about what's the responsibility of not pressing like or forwarding an article. I mean, that's probably where the rubber beats the road for a lot of people now, but I suppose if it's not calming, don't do it. But it's that line of how do you stay aware and informed without becoming too attached or agitated by that? So maybe at the point of agitation, it's a point to breathe in. And and see just take a breather, as we say. But speaking, taking a breather, maybe if you'd be so kind that we could have a meditation, our time always goes so fast, actually. And you will come back and we have a lot more to discuss about this. It's it's a very short time that we have. But if you could maybe lead us in a in a meditation to calm us and center us and to move on with the rest of our week, since we're on a Monday here, and then we'll come back from that. After maybe a few minutes, I got a nice gong here. So I will mind the time for everybody. So they'll give us a minute before we have to close up and say goodbye. OK, great. So with compulsion for ourselves and others, let's take a few moments to be aware of the true nature of our body and mind. Sitting calmly, straight, relax. We become aware of the true nature of our body. We tend to think of it as something very solid. But when we pay attention, we find that there is movement in our body all the time. We know intellectually that our blood is pulsing through our body. But how often do we sit and pay attention to it? So take a moment to try to get in touch with the changing, constantly changing nature of our body and our mind. We can start from the top of our head and just slowly move down and be aware of all that's going on in every part of our body. And if we reach our toes, start again from the top of the head and again, move down slowly, mindfully, completely aware of all that's going on in our body. Be aware of the mind also. Notice how it flits from here to there, often distracted by thoughts and images, sounds and so forth. And bring it back to bring your attention back to your body. Noticing the impermanence of the body itself. OK, well done, well done. It's so good, it's so good. It's so important just to take a moment like that. I think we need to have a special show just where we're doing some meditations in and out if you will talk and make that happen. How's that sound? Sounds good. It is sad we must leave today, but I'm delighted, happy, overjoyed that we could have you on the show again. Actually, we will do this again. We have a lot more to talk about. It has been our delight to speak with the venerable Dr. Karma Lexi Sommel about awakening through a pandemic and staying calm in the time of coronavirus. I wish all of you a healthy, wonderful week ahead, a couple of weeks ahead, and we look forward to seeing you here every other week, think, text, out and about. Thanks so much.