Compass of the Times by Keiko Takahashi
May 2020
Compass of the Times 194
To Walk with Bodaishin
Keiko Takahashi
The True Nature of an Unprecedented Ordeal
A novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has plunged the world into anxiety and confusion. This month, I would like to think about this reality further with you.
The problem of coronavirus is an issue of Ju-Hatsu-Shiki1, the issue of the mind and behavior. And the coronavirus problem is Chaos2 Thus we have perceived and have faced this situation based on the method for engaging Chaos. Based on the observation of the reality of the coronavirus infection, we have established the “five countermeasures,” to be later revised as “five actions and three precepts3.”
The difficulty of controlling the coronavirus infection lies in the fact that the common principles of medicine cannot be applied to it. Previously established measures and conventional wisdom, such as “This is what we do in this case,” and “This is what happens when we do this,” are not applicable in combating the coronavirus.
An example of this is the wide variety of symptoms that follow infection.
When we have a fever and suffer from a severe cough, everyone knows we have caught a cold. We also know to be careful not to pass it to those around us. Even if we know that this cold virus can result in severe symptoms, we still know how to treat such symptoms.
However, in the case of COVID-19, the incubation period before the appearance of the symptoms is fairly long in some people. Not only that, many people have only minor symptoms or no symptoms at all. Moreover, even those with minimal symptoms or who are asymptomatic can become a source of infection.
The Collapse of the Myths of Human Control
Why would people without symptoms visit a doctor for a medical checkup and know that they are infected?
There may be a lot of asymptomatic people. Some reports suggest that 30 to 40% of people are asymptomatic, while recent studies have shown that as many as 80% of those who tested positive for COVID-19 by PCR were asymptomatic.
In other words, the reality is that those people who are infected but unaware of their condition can unknowingly spread the infection.
As the infection spreads without anyone knowing who is
infected, people crowd into hospitals, filling their beds, and medical collapse becomes a reality.
Human beings have honed methods for suppressing and controlling various events by pursuing the law of cause and effect.
Of course, there are limits to such methods, but the way we did achieved significant results and allowed us to control many things.
However, the current situation of the coronavirus has easily slipped through the walls of such human control and is amplifying the reality of the infection.
It is no exaggeration to say that the myths of human control0, that had controlled nature and various events throughout our long history, are fundamentally threatened.
It Is Calling for Our Bodaishin
What do we need to do now?
The answer is to presume that anyone can be a source of infection at any time. Furthermore, we must assume that we ourselves have already been infected and should wear a mask to consider the health of others, practice hygienic habits, and refrain from going out. Even when we go out, we should keep
our distance from others and suppress social contact.
It is a daunting task for those who have lived their lives the way they want under great influence of outside stimuli of pleasure and pain. It is because those who always behaved in the way they desired and naturally wish to continue to do so, must now put aside their “wanting to do or not wanting to do,” and consider those around them, as well as society as a whole. They need to take action as they make such principles of consideration their top priority.
What is required now is none other than Bodaishin and the wisdom to see the world as it is. This Chaos of coronavirus is calling us humans to awaken our inner wisdom and Bodaishin.
The question is whether we can take actions voluntarily for the people we live together and for the world. Our future now depends on that ability of each individual.
Editor's Notes
1. Ju-Hatsu-Shiki
Ju is the function to receive, in which we perceive events that occur in our reality (the external world) in our mind (the internal world). Hatsu is the action to transmit after receiving events and is how we interact with the external world. Shiki is a Buddhist term that refers to the visible realities, or the external world, which includes incidents and events, as well as people. As long as we live, human beings continue to turn this cycle of Ju-Hatsu-Shiki and keep on producing realities even if we are not aware of it. (Excerpted and summarized from pages 66-67 of The Glossary of the
(Excerpted from Divine Truth 2012; available only in Japanese)
2. Chaos
Chaos indicates the primordial state, which has yet to have any form or clear outline, nor results or conclusions. There exist various possibilities and limitations, as well as light and darkness harbored within. The origin of the word “chaos” comes from the Greek myth of the primordial deity Chaos. Chaos is a state prior to the beginning of the universe that harbors all light and darkness. It is a state of nothingness, but at the same time, it conceals all possibilities. Moreover, Chaos inevitably leads to a way of life that transcends good or bad judgments. (Excerpted and summarized from page 167 of How to Make Your Life the Best; available only in Japanese)
3. Five Actions and Three Precepts
Five actions to take:
1. Wash hands
2. Wear a mask
3. Good ventilation of a room
4. >Measure body temperature
5. Hydrate the throat (e.g., drink water)
Three precepts to avoid: 3Cs
1. Closed spaces with poor ventilation
2. Crowded spaces with many people nearby
3. Close-contact settings such as close-range conversations>
Excerpt Translation of G. Monthly Journal May 2020 issue
Preliminary translation as of March 2020
GLA member-volunteers translated Takahashi Sensei’s words.
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