Cattāri Brahmavihārā

Funny how quickly three days can slip through your fingers in these harrowing times. No one is sure what will come next. No one can tell you if things will ever go back to “normal.” At any moment one could develop a fever and cough only to find oneself drowning in one’s own lungs hours or days later.

It can be exceedingly difficult to proceed apace and attempt to live life in the lackadaisical manner in which we’re so accustomed when death and plague are quite literally at our door. But, both the Lord Buddha and the Stoics tell us that the subjects of loss, aging, death and illness are suited for frequent recollection. The Lord Buddha goes even further to declare that one who meditates on death is close to Nibbana.

Afraid of death: It is going to happen. Afraid of aging? It is happening even now. Afraid of sickness? You may already be unwell. Let us not look to these bodies for our refuge but in the qualities and deeds of the Noble Ones. May we all find true freedom from suffering.