An end to pandemic related discussions - March 17th 2023

[retrofuturist]

Greetings,

On March 17th 2020 Dhamma Wheel established some conditions for the discussion of COVID-19 and related issues, given the "one in a hundred year" nature of the event, and the potential it had to impact people's Dhamma practice, livelihood, and health.

However, now we have reached a stage in the pandemic where:

- the prevailing strains are roughly on par with the flu in terms of severity
- mask, movement and vaccine mandates are very rare
- anyone still wanting to discuss these issues here is generally pushing a fixed political/ideological view
- Twitter, under Elon Musk, allows such matters to be discussed freely without any demands that the official WHO narrative be conformed to

As such, we're going to be bringing an end to conversations about:

- COVID-19
- The effectiveness or legitimacy of masks, lockdowns, vaccines, passports or any other measures intended to combat COVID-19

These discussions should be brought to a close by March 17th 2023... three years after the original allowance was established.

For these reasons, and to keep Dhamma Wheel focused on conversations relevant to Theravada Buddhism, any ongoing conversations on COVID-related matters will be closed by staff from that time.



Metta,
Paul.

[JamesTheGiant]

OH GAWD YES THANKYOU

I've had enough of that.

[thepea]

Covid 19 is a political/economical in nature. Does Covid 19 virus exist or was the year to year flu hijacked?
These questions are not for dhamma discussion.
What is and always will be relevant and should never be suppressed are the immoral actions taken against the public. Also the segregation of meditators within monastic and lay communities. Suppression is not dhamma practice.
Unless you plan to end any and all discussions regarding Jews being killed in WW2, blacks being segregated or any other race segregation then I find this closing down of discussion to be foolish and cruel.
Sweep it under the rug is not going to work, it doesn’t work in dhamma practice. Let it arise naturally and observe it. This is the practice. Let conversation arise naturally and observe it. Morality is the foundation of Vipassana, we have yet to have an open discussion on the precept breaches of Covid 19 mandates.
I’m sorry but this one is not getting swept under the rug, I’ll take the karmic hit. This was a cruel, absence of any common sense medical experiment forced upon the population, and this must be acknowledged.

[jinic]

Covid 19 is a political/economical in nature. Does Covid 19 virus exist or was the year to year flu hijacked?
These questions are not for dhamma discussion.
What is and always will be relevant and should never be suppressed are the immoral actions taken against the public. Also the segregation of meditators within monastic and lay communities. Suppression is not dhamma practice.
Unless you plan to end any and all discussions regarding Jews being killed in WW2, blacks being segregated or any other race segregation then I find this closing down of discussion to be foolish and cruel.
Sweep it under the rug is not going to work, it doesn’t work in dhamma practice. Let it arise naturally and observe it. This is the practice. Let conversation arise naturally and observe it. Morality is the foundation of Vipassana, we have yet to have an open discussion on the precept breaches of Covid 19 mandates.
I’m sorry but this one is not getting swept under the rug, I’ll take the karmic hit. This was a cruel, absence of any common sense medical experiment forced upon the population, and this must be acknowledged.

It doesn't matter...

* Was there a strategic release of infectious viral clones in 2019?
* Were the lockdowns economic warfare?
* Were antibiotics not included in the Covid19 treatment protocols so that people would die of bacterial pneumonia?
* Is it true that corona viruses can't cause a pandemic for principal reasons?
* Is it true that a lot of virology needs to be revised in light of exosomal interactions?
* Was the war ukraine but a pretence to moderate the European energy consumption?
* Were the Fukushima reactors intentionally destroyed to conserve uranium 235?
* Are people being brainwashed about the prospects of nuclear fusion in order to distract from the real issues of global energetics?
* Is it true that nuclear fusion for industrial energy production is a stupid pursuit because most of the energy produced in synthesis is in the kinetics of the free particles?
* Is it true that the viable energy programs are being intentionally suppressed?
* Is it true that the technology to efficiently split uranium238 for a net positive energy production has already been developed?
* Is it true that humanity depends on the uranium235 to industrialize the moon and to bring asteroids into orbit?
* Is it true that burning uranium235 is a crime against humanity?
* Is it true that vaccines cause autism?
* Is it true that Epstein killed himself?
* Is it true that the human population might be reduced by billions over the coming decades?
* Did Building 7 collapse due to structural damage?
* Will the Sheikh's prediction come to fruition?

“My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I ride a Mercedes, my son rides a Land Rover, and my grandson is going to ride a Land Rover, but my great-grandson is going to have to ride a camel again.”

There is much more going on than Covid... It's best to simply focus on the Dhamma.

All these things combined are not important enough to distract from the Dhamma.

It sucks that people are bamboozled and we can't have nice things because of greed, anger & delusion.
It sucks that there is top down corruption in how we are governed.
It sucks when your meditation group doesn't let you join without a mask and 3 boosters.
It sucks when relatives take propaganda for gospel.

It still doesn't matter and it's our kammavipaka to live through this bs

[jinic]

It's all interesting and there is much comfort in knowing what is going on but we just can't pursue everything. We would need to get multiple phds, find money for research and be allowed to do the experiments..

We wouldn't have the time to train meditation or study the Dhamma..

The world doesn't need another phd but it desperately needs an Arahant. Therefore it's better for everybody if we focus on the pursuit with the highest reward for our effort.

Also there are good people already comitted to solving those political things so we don't have to.

[[james]]

It's all interesting and there is much comfort in knowing what is going on but we just can't pursue everything. We would need to get multiple phds, find money for research and be allowed to do the experiments..

We wouldn't have the time to train meditation or study the Dhamma..

The world doesn't need another phd but it desperately needs an Arahant. Therefore it's better for everybody if we focus on the pursuit with the highest reward for our effort.

Also there are good people already comitted to solving those political things so we don't have to.

We have been and are going through a threat to our physical and mental well being where the global response has largely been hysteria, panic, fear … reactions that are now being displaced by the perhaps more comfortable sensations of impatience, boredom and fatigue. What is the purpose of training in meditation or studying the Dhamma if not to be completely familiar with and unswayed by habitual reactionary tendencies that we bring to the circumstances of our lives? Dhamma, for those who choose it, is the lens through which we examine these conditions, be that pandemics, climate catastrophes, poverty or sickness, old age and death. The refusal to permit further discussion of the COVID topic is unreasonable in my view as it is a refusal to examine ourselves as a Dhamma discussion group and how we deal with difficult issues.

From chapter 9:

Meditation is not about replacing the experience that has arisen. It is about thoroughly knowing it and being unmoved by it while it’s there. But the point will come when, in order to fully understand it, you need to learn how to stay calm, within it—and that is the role of the right samādhi—patiently enduring an experience without acting out of craving to get rid of the unpleasant and replace it with a sensual pleasure.

[jinic]

We have been and are going through a threat to our physical and mental well being

You can still talk about it as personal experience in the personal experience section.

It wasn't a threat, these were crimes against humanity.

I don't want to talk about it personally... It's too upsetting for me.

[DNS]

This topic was about the end of pandemic related discussions, not specific issues related to that, so those posts have been moved to:
viewtopic.php?t=40114

topic locked to keep this from going off topic again.