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TEACHINGS | EASTERN HORIZON 577
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The Ratana Sutta upholds the virtues of righteousness, there are many Buddhist teachings, events, and
generosity, and kind-heartedness. It also dwells on the activities have been aired online due to the outbreak of
excellences of the Triple Gem and invokes the power Covid-19.
of truth of those qualities to usher in well-being to the
affected region of Vesali. The internet helps us stay connected during the
pandemic. Everyone can still study and learn the
Once a series of epidemics spread across the great Buddha Dharma from his or her home or any
monastery of the Sakya in Tibet. All measures taken— convenient place without meeting in the temple.
effigy-offering, torma-offerings, medicines, mantras, The ways of teaching Buddhism have been changed
protection-amulets, and so on—had no effect, and dramatically, especially with the rise of e-learning. That
the monastery was in danger of being depleted. Then, means an online monastery is becoming a reality and
they approached the master mahāsiddha Thangtong the norm.
Gyalpo (1385–1464?) who adviced them to repeatedly
recite refuge prayer as well as the six-syllabled Oṃ Geshe Dadul: The purpose of Buddhist temples and
Maṇi Padme Hūṃ mantra, and told them to say his their programs is to serve their faithful clienteles
newly composed prayer which came to be eventually in meeting their religious needs and aspirations,
known as “The Prayer that Saved Sakya from Disease.” particularly in bringing the teachings of Buddha and
At that time, the entire epidemic immediately ceased his celebrated disciples into their lives. Luckily, we have
in the wake of performance of those prayers. Recently, modern technology that can cut through the barriers of
His Holiness the Sakya Gongma Rinpoche gave an oral time and space even in dire situations like the current
transmission of the above prayer online. one. It would be naturally sensible and binding to adopt
and utilize them. They must be innovative in exploring
As it seems the virus won’t go away any time soon, possibilities of adjusting to the new and changing
how should temples adapt to the new normal of normal in delivering their services, essentially carrying
social distancing and no mass gatherings especially out most of the activities virtually, with limited in-
in terms of continuing Buddhist education and out- person access, where necessary, while observing all the
reach activities? social distancing and hygiene guidance.

Aggacitta: The current strategy utilized by many Written by Geshe Dadul Namgyal and edited by Martha
Buddhist organizations is going online to continue Leslie Baker.
Dharma propagation. This will require learning and
honing new skills for effective and engaging digital Venerable Āyasmā Aggacitta is
communication. the founder of the Sāsanārakkha
Buddhist Sanctuary (SBS) in
For approved mass gatherings, participants should Taiping, Perak, a Pāli scholar and a
practice personal sanitation, the use of face masks, meditation teacher.
and social distancing. However, those more prone to
contagion like the elderly and infants who are unable to
abide by the above precautionary measures should not Geshe Dadul Namgyal is a Geshe
be allowed to participate Lharampa and senior resident
teacher at Drepung Loseling
Min Wei: A new normal of social distancing implies Monastery in Atlanta, Georgia, USA
that we can no longer go out freely, attend classes, or
even travel without wondering if we will be exposing
ourselves to people who are infected with the virus. Ven. Min Wei is a teacher of e-learning at the
However, the situation is changing all the time. The International Buddhist College (IBC) and an
Coronavirus helps us to be more awake. Nowadays, independent translator of Buddhism. EH