Skip to main content

Buddha Warned Us About Coronavirus (Covid-19). We Should Have Listened.

     In the Vimalakirti sutra, we're told the story of a lay Buddhist teacher by the name of Vimalakirti who is on his death bed.  Buddha, in his wisdom, sends one of his attendants to Vimalakirti's hut to find out what's happened.

     When he arrives at the hut the young man is greeted by countless gods, devas, and demons who've come to pay their respects.

When the attendant asked Vimalakirti why he was ill, the old man replied, "I am sick because the world is sick."

     With that one statement, he summed up the whole of the human condition.  When our neighbors are healthy and happy, we naturally get healthier and happier.  Similarly, when our neighbors are sick, we suffer with them.  Thus, we exist simultaneously as individuals and as parts of a much larger whole.

     To put it another way, Vimalakirti used his final teaching to remind us that when we care for others, we care for ourselves.  Unfortunately,  this is a lesson that we're still struggling to learn.  Case in point, the Covid-19 pandemic started in Wuhan, China.  We heard about it, we saw the death toll rising, and we all went back to our daily lives.

     The pandemic was "their" problem, and it had nothing to do with "us".  Due to our apathy, it spread quickly to the Middle East, Europe, and finally the United States.  At the time of this writing, 300,000 Americans have been infected with the virus, and Governor Cuomo of New York is fearful that his state will run out of ventilators for patients who develop respiratory problems as a result.

     Like Vimalakirti, we are sick because the world is sick, and this won't be the last time this happens.  In a world where products and people travel across continents in a matter of hours, we can't ignore the oneness of all things.  We can't simply look at our own portion of the map, and ignore the suffering that happens around us.

Because the world's suffering is only one airplane ride away from entering our living room.

     In this sutra, Buddha warned us what happens when we turn a blind eye to our neighbor.  And in this moment of crisis, we have the chance to finally learn our lesson.  Through our actions, we can adapt Vimalakirti's statement to say, "I am well because the world is well."

     We can reach out to the stranger and ask, "What do you need?"  We can look at the sick and ask, "How can I help?"  And we can build a society that reflects the deep interconnectedness of all living things; a society that cares not for differences of race, country, or religion.  Because in our suffering we are all one.

     I am sick because the world is sick.  I hope those words are etched in our hearts by the time this pandemic is over.  If not, we'll quickly return to this sad state of affairs.

Namu Amida Butsu


If you enjoyed this essay, you'll love my book!



Buddha Warned Us About the Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic.  We should have listened


Comments