One Buddhist perspective on the conflict surrounding Covid, and the pernicious role of 'Views'

The Watercooler
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Over the past week several people have approached me with similar questions – How to understand and deal with the conflicts and tensions surrounding Covid vaccine issues, and what is a skillful basis for making choices? I believe that this circumstance offers a wonderful opportunity for delving deeper into practice, so to this end I thought it might be useful to offer up a few thoughts … :slight_smile:

About views…

Views are dependently arisen based on contact (sense organs and sense objects, consciousness and feelings), which produce (dependently give rise to) perception. Perceptions involve fabrications and constructions (sankharas). But … Since all the conditions that lead to perceptions arising are completely unreliable and unstable then the resultant views are equally unreliable, and transient.

From a teaching perspective this sits upon the teachings of impermanence and the illusory nature of the 6 sense bases, which give rise to perception (like a magic show or illusion). It sits within the context of dependent arising and Dependent Origination, in that views are fabricated, based on conditions, and they are grasped due to not understanding how unreliable they are, and they create attachment and further becoming as they are seen to be ‘me and mine’. The path of practice moves gradually forward until one can see through them and dispel some of the delusion/illusion/ignorance concerning how they are formed, that they are impermanent, have nothing to do with ‘objectivity’ (unreliable and wholly due to conditions) and that they change as conditions change, and as such should be abandoned and not clung to or viewed as me or mine. _ so that’s the ‘theory’… now for the lived experience and practice …

The thing that enables us to navigate this world and to live skillfully is Wisdom. Underpinning everything is the principle that the Buddha always used as a guide to inform choices. Those things that lead to wholesome, and beneficial states are to be cultivated and those that lead to bad, unwholesome, unbeneficial states are to be abandoned. So this is the Standard against which we measure potential decisions about actions etc… The trick is being able to identify and discriminate between the unwholesome and the wholesome. This is where the first step of the N8fP comes in - Right View.

So thus far, our own or others’ views are an inherent part of the ‘delusion’ in the world and therefore any clinging to views causes suffering in samsara. As Right View/understanding increases, then there is more clarity and we can make increasingly skillful choices > ie not be complete slaves to the automatic processes based on ignorance, greed and ill will.

So in this instance, knowing that any volatilely expressed views about Covid vaccines are predicated on a virtually ‘involuntary reaction’ due to not understanding how reality is conditioned, we don’t have to get angry, upset or create mental suffering for ourselves because of the substance of those views. We can have compassion instead… they/we (people) are literally slaves to the processes, if unaware of how they have been conditioned, and while taking these thoughts really seriously and as being some kind of objective truth and representing their/our identity. It is the clinging to those views that causes suffering for self and others.

This is all fine when the people are not so close to us and one can be a distant observer, but when one experiences this in a partner or a family member etc, it opens another can of worms entirely… It is very difficult when this dissonance occurs with ones partner, or mentor etc… One can now see that, while they may have many positive qualities, they are only presenting the current/transient views that have been conditioned into them. This may include conditioning to things that lead to good wholesome and beneficial states, but also things that lead to bad, unwholesome and unbeneficial states… The issue here is not about good and bad, but rather cause and effect, it is about seeing through the automatic/unconscious process of conditioning and its effects, to a more ‘supramundane’ appreciation of how views are formed/dependently arisen, and then compensating for this through the use of Wisdom. Contact will always occur, but the practice is about what happens post-contact – the subsequent processing involved to yield a skillful and beneficial outcome.

Seeing an unwholesome response occur in people one loves and respects can really help further the path, it really brings home the disillusionment and dispassion for the effects of ignorance (living in samsara). It can also be very confronting and challenging… Seeing how this process operates, this ‘slavery’ to conditions and to the fabrications that build our picture of ourselves (and the pictures others have of themselves) brings disillusionment … like seeing behind the scenes at Disneyland, or backstage of a movie stage. This is the stuff that can lead to a break-through… but it changes the way one sees and relates to things… So it can be both liberating and terrifying. The transition is the difficult bit. But it is also to be anticipated, it is a natural part of the process and progression along the Path, as understanding develops and the illusion is penetrated, and one begins to leave others behind. This is the essence of what it means to go against the stream.

So the second part of the question about skillful choices with regard to the covid vaccine… This is the easy bit :smiley: :dharmawheel:

Once again turning to the Buddha; If something leads to ones own benefit and the benefit of others it is a good course of action. This can help get past the ‘views’ where a decision is based upon the ‘unreliable’ perceptions and fabricated views based on prevalent conditions – on the ‘unreliable’ and ‘current/transient’ judgement of right or wrong. The thing about how views are formed, is that they change as soon as different conditions arise (new information or a new experience) which then leads to a wholly different perception. We have all had times when we reflect “How on earth could I have thought/believed that?”

So bringing it back to material harmful or harmless. Here the choices are linked to the consequences, from a Sila perspective

Vaccine = self and others protected from this serious and sometimes lethal illness. No principles involved here, eg freedom, etc.

No Vaccine = self and others exposed to a serious (in some cases lethal) preventable/minimizable illness. No principles involved, eg who deserves what, or comparative ‘rights’ etc etc.

The principles in these cases are fabricated, dependently arisen constructs that are unreliable… they cloud the issue… If one acts in a way that is beneficial for oneself and for others then that is a wholesome action and leads to non-remorse etc etc. It is the same for all the Sila based steps of the N8fP… Sila is a fundamental component that leads to happy beneficial states for oneself and for others, Right thought, Right Speech, Right Action, etc. It is very sad to witness how it is the opposite of these things that seems to be dominating at the moment. But we can be aware and see clearly what is happening, and stand firm ‘against the stream’, knowing that using Sila as the base is a good way to conduct oneself.

The ’views’ around at the moment are completely crazy and sadly expressed in such unskillful and unwholesome ways (leads to unbeneficial and unhappy states). The misdirected views about ‘freedom’ are particularly irrelevant to this debate. All laws, rules and even the basic ‘social contract’ between people that enables for trust, are agreements about common good. To pick out one single ‘rule’ or social action (getting a vaccine) and to make a stand on it fails every test of rational thought. If the ‘freedom’ view was rational then EVERY rule and law should be questioned… how dare you impose on my freedom not to shoot or rape people! Or to drive on the other side of the road if I want, or forcing me to wear clothes in public! … it becomes quite absurd. In this case – it is the result of being swept up and enslaved by this current wave of ‘views’… But this has now become ‘owned’ and ‘clung to’ and ‘identified with’ as me and mine and my truth – something I will fight to defend… :rage:

They are now highly political views – that carry so much accumulated baggage… but at their base is just the (illusory) process of dependently arisen automatic process of how perceptions are formed and acted upon. The Buddha clearly tells us, over and over again, that it is this constructed and fabricated baggage/scaffolding that is the cause of suffering. Seeing this, one develops Nibbida, and then relinquishment follows (including of views), and going against the stream of ignorance is the only sensible option…

To live in such a crazy world is pretty much the definition of Samasara. In cases like this, history always has an interesting perspective … in 100 or 200 years a documentary looking back at covid will examine this wave of views and not understand how it could have come to be (so many examples of this)… just think back to the burning of ‘witches’ at the stake etc etc etc - all through history such examples abound… Samsara… the craziness of ‘views’… They wanted to execute Gallileo for looking through his telescope and reporting observable facts, and forced him to recant or be killed :man_shrugging:

One of the similes for Nibbana is the abandonment of all views. It isn’t often mentioned – people are very attached to their views, but this is really about the abandonment of constructions and fabrications arising due to conditions – seeing through them, and being able to live with Wisdom - of knowing and being able to differentiate which choices lead to the wholesome and which ones lead to the unwholesome and, ultimately, being ‘immune’ to contact and it not leading to fabrications.

All one can do is to try to make the most skillful choices, that are harmless, and that lead to beneficial states for oneself and those one is in contact with. Note: in these current conditions there is no ‘perfect’ solution… that’s why I always go back to the absolute basics in times like this. Don’t kill, harm or hurt others or oneself, Don’t lie or be deceitful, and make the choice that will lead you to deep peace within yourself being completely free from remorse.

And - pump out kindness, like a nuclear reactor! Less views – more kindness :pray: :revolving_hearts: :butterfly:

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People should really learn the relevant biology or at the very least find a trustworthy person who has learned it. Otherwise they are going to be quite distressed. Being informed does wonders for one’s confidence and well-being.

How i wish Bhikkhu Samahita would still be around for this sh*tstorm.

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Hey Viveka. In my (admittedly very limited) experience talking with people’s who are against the vaccine, this is precisely what they are contesting. They either don’t think that COVID is a thing, or they think that the various vaccines have no effect on it. Some think that the vaccines causes harm, which of course they have the potential to do - all medicines have possible side effects. So what are we to do? Maybe they’re right and I’m the one being naive for trusting our institutions. I do love to trust experts (as endorsed by our institutions) but the anti-vaccine adherents have got a point about the various institutions that I rely on for my information. Politicians and big business have had a pretty poor track record for honesty recently.

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Great Question @Stu :smiley: I was waiting for this one :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: It wasn’t my purpose in posting to pose a solution for the issue in a general sense, but rather to look at understanding it from a Dhamma perspective and the role of views, and to assist in personal decision making. Not how to go about convincing others of something.

I know that this post is treading a very fine line… between practice and a volatile social issue. It may be a bit overambitious or just naïve to try to look at aspects of Dependent Origination through the lens of Covid as a demonstration of the negative effect of arisen views … I don’t know if this experiment will yield good or bad results :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I just felt it was worth an attempt to discuss practice within this context - it just seemed like too good an opportunity, (which highlights so clearly one of the root causes of suffering in this world) … to pass up. So I have purposefully used a framework that is different from the one being generally applied. Maybe there is a good reason not to do so :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Anyway, to that end, I purposefully stayed away from discussing any specific ‘facts’ in the case, in order to really focus on how perceptions and views are formed. Focusing on the process.

But we can make a wise decision without even engaging with it in that way, bypassing the current dominant paradigm (needing proof against all possible variations of views/speculation). Because speculation is endless this becomes part of the problem itself

So regarding the two statements

This can be verified in the clearest way by simply observing who is getting severely ill and ending up in hospital and dying. Over 90% of those in that category are unvaccinated. This is occurring uniformly around the world. This is pretty basic, and this alone is sufficient to verify the two statements above. No need to even bring anything else into it.

This is another intrusion of ‘views’ and ‘speculation’ that is ‘superfluous’ to the decision making process. People think views and speculation are useful…

So after showing that views are unreliable (and speculations can be endless), I am proposing that in practical terms, one can make a good decision (that leads to beneficial states for self and others) based on kindness. It is known that the vaccine stops most people from serious illness or death – over 90% of those in hospital and dying are those without a vaccine. It is speculation that there may be some possible adverse effect on an individual maybe, but serious negative effects are extremely rare - much much more rare than being in a random traffic accident! … Road traffic injuries.
(see what perception does!!)

Of course if one has a complicating medical condition that makes getting any vaccine a likely health threat, that is another situation - it is no longer speculation. But this is a tiny tiny fraction of the population, and not where the problem lies. Indeed it is out of kindness to the people who can’t get the vaccine, including young children under 5 for whom the vaccine is not suitable, that getting vaccinated if one can, provides safety and security. It provides safety and security to those who have no choice or option and are left vulnerable. A decision based in Sila.

But it is easy to see how fixated on views and opinions this society is. That speculation is endless, and answers are demanded for every instance of speculation. The Buddha refused to engage in this stuff - because it is not beneficial. One doesn’t need to know any more than what is presented here, and what one can witness. Why isn’t this satisfactory? It is interesting to consider where this drive comes from? What does it achieve? How has it been conditioned? Is it beneficial or does it lead to unnecessary suffering?

SO my post is more about how to understand the situation and how to make decisions for oneself, rather than how to fix this on a societal or population basis. That is a completely different matter.

So thank you for reading, and I hope this exploration has provoked some consideration about the mechanism of DO with regards to perceptions and the formation of views all around us – and how this is really a cause of suffering for self and others. And, by contrast, that Sila never lets us down.

With metta :pray: :slight_smile: :sunflower:

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Hi, I’m moving this to the Watercooler for you because it’s about a contemporary issue rather than a sutta.

Essays and analysis that treat the whole sutta, usually by experienced teachers. read more

This follows the model used in the traditional Theravadin commentaries, where the meaning of each sutta is “discussed” (aṭṭhakathā).

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Thanks for your thoughtful and thought-provoking post, Viveka. Broadly I agree with your ‘dhamma perspective’. I just don’t find it always maps well onto how things go in real life. There is one point that I would like to add to.

This sounds very unequivocal but of course, the people who do not want to take a vaccine have a variety of reasons for this. It is not quite as simple for them. Here in the Netherlands, it has a lot to do with socio-economic and educational status. Broadly speaking, people with migrant backgrounds, lower earners and lower educated people (practically educated people, to remove the inherent judgment already present!) are less likely to take the vaccine. Is it because these groups care less about their own and others’ wellbeing?

I and many others doubt it. This has a lot to do with trust (towards institutions/the government), lack of reliable and consistent information and social exclusion. However, with the current framing (vaccine = sensible and caring, no vaccine = the opposite) people are also starting to form views about other people and groups. I am very worried about where this will lead.

This is my dhamma perspective: pressuring people to take a vaccine against their will and judging them if they don’t do it, is bound to lead to resentment and conflict in the long term. That sort of treatment festers in communities until it erupts at a later date, and people will say ‘where did that come from, how unexpected!’ So by imposing our views on others in the surety that we are correct, we are creating future problems in our societies.

That’s why in my country I am campaigning for people’s right NOT to choose the vaccine, without being excluded and vilified for it. That is what I think will cause the least future suffering. I am surprised by how hesitant people and organisations are to join us - even though they agree with us! - because the debate has gotten so toxic.

Now, standing up for minorities’ rights to make choices that we don’t understand or agree with is equated to being selfish and wanting people to die. It often leaves me speechless.

Here’s an article about why some people are very alarmed by the vaccine debate framing.

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Oh yes. It certainly has. Thank you very much. :anjal:

Ah, but the question remains doesn’t it? Where are you getting that information from? Where am I getting that information from? Is it direct experience? Certainly not in my case. I get it from the left leaning, liberal news outlets that I subscribe to and I get it from my governments propaganda operations. It is then reinforced among the groups of friends I belong to (both IRL and online), who are all swimming in similar news feeds (conditions) to the ones that I am. I do happen to have two (IRL) friends who are nurses. One of them has had very little actual exposure to COVID working on a surgical recovery ward, the other one has spent the last few years in front line ITU. They have very different experiences of the pandemic.

I actually think that the anti-vax folk have peoples best interests at heart. They think they are doing the right thing by exposing the ‘lies’ of politicians and big business with regard to the pandemic. They think that these entities are trying to do us harm by exerting dictatorial control over many aspects of our lives and by forcing harmful drugs into us. Who knows? They might turn out to be right. After all, Gallileo was exposing the fabrications of the hierarchy of his day which was built on power and control. The anti-vax folk might suggest that they are just doing the same as he did and presenting the ‘facts’?

My honest opinion is that everyone (putting aside arahants for the moment) is always doing the best that they can with the conditions they have been dealt. And part of that conditioning is thinking that we know what is actually for the harm and what is actually for welfare of ourselves or others.

Before you were suggesting that self and others were protected from this “serious and sometimes lethal illness” by taking the vaccine, but an anti-vax stand suggests the opposite. That the illness might not exist or that it is not serious or lethal, and the vaccines might cause harm.

These seem to me to just be two opposing views and speculations? We (you and me) are relying on ours, and the anti-vax folk are relying on theirs. Both ‘us’ and ‘them’ are using our views and speculations to maximise harmlessness. In a way the anti-vax folk have the more reasonable argument because the one thing we can all actually agree on is that stabbing someone with a needle is painful.

Hope you don’t mind me playing devils advocate here Viveka? :heart: :anjal:

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I did a few Dhamma Talks on this very issue recently: coming out of strong views WRT to Covid, and other hot political topics of the day. I went over several passages of the Atthakavagga (citations and links included)…

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I take inspiration from the Care Bears…
care_bear_stare

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Thank you everybody for your thoughtful contributions :pray: :slight_smile: This is certainly a very challenging topic and there are many perspectives from which to look at it.

Not at all, especially when you do it with such kindness :smiley: :pray:

I absolutely agree with you here. My main purpose was to try to give a framework for how to make decisions for oneself, just some guideposts when everything seems to be floating with no anchor. I certainly don’t judge people for their choices, but try to understand how these choices have been conditioned. There is no good and bad - but cause and effect, beneficial and unbeneficial to ones mind state.

These are very important points :slight_smile: Bhante Subharos post, in the 3rd dhamma talk raises a very interesting point. He shares info from a global corruptions index, which maps perceptions of corruption accross the world. The higher the perceptions of corruption, the less anything said by the ‘authorities etc’ will be believed. I myself have been conditioned by living in Australia - a country that has a comparatively very low perception of corruption (high transparencey and trust). I find it very sad that trust has been eroded to such a huge degree in so many places. It makes everything more complicated.

Thank you Bhante :slight_smile: :pray:

To everyone, please forgive my lack of skillfulness if it has resulted in the feeling that I am condemning anyone for their choices. I don’t do so. I know that people generally act out of a belief they are doing ‘the right thing’ :slight_smile:

Often though it may not be clear and we can’t predict or know what the right thing is. In these circumstances we still have to make choices :slight_smile: By limiting our scope to the here and now it can help clarify things. I may not know what is “the most harmless” in the long term - that’s impossible and outside my control - but I do know what is unkind and unskillful in the here and now.

But I don’t want to lose sight of the deeper practice issues and get caught up in the detailed specific issues of this case. The issue was really just an example or vehicle for looking at how perception works and what a destructive influence it can have, and how the Practice of the Path works to lessen this.

Usually when I talk about this I use neutral examples such as 'how do you feel about ‘rain’? It is easier to look at things when not emotionally involved (like in the example Bhante Suharo gave of hard boiled v/s soft boiled eggs) - so asking how do you feel about covid vaccines is less clear as one gets caught up in the issues…

But still… it is worth just comparing how the mind feels, the degree of agitation when one thinks about these two different things :slight_smile: An emotionally laden issue versus a neutral issue… To witness how the entanglement leads to stress and agitation… It is a great opportunity to look inwards :slight_smile: To notice what leads to agitation and what leads to peace. And all I am really saying is that engagement with some things leads to peace and calm and happiness, and engagement with others leads to agitation, doubt and distress, and to be aware and develop understanding about how this comes to be.

I’d like to conclude by thanking everyone for their forbearance and participation.

May all beings be free from suffering :pray: :dharmawheel: :sunflower: :revolving_hearts:

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Yes, very well said. Although the conversation seems to have come to close, I would like to contribute something that has not been mentioned here - the principle of Herd Immunity that is behind success of past vaccination campaigns even if some people decline to participate. In this case, like with voting, every individual’s choice matters for the collective outcome.

In more detail:

After initial trials of effectiveness, I think it is impossible to know how effective the vaccine will be on large scale, until the threshold is reached. Waiting too long before acting is like in the Buddha’s Simile of the Arrow.

The right choice indeed needs to consider both one’s own and others long-term wellbeing. And while we may take a small risk of physical harm by taking the vaccine, at least we can feel at peace about it, knowing that we were not behaving in a selfish way, but we genuinely cared about those more vulnerable - those immuno-compromised, and children not able to be vaccinated, and about doctors and nurses who already have to deal with more than enough emergencies. even without Covid.

That is why I had the AZ vaccine. I made that choice not through having a perfect knowledge about and trust in vaccines (I knew the vaccination principles, but read little about the Covid, compared with many other people), but through reflection on the global situation and the dangers in the long-term from living in a selfish way, even beyond this life.
:anjal:

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This is a kind approach: Sadhu! Sadhu! Sadhu!

It is like the well-known similie of the acrobats, who looked after each other by looking after themselves first.

Nevertheless, in the spiritual realm there’s such a thing as right view. In this conditioned world which includes the uncertainties that arise around Covid, it seems a good idea to prefer best view to no view. And

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What needs to be done to protect people from the pandemic is a matter of fact.

Many people will not do those things, nor even believe what experts tell them.

Most of those people’s minds can not be changed.

In general you can’t reason someone out of a position that they didn’t arrive at by reason in the first place.

Buddhism intersects with this issue in a very simple way: The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path.

Vipassana practice time. Become aware of your aversions and desires regarding people who will not listen.

Wise reflection practice. Do some self “cognitive therapy” on the thoughts you find yourself telling yourself when people will not listen.

8 Fold practice time. Right speech. Speak only what you know is the truth. Don’t be abusive to foolish people. Regardless of Buddhism, calling people names just makes them less likely to listen.

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Not all views are wrong view though. In the stages of the path up to arahant it is necessary to rely on fabricated right views.

"And what is the right view that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path? The discernment, the faculty of discernment, the strength of discernment, analysis of qualities (investigation) as a factor for awakening, the path factor of right view[1] in one developing the noble path whose mind is noble, whose mind is without effluents, who is fully possessed of the noble path. This is the right view that is noble, without effluents, transcendent, a factor of the path.

“One makes an effort for the abandoning of wrong view & for entering into right view: This is one’s right effort. One is mindful to abandon wrong view & to enter & remain in right view: This is one’s right mindfulness.[2] Thus these three qualities — right view, right effort, & right mindfulness — run & circle around right view.”—MN 117

Views give rise to perceptions and thoughts, changing views changes perception:

“Perceiving constancy in the inconstant,
pleasure in the stressful,
self in what’s not-self,
attractiveness in the unattractive,
beings, destroyed by wrong-view,
go mad, out of their minds.”—AN 4.49

“Assisted by five factors, right view has awareness-release as its fruit & reward, and discernment-release as its fruit & reward. There is the case where right view is assisted by virtue, assisted by learning, assisted by discussion, assisted by tranquility, assisted by insight. Assisted by these five factors, right view has awareness-release as its fruit & reward, and discernment-release as its fruit & reward.”—MN 43

“Assisted by insight” results from employing wise attention as described in MN 19:

“As I noticed that it leads to my own affliction, it subsided. As I noticed that it leads to the affliction of others… to the affliction of both… it obstructs discernment, promotes vexation, & does not lead to Unbinding, it subsided. Whenever thinking imbued with sensuality had arisen, I simply abandoned it, dispelled it, wiped it out of existence.”

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This is a relatively recent article on the topic, which shows that—in the U.S. anyway—the situation is much more nuanced and human than polemics make it out to be:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/15/opinion/covid-vaccines-unvaccinated.html

The research and data we do have show that significant portions of the unvaccinated public were confused and concerned, rather than absolutely opposed to vaccines.

The “opposing sides” narrative is very seductive, but I wonder if in the end, it’s more down-to-earth than that. In some ways that makes it even more important to come closer towards and understanding; lives are on the line after all.

A version of the article that’s not behind a paywall.

Tufekci: The unvaccinated may not be who you think | Chattanooga Times Free Press

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This is an important topic today, we are and have lived through pretty tense and divisive situations that thank Buddha didn’t erupt into civil wars: Trump, Brexit, in my case the Catalan independence movement… now Covid. I don’t know if it’s true or a cliché that we’re more polarised than ever, I’m sure there are social studies about it. But I find the traditional guidance for right speech sometimes insufficient and poor. (MN58 comes to mind as a useful resource, tho)

There’s other resources, some science and workshops on communicating across differences. One is non-violent communication (NVC). Another is the trainings offered by OpenMind, which I’ve been wanting to undertake for some time:

And just the other day I saw this on twitter:

image
image960×960 108 KB

It’s useful to gather these resources and try them out as part of our practice, individually or as sanghas.

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Skillful resolves based on views and perceptions constitute the central stage of the practice:

“And what sort of practice is the practice leading to the cessation of skillful
resolves? There is the case where a monk generates desire… for the sake
of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen… for
the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen…
for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen…
(and) for the… development & culmination of skillful qualities that have
arisen. This sort of practice is the practice leading to the cessation of skillful
resolves.” — MN 78

The progressive development of views is a robust process:

“When he [the meditator] is rid of [the gross impurities of misconduct in
body, speech, and mind], there remain in him the moderate impurities:
thoughts of sensuality, ill will, & harmfulness. These he abandons,
destroys, dispels, wipes out of existence. When he is rid of them, there
remain in him the fine impurities: thoughts of his caste, thoughts of his
home district, thoughts related to not wanting to be despised. These he
abandons, destroys, dispels, wipes out of existence.

“When he is rid of them, there remain only thoughts of the Dhamma. His
concentration is neither peaceful nor exquisite, has not yet attained calm
or unification, and is kept in place by the fabrication of forceful restraint.
But there comes a time when his mind grows steady inwardly, settles
down, grows unified & concentrated. His concentration is peaceful &
exquisite, has attained calm & unification, and is no longer kept in place by
the fabrication of forceful restraint.” — AN 3:100 i-x

“How to change”—Thanissaro:

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The reality may be more complex and nuanced than this. I get some of my covid information from Robert Malone, whose contribution has been essential to the invention of mRNA vaccines. He says (iirc) that vaccinating everyone, especially against their will, makes no sense because when we vaccinate everyone, we create vaccine-resistant variants that then attack the vulnerable. He says that only the people at risk should be vaccinated, which would help prevent the rise of vaccine-resistant variants and in fine better protect the vulnerable.

I think we should let everyone think what they want and instead discuss facts rather than opinions or views, so that the discussion makes everyone more knowledgeable without engaging in pointless debates (not at all saying this is what’s happening on this thread, but as mentioned in the OP, it tends to happen a lot elsewhere).

What is happening in Australia indicates these mandates are more about population control than the well-being of humans. If authorities were truly concerned with the well-being of humans, they would address extreme poverty, such as the 800 million people around the world who don’t have enough to feed themselves.

My friends in India, South Africa, Philippines are subject to very rough economic conditions emerging from all the covid-related restrictions, and that often takes a significant toll on their psychological well-being, one of them having suicidal tendencies because of the complete hopelessness of her situation (very difficult to find a decent job without accepting to be sexually abused as early as the screening process). One may wonder if the social destruction caused by lockdowns isn’t much worse than the harm created by covid.

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This is a nice piece that helps me approach antivaxxers non-reactively:

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Unable to read, behind a paywall.