Three of the writers of “World’s Pandemic Chronicles”, Sandra Sanada from Bucharest, Romania, Nana Iavorschi Cnejevici, from Istanbul, Turkey, and Asmaa Arafa, a PhD student and assistant researcher at the National Research Center in Cairo, Egypt, met online to speak about the effects of the pandemic, the giving-receiving concept, the tolerance to change and other interesting topics in this fifty minutes meeting during which they also read a snippet of their articles.

You can order and read the English version of “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” from Amazon or buy it from Cărturești bookstores to read „Cronicile Pandemiei Globale”, the Romanian language version.

Six of the writers of “World’s Pandemic Chronicles”, Sandra Sanada, Tenzin Tsundue, Kunal Rajput, Zaid Khan, Monica Loloiu and Acna Samskiescu, had the honor of conversating with Mr. Rahul Shrivastava, the ambassador of India to Romania, Moldova and Albania, about this raging pandemic and the art of writing. Mr. Shrivastava, a writer himself, with many published books, joined the webinar “How India and Romania coped with the pandemic. An Indian and Romanian perspective.” We thank him for that.
“World’s Pandemic Chronicles”, the book that gathers 33 stories from around the world about the global pandemic, is available on Amazon, in both formats, eBook and paperback. Whichever you’d like to have, please check it on Amazon.

Amazon.com: World’s Pandemic Chronicles: 33 Quarantine Stories from around the Globe eBook: Writers, 33 , Sanada, Sandra, Iavorschi Cnejevici, Nana , Samskiescu, Acna , Loloiu, Monica , Pop, Dragos , Tsundue, Tenzin , Carrier, Bruno , Stanciu, Oana , Djoken, Guy : Kindle Store

The first launch of our book, “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” took place in New Zealand, at the beginning of the world. Writer Lucia Davis, from Auckland, organized the event along with her wonderful husband, William Davis. The writer and coordinator of the project, Sandra Sanada and writer George Smarandache, took part virtually at this event.

A project set up at the beginning of the 2020 lockdown, “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” gathers 33 stories from around the world. In this video, I’m introducing Takahiro Hatake from Tokyo, Japan, who participated in this book with a 14-day diary.

“I am a terrorist”, my favorite poem from “Kora” by Tibetan writer Tenzin Tsundue

Are you looking for happiness? Well, you won’t find it in this world because The World of Humans is one of the six hells described in the “Tibetan Book of the Dead”, nicely named The Six Realms of Existence.

We must have done something bad in our previous lifes if we pass through this realm of existence… The good news is that in Buddhism it is believed that we can escape any hell.

The Six Realms of Existence

The six realms are worlds of suffering governed by the Law of Karma and where the cycle of birth, life, and death is fully at work.

Since the consciousness of the dead person now possesses a “radiant body” and is equipped with the power of seeing the future, it can now perceive these realms one by one. The six realms of existence are the Deva realm, the Asura realm (jealous gods), the Human realm, the Animal realm, the Preta realm (hungry ghosts), and the World of Hells.

The Buddhists believe that as long as sentient beings are attached to the world of suffering due to ignorance, hatred, and greed, it is impossible to be free from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Because of this, Avalokitesvara appears in the six realms, in the form of the Six Buddhas described in the Chonyid Bardo, to teach the path of Wisdom and Enlightenment.

The Deva Realm (the realm of the gods)
The Deva or Gods’ realm is a world of enjoyment and pleasure. One can see delightful temples and mansions built of different kinds of precious metals upon entering this realm. Avalokitesvara appears in the Gods’ realm as the Buddha brGya-byin who carries a melodious lute in his hands. He teaches that it is improper for the beings to be proud of their joyful existence in this place because their stay here is based upon good karmic deeds and must at some point come to an end. However, if one is to be born as a Deva, one is permitted to enter this realm.

The Asura Realm (the realm of the jealous Gods)
The Asura realm is a world of fighting or strife. One can see either a charming forest or circles of fire revolving in opposite directions upon entering this realm. In the Asura realm, there is great envy among the Gods over the fruits of the tree of knowledge. Avalokitesvara appears here as the Buddha Thag-bzang-ris in a knight’s armor while carrying a sword to settle the envy-inspired fighting. The Buddha teaches the titans the perfection of moral education, in order to overcome divisive envy. In the death ritual, one is not advised to enter this realm.

The Human Realm
The Human realm is where you are now, unless if you believe you’re in a different World of Existence. According to tradition, Avalokitesvara took the form of Buddha Sakyamuni by incarnating as Gautama Buddha (the historical Buddha). His symbol is the alms bowl and a beggar’s staff.

In our world, Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-fold Path so that we may overcome the three most powerful forces that govern each of our lives: ignorance, greed, and hatred.

The Animal Realm
The Animal realm is a world that lacks reason. For those who are to be born amongst animals, rock caverns, deep holes in the earth mists will be seen. One is not advised to enter this realm. In the world of Animals who live in ignorance and stupidity, Avalokitesvara appears as Buddha Seng-ge rab-brtan who carries the book of wisdom. He teaches the animals to overcome ignorance by striving after the perfection of knowledge.

The Preta Realm (the realm of hungry ghosts)
The Preta realm is a world of avarice and greed inhabited by beings that experience an extreme degree of hunger and thirst. They are called Pretas or hungry ghosts. One who is destined to be born as a Preta will see desolate treeless plains, shallow caverns, jungle glades, and forest wastes. Avalokitesvara appears in the Preta realm as the Buddha Kha-‘bar-ma who teaches the perfection of generosity. The dead person is instructed to exert the greatest amount of energy to avoid entering this realm.

The World of Hells

The World of Hells is the realm of extreme suffering and the place of retribution for the vices of anger and hatred. One who is to fall into the World of Hells may hear wailings of tormented people, black houses, and lands of gloom. It is also here where one suffers the intolerable pains of heat and cold. Avalokitesvara appears in the World of Hells as the Buddha Dharma-Raja (described earlier) and carries water and fire to alleviate the sufferings of the beings tormented by heat and cold. In order that the denizens of hell may overcome the opposites of passionate hatred, the Dharma-Raja teaches them the perfection of equanimity. The dead person is also instructed to exert the greatest amount of energy to avoid entering this realm.

However, you must know that at the moment of our death we experience a state of extreme happiness. In order to be able to take advantages of that unique moment and be capable to avoid the entering in one of the six hells, we have to train our happiness in advance, otherwise, we won’t be able to cope with that state of mind and we’ll run to reincarnate again and again… For whatever reason you want to train your happiness, either to enjoy it while you live or to be well prepared for a favorable incarnation or liberation from the circles of life and death, you’d better start now.

When the global lockdown began, we started a project. Today, we have a book. Writers from different corners of the world joined this idea and together we made our quarantine time useful. You will read 33 impressive quarantine stories written by isolated humans. You will see that our hopes, fears, activities are similar whether you live in the United States, France, UK, India, New Zealand, Egypt, Japan, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, or Romania. The English Version of ‘World’s Pandemic Chronicles’ is available on Amazon, in both formats, eBook and Paperback.

We, the team, hope that you will like it.

The Year of 2020. For the first time in history, we live together a Global Pandemic. The outbreak of the Coronavirus locked us all in our houses for months. We chose to write. Nana Iavorsky Cnejevici, Istanbul, Turkey, Olga Bălan, Rome, Italy, Andra Ticărău, Bucharest, Romania, Dragoș Pop, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Michelle Macias, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, Ramona Dumitrean, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Alina Orășanu, Boston, USA, Santiago Chirino, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico, Acna Samskiescu, London, UK, Dan Mecu, Brăila, Romania, Mihaela Maier, Scarborough, UK, Kunal Rajput, New Delhi, India, Bianca Opriș, Brussels, Belgium, Mihaela Gaicu, Bucharest, Romania, George Smarandache, Slatina, Romania, Sandie Michaels, Bucharest, Romania, Claudiu Neacșu, Tecuci, Romania, Sabina Hesse, Los Angeles, USA, Michael Angus, New York, USA, Mihaela Stoica, Siena, Italy, Serban Hesse, Nurnberg, Germany, Lucia Lobonț, Bucharest, Romania, Max Petropoulos, Athens, Greece, Livia Negulescu, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Zaid Khan, Agra India, Lucia Davis, Auckland, New Zealand, Cornel Nemeș, Reno, Nevada, USA, Tenzin Tsundue, Dharamshala, India, Sandra Sanada, Bucharest, Romania, Takahiro Hatake, Tokyo, Japan, Asmaa Arafa, Cairo, Egypt, Mihai Ivanof, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monica Loloiu, Bucharest, Romania, Bruno Carrier, Paris, France

We are all into this! 33 Isolated Humans from around the Globe, 33 Authentic Quarantine Stories. Don’t miss the “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” The diary of each of us!

The eBook version of the “World’s Pandemic Chronicles” is available in Pre-Sale on Amazon. Buy it now and you’ll receive it on September 10

 

We have emotions as we have limbs. The emotions are just a few more than our limbs which are only four. We need to use them all in order to keep them functional. Sometimes we walk and use our legs keeping them fit. Other times we cook, exercising our hands’ abilities. Our emotions need workout and building exercises, too. There was a time when I needed to practice jealousy and times when I had to feel hatred so that these emotions remained functional for my enjoyment or simply to be able to recognize them when I saw them in others. Luckily, I never said no to any of them and eventually, I arrived in a beautiful moment when I needed to practice love.

Love is that force of the Universe we don’t fully understand yet said a character in my favorite film, “Interstellar”. It is a force that certainly challenges and transforms us.

When love visits me, I feel sick. Everything becomes confused and my body starts shaking, I have headaches, muscular pain, fever, and I cannot sleep well. The days pass extremely slowly, I don’t eat, yet I’m full of energy. I consider this feeling resembling a virus. If we think about, love acts very similarly to common flu. I always live love in extreme and for weeks I can hardly control my body or my mind. After a while, I regain my balance and I feel completely reset.

Love charges me and when I feel it, I start to believe in God, in spirits and entities, in the possibility of the fact that maybe we are driven, invested, directed. Love is absolutely magic and every time I feel it it’s like the first time. I can swear it’s for the first time I’m truly in love and I honestly think it’s for the last time. I’m so happy and I believe that all I’ve done in life was to prepare me for the love I currently live. Every time it’s unique, the most special and the reason I was born for and apparently things finally make sense. In these moments, I found myself restless, with a huge desire of getting to the result, willing to jump over proper training. The first encounter with the person I love is so strong that I feel like dying and repeatedly, I have the same thoughts. How could aliens or angels contact us when it is so difficult for us to get used to the presence of another human being? We’d die!

My love found a frame, a circumstance, and of course, a screen on which to be projected. But who is this person and what story does he carry so that I chose him and invested him to be the bearer of my love? The answer is less important and his story does nothing else than to reflect my projection. I simply love him and I need to manifest this love as others feel the need to manifest compassion, hatred, or jealousy. So, I hooked my love on him but as well, I could have hooked it to a nail inserted into the wall. My main emotion has always been love, which can be a burden as any other feeling and the person that is projected on must carry it as well.

It’s all about projections and as some people cripple others in order to have the right material to practice compassion, I enhance his being, imagine him more handsome, more intelligent, funnier than he is in order to have a screen for my huge love. In my eyes, he becomes the most perfect being on Earth. It is the way I see everything, otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to bear the reality or I should be on drugs in order to live. So, love is a drug that improves the reality. I may say that every feeling could be considered a painkiller or a drug, a way to cope with reality. I want the reality to be ideal, beautiful, joyful. I want the future to be bright, I want to see the good things, to find the possibilities and avoid the evil, the problems, the negative outcomes. All in all, I want to avoid death. The death of hope, the death of his beauty. I enhance it every day so his beauty will be even stronger tomorrow, his eyes will shine twice as much and his smile will be an endless joy for me, the one who practices love.

This short meditation on love has a lot to do with my novel, “The Training of Joy”. The characters are prone to the extreme and when they experiment with emotions, they usually do it in extreme and have a reason for it.

“We call upon all forms of human emotions: fear, wrath, anger, compassion, hatred, or, like you said, love, and extreme desire. It’s our trait because we live at high altitudes… Anyway, you’ve talked a lot about emotions. Enabling emotions in the extreme is a way of accelerating the initiatory act. The intensity of emotions releases energies which lead to the unification of psychic impulses, and in this way, consciousness goes beyond conceptual dualism.” – says one of the main characters in the novel.

I planned to move to Paris in March 2020. Coronavirus, this nicely named virus, thwarted my plans, at least it delayed them for a while.
I had to spend my lockdown time in Bucharest, longing to see my Parisian lover. Being forced to wait, I did what I usually do; I wrote and documented the experience.
This diary is about our online love, happening while the world fights the virus. You’ll find a few interesting culinary recipes, some thoughts about the ongoing situation, a story that happened in Egypt a few years ago, and a wise Arab telling me about the eagles.
The quarantine is not yet over, but it was a useful time to reorganize our thoughts and habits. I hope this lockdown was useful for you too.