An Anti-Vaxxer and Fauci Fangirl Discusses Vaccines: Using Buddhist Principles 1, 2, and 3

During this episode, Nicole Lentfer and I (Linda O'Neal) revisit Thich Nhat Hanh's Book, Being Present. In the last chapter, he writes 14 Buddhist Principles for Westerners to simplify Buddhism for the modern masses who are new to Buddhism. In our last episode, we tackled Buddhist Principle 1: Be aware of fanatical teachings.

During that episode, I discovered she was an Anti-Vaxxer, which in my opinion, is pretty fanatical. Her view was that public policies surrounding the Covid-Vaccines and other vaccines were too fanatical. I'm not going to lie; I was shook when I learned that she didn't believe in the science behind vaccines. I understood the public's apprehension about the Covid vaccine, but I believe that the vaccine worked. Myself, I've had a Covid shot plus several boosters.

In this episode, we attempt to discuss our viewpoint about vaccines using Buddhist Principle number 2 and 3. Buddhist Principle 2: Be aware of how attached you are to your views. Becoming non-attached to your present views allows you to be open to other people’s insights and experiences.

In short, keep an open mind. Even the most progressive mind can be narrow-minded. Buddhist Principle 3: Do not force your views on others, not even your children. Respect the right of others to be different. Allow people to believe what they want to believe. However, try to help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness through compassionate dialogue.

Compassionate dialogue uses language that brings people together. Our goal was to sway the other person to our perspective without forcing our views on each other. Let us know how we did and how you navigate hard conversations that are politically divisive without offending the other person.

Interested in working with me, Linda O'Neal? I am a trained NLP Practitioner and Mindfulness coach. Call for an appointment: 512-680-7000 Interested in making an appointment with Nicole Lentfer, L.Ac. Acupuncturist? Call for an appointment: (512) 892-3366