GRATITUDE
It’s common when Thanksgiving comes around to think about what we are grateful for. Of course, there are many, many things to be grateful for. Like your next in-breath.
As Dharma practitioners, it can be helpful to reflect on just what good fortune it is to have come into contact with the Buddha’s teachings on Mindfulness, Concentration, Wisdom, and Compassion. You know your mind. Imagine what your life might be like right now if you didn’t have these practices to guide you through this world. Yes, it’s not pretty.
Here’s a glimpse of how fortunate we are in this way:
To be born as a human being requires very good Karma and is considered, in terms of awakening, the most precious realm to be born in. The human realm has a balance of pleasure and pain such that we don’t get overwhelmed with suffering, but also don’t get lost in having such abundant pleasure that we don’t consider practicing.
To be born as a human and during a Buddha’s dispensation (Sasana) is considered extremely fortunate. It is said the current Sasna will last 5,000 years after the Buddha’s Parinibbana (death), so we’re about half way through. After which time the teachings will be lost. It will be up to the next Buddha to rediscover them, which may be a long, long way off.
To be born as a human during the Buddha-Sasana, and to come into contact with the teachings (read a book, take a class, have a friend tell one about it, etc.) is even more fortunate.
To be born as a human during the Buddha-Sasana, come into contact with the teachings, and take to them, is considered even more fortunate.
To be born as a human during the Buddha-Sasana, come into contact with the teachings, take to them, and continue to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path throughout one’s life, is the most fortunate.
So, you’re doing pretty good! Reflect on this. Consider how fortunate you are. That’s the practice – to reflect on what we have to be grateful for. It really doesn’t get much better than this.
May our good fortune be for the benefit of all living beings.