Giving Thanks
I am told this is the week of Thanksgiving in the US, a holiday where family and friends gather to give thanks for the blessings they have received over the past year. Of course, we all know that giving thanks is not limited to one day a year. Rather, we should give thanks on a daily basis, and so for this month's teaching, I thought we could examine why -- as Buddhist practitioners -- we offer thanks, to whom we offer it and how.
Buddhists begin each day by reciting the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind to the Dharma. The first of these thoughts concerns our precious human body. Certainly this is something we should be most grateful for and give thanks for every day.
In our daily prayers, we take Refuge in the Lama, the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. Think how grateful we are for our Refuge!
Everyday we should give a most sincere thanks to all our teachers for their benevolence, their help and their guidance. Let us give thanks to our teachers who so kindly take rebirth time and time again until all beings are free from samsara. Likewise, it is important to be thankful to our teachers for the time they give us. We should be grateful for their generosity with us and acknowledge the time they take away from their own practice to teach us.
We are grateful for the Dharma, our guide in life and the path to freedom from samsara. For the Dharma, let us give thanks.
The Sangha is our support which we all need. We should be thankful to our sangha because in many ways, they help us carry on in our practice. For, who among us can reach Enlightenment alone?
Let us be thankful to our parents -- all our parents since the beginning of time. Again, be thankful to them everyday -- not just on Mother's or Father's day. Not just now when they are living, but always and in every life!
We all face obstacles -- so often so many can be thrown in our direction. We can be engulfed with troubles and confusion, poisoned by hatred, attachments and ignorance, jealousy and pride. On a daily basis, we're confronted by other humans with all their problems and we must interact with them, whether we like it or them. We have to deal with arrogant bosses and screaming children and barking dogs and the headaches of driving to work in terrible traffic. Take each obstacle and turn it into an opportunity -- and yes, be grateful that you have such an opportunity to practice! We can be thankful for each obstacle is we look upon it as a lesson in Dharma.
In short, we should be thankful all the time.
And finally, on a practical note, we should give thanks at each and every meal. Perhaps you already know an offering prayer and I encourage you to say it. But if not, I offer you a simple Buddhist prayer for giving thanks before each meal:
To the Incomparable Teacher, the Precious Buddha,
To the Incomparable Activity of the precious, excellent Dharma,
To the Incomparable Guide, the Precious Sangha,
To the Refuges, the Three Jewels, I make offerings.
Rinpoche and I wish you all the best and to those of you celebrating, have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving.
Students of the Venerable Khetsun Sangpo Rinpoche and Tulku Jigme Rinpoche are invited to ask questions at
dudjom_institute@yahoo.com.
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