GRATITUDE

Ozmo Piedmont, PhD

It is one of the five laws of the universe that The will to Enlightenment, the intuitive knowledge of the Buddha Nature, occurs to all people. This means that everyone will eventually reach a point in their development when they begin to intuit that what they have been searching for throughout this and other lives is to be united with the Infinite. The appearance of this most sacred of all aspirations is the product of experiencing the dissatisfaction of living ones life based on craving, aversion, and delusion. When one finally realizes that true joy springs from actively seeking the Divine, investigating its Truth in our lives, and practicing spiritually to deepen this connection, what begins to arise is a profound sense of gratitude. In fact, the sense of gratitude is one of the signs of a Bodhisattva, one who puts the salvation of others before ones own salvation. In the scripture Awakening to the Mind of the Bodhisattva it states: When one awakens to True Wisdom it means that one is willing to save all living things before one has actually saved oneselfAlthough our own merit for Buddhahood may be full ripe, it is our bounden duty to use all this merit for the purpose of enlightening every living thing.1 To save all beings means to help everyone awaken to his and her true nature within, the Buddha Nature, and to help each one find the path that leads to the freedom from suffering. We are all Buddhas, yet the direct experience of this has been clouded by our own delusion, craving, and frustration. Through our spiritual practice we accumulate good karma, or merit, which becomes a powerful force for transformation in the lives of others around us. For the layperson, our most effective way of teaching others is through example. As we put the teachings into practice by following the Eightfold Path and apply the Precepts, others begin to perceive there is a new and different way to be in the world, a way based on compassion, charity, tenderness, benevolence and sympathy, which are other characteristics themselves of a Bodhisattva. It basically boils down to putting three principles in place: ceasing from evil, doing only good, and doing good for others. The simplicity and perfection of these basic principles leads to a profound joy that completely transforms our lives and which is quite apparent to those around us. Then they too begin to follow our example, and begin to awaken to this same aspiration to return to the Infinite. In so doing, they discover a depth of joy in living that naturally results in gratitude. In the scripture Putting the Teaching into Practice and Showing Gratitude it states: The Buddha Nature should be thus simply awakened in all living things within this worldwe should think deeply upon this: how fortunate have we been to be born now when it is possible to see the TruthWhat alternative have we but to be utterly grateful for the great compassion exhibited in this highest of all teachings which is the very eye and treasury of the Truth?2 We can be grateful that there is a way to free ourselves from suffering, that there are Buddhas in all times and all places to show us this path of Awakening, that we have gained sufficient merit through countless lives that we are provided the opportunity to even hear the Dharma that we can
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be free and truly happy, that we are already one with the Infinite, and that we only need to open our hearts to this fact in order to begin to experience it directly. We begin to value this life here and now for what it has brought us, and we see it as an opportunity to further practice in the application of the Precepts in the freeing of all beings from suffering. This same scripture goes on to state: The life of this one day, today, is absolutely vital life: your body is deeply significant. Both your life and your body deserve love and respect for it is by their agency that Truth is practiced and the Buddhas power exhibitedThis Buddha Nature is itself the Buddha and, should you awaken to a complete understanding thereof, your gratitude to the Buddhas will know no bounds.3 We come to understand the wonder and perfection of this body and mind which serve to reflect our attachments and ignorance, showing us though suffering that there is another path. Then we begin to appreciate that we have all the tools right here to overcome this suffering, and all that has gone before has served to bring us to this realization in time and space of That which is beyond time and space, our true Self, which is Buddha Nature. Now we can truly let go of our resentments and pain realizing it has all served to bring us to the Truth of who we truly are. In fact, true forgiveness of those that have hurt us in the past is an aspect of this very gratitude, since they have all given us the opportunity to grow spiritually, and to find what it means to love, to be compassionate, and to help others. We are no different then they. We have hurt others while seeking happiness. We are all doing the best we can, based on the knowledge we have at that moment. Therefore, all serves to further, all is for best, that being our realization of Truth. And we can bow down to them and That which has brought us to this moment of Eternity, and say Thank you! You have taught me well. I am free to choose my life in how it will be lived. I have awakened. And in appreciation, I will work for your salvation, too, that you too may know this joy. And that is when the Bodhisattva in us begins to move, and play, in this world of appearances. This very playground is Nirvana.

Jiyu-Kennett, Rev. Master. Roar of the Tigress, Shasta Abbey Press: Mt. Shasta, California. Vol. 1. Ch. 4., pp. 151-152. 2 Ibid. pp. 181-182 3 Ibid. pp. 185-186.