Gratitude can be used as a practice to shift our attention from self-centered problems and complaints to an awareness of the miracle of simply being alive. It can help us be less reactive, depressed, anxious, and irritable, and more mindful and – frankly – happy. I explore the practice of gratitude and traditional Buddhist teachings about it.
Quicklinks to Article Content:
My Recent Gratitude Practice
Exploring What Buddhism Has to Say on a Subject
Traditional Buddhist Teachings on Gratitude
Some Mahayana Mentions of Gratitude
Gratitude in Pure Land Buddhism
The Unified Practice of Self-Power and Other-Power
Actual Practices of Gratitude
When Gratitude is Blocked
Why Might Buddhism Have Neglected this Amazing Practice?
By “Dharma Gate”, I mean a teaching or practice we can take up, explore, study; that can lead to spiritual growth, insight, liberation, transformation, some kind of positive outcome in terms of practice. A way to approach the truth. Thus, Dharma Gate.
My Recent Gratitude Practice
Over years of practice, I’ve had moments of gratitude, particularly when I had (maybe in a meditation retreat or at a particular moment) some vision of how everything is precious, just as it is. All the usual challenges and problems of life, even the extreme problems and issues of our world, do not detract in any way from this preciousness. When I have that experience, when I see things that way, there’s always a certain sorrow about getting caught up once again in all the compulsions and stresses of daily life.
When I ask myself, what do I really want? I might put it in terms of progress and practice or an insight or something like that. Ultimately, what I really want is to be appreciative of the miracle of this life as much as possible, ideally every moment (not that I’m expecting that). I wish I could live as if my life were going to end tomorrow, and be grateful for each thing. If my life were going to end tomorrow and I was driving along and I ran into a red light, I would probably think, “Wow, I’m alive at a red light. Isn’t it remarkable how when we see this color of light, we all stop? Isn’t it awesome that I’m alive right now to wait?” I don’t think we need to be grateful to anyone, although certainly in certain circumstances we might be. We could be grateful if we’re outside and then the rain stops. We can be grateful just for that situation.
Lately I’ve been experimenting with gratitude as a noncoercive practice to increase my willingness to sit wholeheartedly in Zazen, to be mindful as I go about my daily life, and to be less reactive, irritable, and impatient. If I’m grateful just to be there, just to be alive, just to be hearing, just to be moving, just to be walking, I’m going to pay more attention. I’m going to have a grounding in gratitude if something arises that might ordinarily irritate me. I’ve found it to be quite a positive practice shift for me, particularly around mindfulness.
So often I am fixated on getting something done – and not just finishing the task I’m currently absorbed in, but all the other tasks that are waiting to be dealt with! I’m always conscious of those things. I’m a problem solver. When I look around, I see problems everywhere and I enjoy solving them. It makes me very absorbed in activity and getting on to the next thing. Mindfulness – slowing down and paying attention to my physical sensations or paying attention to washing dishes if that’s what I’m doing, or driving if that’s what I’m doing – can seem unnatural or awkward. I’ve got all this other stuff to do and think about! It’s a struggle to be mindful sometimes. However, if I’m focusing on gratitude, mindfulness becomes less of a discipline that has to be applied and more of a sincere interest in paying attention to, and appreciating, what’s going on.
Exploring What Buddhism Has to Say on a Subject
When I start exploring a practice like this, my first step is to explore the Buddhist teachings on it. Before I explain why, let me briefly define what I mean by a “practice:” I think of it as something we consciously do in order to have a positive outcome, like decreasing suffering for self and others, and increasing happiness, ease, compassion, and wisdom. Practice is something we consciously choose to do in order to walk the path.
Why do I like to explore what Buddhism has to say about a new practice I’m engaging? It isn’t because I need Buddhism to say something about it, or that I need it to be “Buddhist” in order to practice it, or that I need some kind of official Buddhist “okay” to practice it. We can judge for ourselves whether a teaching or practice is legitimate. As an example, I’m fond of quoting the Kalama Sutta from the Pali canon, where the Buddha instructs the Kalama clan about how to discern between spiritual teachers and teachings. They had lots of folks coming through saying, “I’ve got the teachings you should follow.” The Kalamas asked, “How to know which ones to believe? Which ones should we follow?” The Buddha tells the Kalamas to observe whether a teaching or practice increases or decreases the three poisons: Greed, hate or aversion, or delusion. It’s quite simple. He says:
“Don’t go by reports, by legends, by traditions, by scripture, by logical conjecture, by inference, by analogies, by agreement through pondering views, by probability, or by the thought, “This contemplative is our teacher.” When you know for yourselves that, “These qualities are skillful; these qualities are blameless; these qualities are praised by the wise; these qualities, when adopted & carried out, lead to welfare & to happiness” — then you should enter & remain in them.”[1]
I don’t need gratitude as a Dharma Gate to be a formal or official part of traditional Buddhist teachings in order to embrace it. However, we have an incredibly rich tradition. What have our Dharma ancestors said about this? If they don’t emphasize gratitude explicitly, how else does it appear? I’ve always found this inquiry very enlightening.
In addition, I seek out the Buddhist teachings because it’s important to do so if I’m trying to teach something to the sangha, if I’m trying to share something in common with fellow practitioners. It’s most helpful to use the existing Buddhist teachings to express what it is that I’m experiencing, or practicing, or inquiring about. There’s a traditional teaching that there are different kinds of enlightened practitioners. There’s the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas that we’re familiar with. Then there’s a Pratyekabuddha. This is a being who is awakened in many of the same senses that a Buddha is, but they’ve done it their own. They’ve done it in their own unique way, and therefore what they have to teach is not necessarily very applicable to other people.
Let’s say I create an eclectic personal path, borrowing from all kinds of different sources and experiences. I sample other religions. I take courses in yoga and I incorporate that. I also spend a lot of time backpacking and learn from that. I may end up being a very wise and beneficial person, but somebody else can’t really walk the same path that I did unless they try to copy all those different things that I did. If we want to be able to help others, ideally, I think, we ground our practice in the tradition so we can communicate about it and share a tried and true path with others. This is especially true of somebody who’s supposedly a Zen teacher. Sticking to tried and true traditional methods that have worked out for people over many thousands of years.
Traditional Buddhist Teachings on Gratitude
All of that said, I find a strange dearth of teachings on gratitude as a virtue or a practice in traditional Buddhism. Plenty of modern teachers recommend gratitude practice like I’m doing today and talk about it, but there’s very little explicit about it in the tradition. If gratitude is mentioned, it’s a nice thing or result, versus a Dharma gate or practice in and of itself. I’m going to walk you through my process of exploring the Buddhist teachings around gratitude.
The Pali canon is always the first place I go. It’s the furthest back in time. I go to the Access to Insight website, where they have a search feature. In this case I typed in “gratitude.” Two suttas (traditional canonical texts) popped up. This is compared to dozens of texts that mention other virtues, such as the paramitas of generosity, ethical behavior, diligence, forbearance, meditation, and wisdom. There’s not a whole lot for gratitude. Here’s what here’s what I found:
Kataññu Suttas: Gratitude
The Blessed One said, “Now what is the level of a person of no integrity? A person of no integrity is ungrateful & unthankful. This ingratitude, this lack of thankfulness, is advocated by rude people. It is entirely on the level of people of no integrity. A person of integrity is grateful & thankful. This gratitude, this thankfulness, is advocated by civil people. It is entirely on the level of people of integrity.”[2]
Interesting that a connection is made between “integrity” and gratitude. I wish I knew the Pali term that has been translated here as integrity! Integrity is mentioned elsewhere (in another sutta):
“This person of integrity — thus endowed with qualities of integrity; a person of integrity in his friendship, in the way he wills, the way he gives advice, the way he speaks, the way he acts, the views he holds, & the way he gives a gift.”[3]
These verses present interesting lists of ways a person of integrity manifests that integrity. I conclude from this list that someone of integrity is someone whose actions accord with her aspirations to walk the Buddhist path. Therefore, if your actions accord with your aspirations to walk the path, you are grateful and thankful.
There’s a second Pali Sutta that mentions gratitude, the Maha-mangala Sutta (or Blessings). This is a very sweet Sutta, I recommend that you check it out. A Deva (a heavenly being) asks the Buddha what are the highest blessings or – in an alternative translation – protections? Buddha answers with a list of blessings, both worldly and practical, human and aspirational. Here are a few:
“Not to associate with the foolish, but to associate with the wise, and to honor those worthy of honor — this is the highest blessing…
“To reside in a suitable locality, to have performed meritorious actions in the past, and to set oneself in the right direction…
“Vast learning, skill in handicrafts, well grounded in discipline, and pleasant speech…
“To support one’s father and mother; to cherish one’s wife and children, and to be engaged in peaceful occupations..
“Reverence, humility, contentment, gratitude, and the timely hearing of the Dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha — this is the highest blessing…”[4]
Gratitude is a blessing and a sign of practice, but this is the extent of it. It’s not presented as a practice. Elsewhere, generosity is presented as a practice. It’s a paramita. Maybe you could say practicing gratitude can help you practice generosity, but, at least as far as I can tell, in the Pali Canon gratitude itself is not presented as a virtue or practice in and of itself.
Some Mahayana Mentions of Gratitude
Moving forward through time toward my branch of Buddhism, I did a search in my Kindle version of the Lotus Sutra for gratitude, and I got one result. That result, as would be the case in many, many Buddhist texts, was about gratitude for having encountered the Dharma and the Lotus Sutra. It’s about gratitude for the Lotus Sutra itself. Then I searched in my online version of the Shobogenzo, or Dogen’s major collection of essays, for gratitude and didn’t get too many hits there either.
In his essay “Gyoji” (continuous practice), Dogen talks about gratitude for encountering the Dharma and being able to practice it. Specifically, he talks about the gratitude we should feel for Huike, the student of Bodhidharma. According to Buddhist mythology, Bodhidharma came from India and was practicing in China, but he was just meditating. He wasn’t teaching anybody. Huike really wanted to study with him and kept insisting, waiting outside Bodhidharma’s cave. Even when it snowed, he didn’t leave but stood there in the snow. Bodhidharma still wouldn’t teach him and remained in meditation. Finally, Huike cut off his arm to demonstrate his determination and Bodhidharma said, “Okay, well, looks like you’re serious and I’ll have to teach you.”
You don’t have to believe this story is literally true, but it illustrates Huike’s determination. Dogen then says about the kind of gratitude we should feel:
“Most ways of expressing gratitude may miss the mark. Giving up the life of your body is not enough. A castle is not solid enough, as it can be taken by others or given away to a family. The life of the body can be given to impermanence, a lord, or a crooked way. Therefore, none of these are suitable offerings. Continuous practice, day after day, is the most appropriate way of expressing gratitude. This means that you practice continuously, without wasting a single day of your life, without using it for your own sake. Why is it so? Your life is a fortunate outcome of continuous practice from the past. You should express your gratitude immediately.”[5]
Unfortunately, from the point of view of someone interested in practicing gratitude in a Buddhist context, there’s not a whole lot more than that in the Shobogenzo explicitly mentioning gratitude. At least not that I could find with a search. Still, Dogen’s words resonate with my experience of practicing gratitude recently, especially when he says, “gratitude means not wasting a single day of your life.” This also gives me more aspects of this practice to explore. I think this is one of the primary reasons that I end up investigating the tradition.
What does it mean to live your life without using it for your own sake? That’s a question we could ask ourselves as we go about our day, “Am I doing this for my own sake?” This is usually what we’re doing. We’re using our life to work hard toward a goal, or look after our own well-being, or seeking comfort and pleasure and entertainment with a self-centered orientation. I like the idea of questioning that mode of operation and exploring what it might mean to go about our work, about our activities, not for our own sake. We’ll find this mode of operating is preferable not just because it’s the right thing to do or morally superior or something like that, but that it’s actually rewarding. It can actually be liberating.
In another aspect of this passage from Gyoji, I see my life as a fortunate outcome of countless causes and conditions. In what sense is it, as Dogen says, an outcome of continuous practice from the past? What is “continuous practice?” Surely it isn’t something as limited as the strivings of human beings to understand Buddhism and meditate. It’s difficult to see my life as the result of a bunch of Buddhist meditation and studying in the past. That seems way too limited. Of course, that isn’t what Dogan means, not that it necessarily excludes that. From the beginning of his chapter on continuous practice, Dogan says:
“ON THE GREAT road of buddha ancestors there is always unsurpassable practice, continuous and sustained. It forms the circle of the way and is never cut off. Between aspiration, practice, enlightenment, and nirvana, there is not a moment’s gap; continuous practice is the circle of the way. This being so, continuous practice is undivided, not forced by you or others. The power of this continuous practice confirms you as well as others. It means your practice affects the entire earth and the entire sky in the ten directions. Although not noticed by others or by yourself, it is so…
“Because of this practice, there are the sun, the moon, and stars. Because of this practice, there are the great earth and the open sky. Because of this practice, there are body, mind, and their environs. Because of this practice, there are the four great elements and the five skandhas. Continuous practice is not necessarily something people in the world love, but it should be the true place of return for everyone.”[6]
As far out as Dogen’s words can seem, over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that he often phrases it best, and nothing should be added or explained, even if afterwards you can’t quite grasp concepts with your mind. You’re not really meant to.
Still… if I had to put this “continuous practice” into my own words: Ordinarily we think of practice as a limited, deliberate thing done by human beings in order to achieve something. What does the sun and the moon and the great sky have to do with continuous practice? While you may find it preposterous to attribute sentience or purpose to the unfolding of the great universe, it has resulted in everything from clouds of star dust light years high to countless microscopic creatures going about their private lives, the tradition of Buddhist practice and the phenomenon of music. Ultimately, the boundary between sentience and insentience is not so clear. Does a forest have sentience? What drove the molecules in the undifferentiated sea to form cells, and the cells to form living creatures? When we set aside our expectations and complaints, we can perceive the miraculous manifestation of liveliness and order of which we are a small part, and gratitude naturally arises.
Gratitude in Pure Land Buddhism
Continuing my research, there is a branch of Buddhism that focuses on gratitude: Pure Land. Pure Land Buddhism, summarized most simply, involves devotion to prayers to Amida (Amitabha) Buddha for rebirth in the Western paradise, where it’s easier to attain liberation. There’s an acknowledgement among Pure Land Buddhists that we are not up to the task of enlightenment in this lifetime, that it’s folly to think that we could somehow attain it in the challenging circumstances in which we find ourselves. However, if we pray for rebirth in the Western paradise, then we’ll have much easier access to that liberation.
This is an oversimplification of Pure Land Buddhism. It’d be like describing Zen by saying, “Oh, those people, they sit and focus only on themselves as part of a big self-improvement project, and they meditate in order to attain enlightenment experiences.” Hopefully, you think there’s a lot more to Zen than that.
To return to our discussion of Pure Land and gratitude, though: When I did a Web search on “Gratitude Buddhism,” a Lion’s Roar article came up by a Shin or Pure Land minister named Geoff Wilson. He says:
“As a Shin Buddhist, my primary practice isn’t meditation, sutra study, ritual, or precepts. All of these can be valuable, of course, but in Shin Buddhism our main focus is the practice of gratitude. This sets us apart from many other Buddhists. We don’t practice to achieve anything—not enlightenment, good karma, a favorable rebirth, or material rewards. We practice simply to give thanks for what we have received. It’s a small shift in one’s perspective, but when pursued, it can be transformative.
“From the point of view of the dharma, we can see that each being exists within an inconceivable network of support from all things. Whether it’s the attainment of buddhahood or the simple act of drawing a breath, our every action is assisted by forces beyond the ego-self. As we become aware of our interconnectedness, we gain some perspective of our karmic limitations. Accomplishments we counted as our own successes turn out to be due to the myriad benefits received from others. Pulling on our bootstraps, we discover that someone else made the boots and the straps, and fed and nurtured us until we were ready to pull. Our own efforts are imperfect and cannot succeed unless countless others are involved. This awareness gives rise to a sense of humility about our limitations and patience in the face of others’ imperfections. It also cultivates a sense of humor about our shortcomings and those of others.”[7]
Wilson goes on to explain how the Shin Buddhist practice is to say the nembutsu in gratitude. It’s a phrase, “Namu Amida Butsu” meaning, I take refuge in or rely on Amida Butsu, who is the Buddha of infinite light and compassion. Wilson says:
“It isn’t a mantra or a prayer—it doesn’t accomplish anything other than letting out that bottled-up gratitude in a joyful utterance. When we say Namu Amida Butsu, we aren’t begging to get into the Pure Land or trying to win favors with the Buddha. We are saying, “How wonderful to receive so bountifully! Thank you very much!”
A quick disclaimer: This is portraying Pure Land practice in a very, non-materialistic, non-literal way, and it’s certainly legitimate. Some Pure Land practitioners will relate to this vision of the practice. It’s also probably true that – although I don’t know numbers – the vast majority of Pure Land practitioners do say the nembutsu in order to ask for favors from the Buddha and to be reborn in the Pure Land. Every tradition, including Christianity, has a spectrum of interpretations from the literal to the mystical. Different practitioners are going to take this in a different way. This certainly can be done as a straight prayer to Amida Buddha.
The Unified Practice of Self-Power and Other-Power
I’ve been told (sadly, I don’t have any sources for this but would love to know) that in Japan, and perhaps elsewhere in Asia as well, it’s sometimes said that Buddhism is like a tunnel. One end is self-power practice (i.e. Zen), and the other end is other-power practice (i.e. Pure Land or Shin Buddhism). If you enter by one and you really want to complete the path of practice, you have to exit by the other. This is an interesting way to look at practice. I think we “Zennies” have something to learn here, at least from the less literal or materialistic aspects of the Pure Land practice.
For many centuries there have been practitioners in China and other parts of Asia who have sought to wed Zen and Pure Land practice together. If you look on the Zen Studies podcast website on this episode’s page, I have references to where I read about this. In Zen, Pure Land, and in almost all spiritual traditions, if you take them up as a path of spiritual growth, we’re trying to transcend our constraining sense of self-concern and absorption. All of our practices are in some sense simple tools or means to the end of liberation from self. They’re not ends in themselves. Sometimes another tool is called for. I probably never would have been able to practice gratitude the way I have been recently without the 25 years of Zen practice I have put in involving zazen and dharma study, precept work, and karma work. However, at a certain point, self-power tools can get in our way.
In his article, Wilson talks about how the founder of his school of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, Shinran, was a Tendai monk for 20 years. Wilson says, “Shinran came to the insight that meditation, precepts, and other rigorous practices often subtly reinforce our egos.” Shinran’s conclusion was that people should throw all the traditional methods out and simply concentrate on gratitude and devotion and practiced through the nembutsu.
Shinran definitely went to the other extreme from self-powered practice. Our conscious practice efforts can certainly end up getting in the way sometimes, but I don’t recommend dropping them. Instead, I think we can wed the approaches and use a practice like gratitude as an antidote to the tendency for conscious effort and practice to end up reinforcing the sense of self; positive or negative.
Actual Practices of Gratitude
What might gratitude practices actually look like? I would say they range from deliberate and formal to wordless and spontaneous (or formless). For example, you might call to mind what you have to be grateful for, perhaps once a day. You might take time to do this at the end of your day. I’ve heard of recommendations to write down a gratitude list, or perhaps speak it out loud to another person. One of our Sangha members says he shares it with his dog.
These kinds of gratitude practices are also recommended by modern day therapists and psychologists. They can be extremely beneficial because most of us have a tendency to focus on problems, on the negative. This negativity seems like part of human nature, because it’s important for us to be paying attention to what needs to be taken care of, what might be threatening us, and the needs we have to fulfill. We have a tendency to focus on problems and lose sight of everything else. We have to be grateful for all that’s going well. In any given moment, we can turn our mind toward something that we can be grateful for.
Another practice I’ve heard of is to change your language and how you’re thinking. If you think, “I have to go grocery shopping later this afternoon,” change it to, “I get to go grocery shopping this afternoon.” It’s a subtle thing, but it’s pointing our mind toward thinking, “Hey, I’m still alive. I’m still able bodied. I still have money to get groceries. The grocery store is still open, and food is still on the shelf. People produce this food and I get to take advantage of it.” This can be a fun way to shift to gratitude.
It’s possible to practice gratitude in a less concrete, less dualistic way, which doesn’t require categorizing our experience into “things to be grateful for” versus “things not worth being grateful for.” It’s fine to be grateful for pleasant, encouraging, supportive, and beautiful things. That’s great, but there’s dualism built in there, right? As if we’re putting up with all the “other stuff” because there are enough good things to make life worth it.
Instead of categorizing and judging our experience, we can access gratitude by becoming more present in the body in the here and now. In a very fundamental and real way, the vast majority of the time we’re generally safe and relatively comfortable. We’re breathing, we’re still alive. Our practice becomes a wordless connection with aliveness. In that sense, everything is something to be grateful for. It’s all inseparable from our current experience of being alive. To go back to imagining we only had one day left to live, even having an argument with one of our family members would be like, “Wow, I still have this family member! I still have the ability to have an argument!”
When Gratitude is Blocked
Sometimes we might notice when trying to connect with, cultivate, or strengthen gratitude, we feel blocked. I’ve been practicing with gratitude and I wrote this talk on it because I was so enthused with the practice. Then I noticed that I was still feeling rather irritable and was losing touch with my gratitude. Rather than simply trying harder to make myself feel grateful (usually the result of that is not great), or conclude gratitude wasn’t working anymore so I should ditch the practice, I looked deeply at what was getting in the way of my gratitude. We can use gratitude as a barometer of our level of self-concern and self-attachment – when gratitude is high, our self-concern is low, and vice versa. If we look at what’s blocking gratitude, what we find is dukkha.
Classically, we say dukkha arises from desire, but it actually can be quite subtle. Dukkha is resistance to what is. In my case, I noticed a resistance to being stressed and having lots of things to do because I can’t take care of everything the way that I want to. I notice all of these problems, all of these tasks that need to be done. I can’t get to them all. Internally, I have resistance to that situation. This resistance was blocking my ability to feel simple gratitude.
Then I explored that a little more deeply. We can turn the lens of mindfulness on to our experience without judging it. We simply notice and explore it. Why am I holding on to the resistance to having so many tasks I can’t finish them all? At a certain level, I know that no matter how much I get done, there’s always going to be more that isn’t done. I should just accept that reality. However, I noticed a belief in myself: As irrational as it might be, I think I need to hold on to my resistance. I think that if I give up the resistance to having too much to do, then everything will get out of control. I get even fewer tasks done, they’ll pile up, it will become even more overwhelming and stressful, and ultimately become unworkable. My life will become a misery.
In the meantime, I think, I have to hold that resistance, dukkha (which Thanissaro translates as stress). I need to hold on to that stress. Of course, as I examine that belief, what naturally arises is, “Wait a second, is that really true? If I dropped this extra resistance, this extra stress, what would happen?” I know from experience I’ll actually be even better able to address the tasks that need to be done. I may not get them all done, but at least as I finish some of the tasks I won’t be freaked out as I do them, and I’ll probably do them more effectively. With this self-examination, I was able to let go of a little bit of that resistance, and consequently had more access to gratitude.
Why Might Buddhism Have Neglected this Amazing Practice?
Let me say one more thing, speculating on why there might be a dearth of teachings and practices explicitly about gratitude in Buddhism. I find it quite mysterious, and if anybody has any ideas, feel free to email me with them. I suspect it has to do with one of the aspects of Buddhism which can have some negative consequences, including the (arguable) fact that it did start out as a rather life-denying tradition.
In original Buddhism, the idea was that we were reborn again and again – experiencing all the joys, but also sufferings of old age, disease, death, and loss over and over and over. This was generally not viewed as a desirable situation, and spiritual traditions recommended looking for liberation from the whole cycle. I think there was always an unwillingness to turn people toward what’s positive about life. In practice we try to give up our dependence on pleasures, diversions, material possessions, distractions and stuff like that. I guess gratitude might have been seen as encouraging people to be attached to this life.
However, I think the reality of gratitude practice as I’ve described it here has the opposite effect, naturally decreasing our self-concern and attachment.
Endnotes
[1] “Kalama Sutta: To the Kalamas” (AN 3.65), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an03/an03.065.than.html .
[2] “Kataññu Suttas: Gratitude” (AN 2.31-32), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an02/an02.031.than.html .
[3] “Cula-punnama Sutta: The Shorter Discourse on the Full-moon Night” (MN 110), translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.110.than.html .
[4] “Maha-mangala Sutta: Blessings” (Sn 2.4), translated from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.04.piya.html .
[5] Dogen, Zen Master. Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo. Shambhala. Kindle Edition. Location 8408, Continuous Practice Chapter Two.
[6] Dogen, Zen Master. Treasury of the True Dharma Eye: Zen Master Dogen’s Shobo Genzo. Shambhala. Kindle Edition. Location 7812, Continuous Practice Chapter One.
[7] The Path of Gratitude by Jeff Wilson, Nov 1 2019 – https://www.lionsroar.com/the-path-of-gratitude/
[8] https://buddhisttemple.ca/zen-and-pure-land-a-most-amazing-cultivation-approach/ and https://buddhaname.org/pure-land-zen/
Photo Credit
Image by Céline Martin from Pixabay
