Gratitude and Buddism

I am writing today on the subject of Gratitude in Zen Buddhism. This subject came to my mind the other day as I was leaving a coffee shop were I had just spent an hour talking with my Sensei. I was thinking about something he said and I realized the truth of it and there was an almost instant benefit to myself as the realization happened. My next thought was not so much a thought as a feeling. I can only describe that feeling as gratitude.


Gratitude is derived from the Latin root gratia meaning grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. It is defined as, thankfulness, or appreciation, a positive emotion or attitude in acknowledgment of a benefit that one has received or will receive.

      There is an old Buddhist saying: “It is more rewarding to pull a dead log from the river than to save an ungrateful man.” But on the whole Buddhist teachings on gratitude itself seem very limited. Teachings on gratitude appear frequently in religious writings mostly the religious traditions of Christianity, Judaism, Islam were it seems to be limited more or less to gratitude to their particular version of God.

       There is a rather obscure Sutra called the “Mind Ground Sutra” which deals with gratitude. This Shinjikan Sutra as it is named in Japanese was commented on by Nichiren Daishonin in a writing called “Meditation on the Mind Ground Sutra” In essence this sutra states that all Buddhist have four great debts, for which they must express gratitude. 1) The first debt is to all living beings. Without which we could not make our vows to save them and accrue merit. 2) The second great debt is to our Mother and Father for giving us birth. 3) The third great debt is to your King (this one has been used to grind some political issues from time to time). And fourth but not least are to the three jewels i.e.  the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.
          A Korean Buddhist Teacher named Sot'aesan Taejongsa's also wrote on this sutra, calling these debts the four graces. His interpretation of the sutra is very different from that of Nichiren. While Nichiren was more or less promoting both the lotus sutra and his own political views, Taejongsa’s intent was to make use of gratitude as a very particle tool for improving the individual practitioners’ quality of life. What he called a method to "change a life based on resentment into a life based on gratitude." His intent was to reform Buddhism, not unlike Nichiren, and he created what is called “Won” Buddhism in Korea.
         The Won Buddhist web site says “The practice of Won Buddhism has two aspects: realization of Buddha-nature and "time-less and placeless Zen." This means that the adherents of Won Buddhism seek to see the Buddha in all things and to live in accordance with this insight.” In short he like Nichiren reworked Buddhism, changed some basic terms and generally tried to make Buddhism more useful for the common man practitioner in his time and place in history. He did this by making the Dharmakaya the equivalent to god and following the path used by the religious traditions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam in teaching gratitude to same. He says “By awareness of Graces and Requital of Graces is meant that one should be aware of, and feel deeply, the way in which one is indebted to Graces of Heaven and Earth, Parents, Brethren and Laws; when following the way of being indebted, one is to requite these Graces.”
         Now that I have written a short history lesson on Buddhism and Gratitude I will express my own feelings on the subject for those of you who have had the patience to read this far.
           Buddhist sutras often talk about generating Bodhicitta and the underlying foundation of Bodhicitta and Mahayana is compassion. I have found in my own practice that this is almost impossible without a true feeling of gratitude. When things get rough in this life and we all take our licks compassion is often shoved over the side of our boat. It is hard to feel gratitude or compassion when it seems like the very universe is out to get you, to make you suffer.
             In Buddhism there are two main types of Buddhist meditation: vipassana (insight) and Samantha (tranquility). In Soto Zen we have a very specific style of Zen Meditation, which could be called insight or vipassana meditation. But Dogen’s style of meditation is different in that we don’t teach the student to focus or concentrate on a specific idea or object as most Buddhist schools do. I think this may be a misunderstanding; Dogen was constantly instructing the reader to “investigate” specific subjects and teachings. So while it is clear he taught his primary method of meditation without a subject or object it appears to me he took the established “wisdom” meditation used throughout Buddhism as a given. I believe That he never meant to exclude the established form of insight meditation from his students tool box.
           I think we could all use a few minutes a day generating a mind of gratitude. You can be grateful for this opportunity to work your way out of ignorance. You can be thankful to and for so much in this life, and despite it brutal nature samsara itself is an opportunity. If I were a Zen master (which I am not.), I would teach gratitude and the benefits of it often. It would be one of the first things I would ask my students to be mindful of.