Gratitude

The Buddha recommends that when you start meditating, you try to focus on the breath. If the mind settles down well with the breath, then stay there. But sometimes, he says, there’s a fever in the body or a fever in the mind, and it doesn’t want to settle down with the breath. In which case you try to think of a theme that’s inspiring.

One inspiring thing you might want to think about is gratitude. Think of all the people who’ve helped you through your life: the people who saw worth in helping you, worth in going out of their way to do something kind for you. That should lift your heart: that we’re living in a human race that’s not all bad. You look at the news, and it seems like everybody is planning nothing but war, war, war, and oppression. But there’s still a lot of goodness in human beings, and you’ve seen it in your own life. It’s good to appreciate that.

As the Buddha said, the sign of a good person is gratitude because when you appreciate the goodness of other people, you realize how hard it may have been, sometimes, for them to do those kind acts for you. When you appreciate their goodness and the effort they put into being good, then you’re more likely to put effort into being good as well. If you don’t see anything good in other people, you’re not going to put much effort into being good.

So stop and think about all you owe to your parents, all you owe to your teachers—all the people who’ve helped you. They saw that you were worth helping. So that should lift your spirits. When your spirits are lifted, then it’s easier for the mind to settle down.

At the same time, keep thinking about the fact that we’re here dependent on the goodness of others. Like this monastery: It’s totally dependent on people’s generosity. The land was a gift. All the buildings were gifts. Everything we have. The food—everything we use here is a gift.

So how do you pay back your debt to those who’ve made these gifts? You practice. That’s what they gave it for. Then dedicate the merit of your practice to those who’ve helped you in the past and in the present. Make up your mind that you’re going to do some good for somebody else. That way, you pass the goodness on. Of course, you don’t do it just once, because you weren’t dependent on just one act of kindness in this life. You’re dependent on many acts.

So make sure you have many acts of kindness to pass on. That kind of thinking helps to lubricate your meditation, make it go more smoothly, with a sense of lightness, with a sense of joy.