Respect & Gratitude

There’s a passage we chant, again and again, “Those with respect for the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, respect for concentration, respect for the training, are in the presence of nibbana.” There’s a similar passage where the Buddha says it’s through respect in these things that the true Dhamma lives. As long as the monks and the nuns, lay men and lay women, have respect for the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, that’s what keeps the Dhamma alive—not only in the general sense but also in your heart.

The practice takes perseverance. It takes commitment. And if there’s no sense of respect, then it’s hard to commit. The fact that the Dhamma is larger than you: That’s what makes it something you can give your whole life to. If it were just some ideas you could throw around, it wouldn’t be worth much. But it’s a training. It requires that you train your thoughts, your words, your deeds, again, and again, and again, because our defilements have so many different ways of showing themselves, and then hiding themselves, and then showing themselves again. You have to be really committed. When commitment comes with a sense of respect and gratitude, then it can live. It can stay long. You can be in for the long haul.

We see stories of those in the time of the Buddha who had to hear only one Dhamma talk—sometimes just a phrase or two—and they gained awakening. We wonder why we can’t get awakening with a phrase or two. Well, the Buddha picked all the ripe fruit. We’re the ones who have to work on our own. We take the Dhamma, bring it inside. And, as Ajaan Mun used to say, we try to follow the customs of the noble ones and not just our opinions. We have to learn to reshape our opinions to be in line with the Dhamma. In that way, we grow. The Dhamma is maintained.

So we practice the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma, which means practicing for the sake of dispassion—not for the sake of fame, not for the sake of being respected by other people, but for the sake of our own well-being. And it’s a well-being that doesn’t harm anybody. In fact, it’s a well-being that sets a good example for others. Which is why the Buddha said, when you gain results from the practice, the results spread around. Look at him. He gained results from his practice, and he’s established the religion that’s lasted now for 2,600 years, through the respect that it’s earned.

So try to approach the Dhamma with the proper attitude of respect and gratitude. After all, where would you be without it? Think about that every day.