The Buddha's Guide to Gratitude. Becca Anderson

as you wake up: Today I am fortunate to have woken up. I am alive. I have a precious human life. I am not going to waste it. I am going to use all my energies to develop myself, to expand my heart out to others, to achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. I am going to have kind thoughts toward others, I am not going to get angry, or think badly about others. I am going to benefit others as much as I can.”

      —His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama

      We don’t need more money; we don’t need greater success or fame. Right now, at this very moment, we have a mind, which is all the basic equipment we need to achieve complete happiness. When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, “Oh yes—I already have everything that I really need.” This book contains many good ideas for practicing contentment. Do this simple thing every day; wake up, be grateful, be kind, and help others. If you do this, your life will be filled with joy.

Introduction

The Buddha in You

      “Enough is a feast.”

      —Buddha

      According to Buddha, “You have no cause for anything but gratitude and joy.” Being thankful is one of the most powerful tools we humans have to attain peace of mind and a measure of happiness. As it turns out, Buddha had quite a lot to say on the subject of gratitude, including citing it as one of the four keys to the Gate of Heaven. Why is this? Perhaps because of its sheer simplicity, gratefulness is available to all of us at any time. Even in the midst of over busyness, stress, and chaos, we can find plenty to be glad about. Take time to stop each day and count your blessings. This can be a prayer or a mindfulness mediation, whatever works for you. This lovely, uncomplicated approach may well change your life.

      Studies show—and experts counsel—that gratitude is a key component of our own happiness. People who are grateful about events and experiences from the past, who celebrate the triumphs instead of focusing on the losses or disappointments, tend to be more satisfied in the present. In a lecture, Buddhist leader Thích Nhất Hạnh stated, “With all I have experienced in my own life, the power of gratitude stands above everything else. In your mindfulness practice, use gratitude until it becomes your way of life.”

      Gratitude moves us to do all kinds of things inspired by joy. Gratitude can help us transform our fears into courage, our anger into forgiveness, our isolation into belonging, and another’s pain into healing. Saying “Thank you” every day will create feelings of love, compassion, and hope.

      But the fact is, the art of living—for that is what we speak about when we speak of gratitude—isn’t something that comes naturally to most people. Most of us need to work intentionally to increase the intensity, duration, and frequency of positive, grateful feelings—a daunting challenge indeed. But fear not, this book is here to help! I have provided you with mindful meditations, hands-on exercises, profound practices, inspiring quotations, thought-provoking questions, space for writing your own comments, and even positive “power tools” that will help you build a more grateful life. To master the art of being a gratitude practitioner, you have to take time for gratitude every day; that works for me and it will work for you. You’ll be glad and oh-so-thankful you did.

      As a meditation instructor, I look for many ways to introduce the skills and states of mindfulness. Sitting in silence, breathing, doing active or restorative yoga poses, or taking a walk are all ways to practice being mindful. One only needs to show up and be deeply engaged. The quotes in this book will help you live mindfully. Like a little coach you can put in your pocket, these mindful quotes guide and instruct the reader to peace and presence. I often use quotes in my yoga classes that introduce the art of mindfulness. Use them daily to give yourself a nibble of quiet and focus. Practice, practice, practice paying attention. Take these quotes and turn to them for contemplation and a deepening of your daily awakening. Use them to help you navigate the sometimes placid, occasionally murky, and periodically turbulent waters of life.

Chapter1

The Practice of Gratitude

      “When you realize nothing is lacking, the whole world belongs to you.”

      —Lao Tzu

      Gratitude is one of the loveliest paths to personal growth. It can be subtle. After you start approaching your life with thankfulness, you may discover that you are functioning with a “half-full mindset.” For instance, maybe instead of worrying on Sunday nights about work and meetings and goals, you relax and are grateful to have work that you really enjoy. Next thing you know, your coworkers will notice that you are less stressed-out and more fun to be around, and your desk will become an oasis of positivity in the office. Your family will respond in kind, and your home will be a calmer, happier place filled with calmer, happier people. Your friends who used to call you and complain about life, now call and tell you about all the good things that are happening to them. It took a while, but eventually your aura of gratefulness took hold and bloomed.

      You, my friend, have an attitude of gratitude and are making the world a better place.

      Well done, reader, and please allow me to be the first to say, thank you. And I guarantee that I won’t be the last. I am a big one for setting intentions, and I do so myself every morning. I intend for you to grow and soar in your wisdom. If some of the ideas, quotes, and suggestions from the “gratitude gurus” included in this book inspire you, all the better.

      Are you tired of walking around with a hole in your heart? Do you need more inspiration? Gratitude has been proven to be a key component of our own happiness. Those who think abundantly will find abundance everywhere they look. In her popular book, The Secret, Rhonda Byrne writes, “With all that I have read and all that I have experienced in my own life using The Secret, the power of gratitude stands above everything else. If you do only one thing with the knowledge of this book, use gratitude until it becomes your way of life.”

      The recent buzz surrounding the power of gratitude is overwhelmingly positive. Jeffery Zaslow, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal, recently wrote that there may be a positive by-product of the troubled economic times that followed The Great Recession: a decrease in the urge to complain. “People who still have jobs are finding reasons to be appreciative. It feels unseemly to complain about not getting a raise when your neighbor is unemployed,” he wrote. “Homeowners are unhappy that home values have fallen, but it’s a relief to have avoided foreclosure.”

      Indeed, gratitude is still popping up everywhere. Turn on the TV. I recently listened as a career coach on The Today Show advised job seekers to put the words, “Thank you,” in their job search tool kits, declaring that the key to distinguishing oneself from the masses is to send a thank-you note. Gratitude moves us to do all kinds of things, inspired by joy. Gratitude can help us transform our fears into courage, our anger into forgiveness, our isolation into belonging, and another’s pain into healing. Saying “Thank you” every day will create feelings of love, compassion, and hope.

      Let That Word Be Thanks

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