Gratitude

March 31, 2020

Gratitude

It is probably hard  to  be grateful at a time when we seem to be losing so much.  The COVID-19 has taken away lives, freedoms, jobs and our  economy.  We don’t have to look far to find the many things that we can be grateful for.  If we take a moment to  look beyond ourselves, we can see that so much is being done for our welfare.  

Doctors, firefighters, police and grocery clerks, nurses, and caregivers are all working so hard for our benefit.  Let’s all take a moment to stop and thank them, even if it is just in our minds.  Our minds can think  about others  for  a minute, but our minds also wander  about from subject to subject.

This is the  dilemma of a human mind, we are reminded to be grateful, and then we begin to criticize others for  their actions and lack of gratitude.  I see people  not practicing “social distancing” and  criticize  them.  I see people taking advantage of the current crisis by trying to scam people and take their money.  I think, “what is wrong with people?” Forgetting that I am constantly thinking of my own  welfare.

We need to be careful not to deflect the truth of our small, foolish self by criticizing others.  The  primal Vow  of Amida Buddha, is  for  beings  like us.  Transforming our evil into virtue and bringing us to enlightenment.

Namoamidabutsu