236 lines
8.4 KiB
Plaintext
236 lines
8.4 KiB
Plaintext
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GRATITUDE
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A sense of gratitude and indebtedness to others is an important
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wellspring of a generous and virtuous life. All people can recognize that
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they are indebted to their parents, who gave them birth and raised them at
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considerable sacrifice. But our indebtedness extends much further than
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that. Fundamentally, we are indebted to God our Creator and the powers of
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nature that nourish and sustain our life. Then, since the food we eat
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travels from the soil to our dining table by passing through many
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hands--that cultivate, harvest, clean, package, transport, sell, and
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prepare it--we should recognize that we rely on the labors of many people
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in order to survive. A sense of gratitude to others is thus acknowledging
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our interdependent existence; it is an antidote to the illusion of egoism.
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Such gratitude is recalled and expressed in the prayer of grace or thanks
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offered before meals.
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Another dimension of gratitude is directed towards those who are
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responsible for our education and enlightenment in the way of truth and
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salvation. Gratitude towards one's teachers, and especially towards the
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sages and founders of religions who offered their lives to find the truth,
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is a proper attitude of faith. Most of all, we should be grateful to God,
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who quietly has been guiding and nurturing each person toward salvation,
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and without whose grace the world would be plunged in darkness.
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And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
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Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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Christianity. Colossians 3.17
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O you who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you,
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and be grateful to God, if it is Him that you worship.
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Islam. Qur'an 2.172
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Colossians 3.17: Cf. Psalm 100, p. 202.
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God created foods to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe
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and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is
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to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving; for then it is
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consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
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Christianity. 1 Timothy 4.3-5
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Abraham caused God's name to be mentioned by all the travellers whom he
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entertained. For after they had eaten and drunk, and when they arose to
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bless Abraham, he said to them, "Is it of mine that you have eaten?
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Surely it is of what belongs to God that you have eaten. So praise and
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bless Him by whose word the world was created."
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Judaism. Talmud, Sota 10b
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The unworthy man is ungrateful, forgetful of benefits [done to him]. This
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ingratitude, this forgetfulness is congenial to mean people... But the
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worthy person is grateful and mindful of benefits done to him. This
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gratitude, this mindfulness, is congenial to the best people.
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Buddhism. Anguttara Nikaya i.61
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One upon whom We bestow kindness
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But will not express gratitude,
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Is worse than a robber
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Who carries away our belongings.
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African Traditional Religions. Yoruba Proverb (Nigeria)
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Be not like those who honor their gods in prosperity and curse them in
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adversity. In pleasure or pain, give thanks!
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Judaism. Midrash, Mekilta to Exodus 20.20
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Even if you cry your heart out, hurt your eyes by constant weeping and
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even if you lead the life of an ascetic till the end of the world, all
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these untiring efforts of yours will not be able to make compensation for
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a tithe of His good will and kindness, for His bounties and munificence
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and for His mercy and charity in directing you towards the path of truth
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and religion.
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Islam (Shiite). Nahjul Balagha, Khutba 57
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It is God who has made the night for you, that you may rest therein, and
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the day, as that which helps you to see. Verily God is full of grace and
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bounty to men, yet most men give no thanks.
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It is God who has made for you the earth as a resting place, and the sky
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as a canopy, and has given you shape--and made your shapes beautiful--and
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has provided for you sustenance of things pure and good; such is God, your
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Lord. So glory to God, the Lord of the Worlds!
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Islam. Qur'an 40.61, 64
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O my Father, Great Elder,
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I have no words to thank you,
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But with your deep wisdom
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I am sure that you can see
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How I value your glorious gifts.
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O my Father, when I look upon your greatness,
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I am confounded with awe.
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O Great Elder,
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Ruler of all things earthly and heavenly,
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I am your warrior,
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Ready to act in accordance with your will.
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African Traditional Religions. Kikuya Prayer (Kenya)
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You, the World Honored One, are a great benefactor.
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By doing this rare thing,
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You taught and benefited us
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Out of your compassion towards us.
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No one will be able to repay your favors
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Even if he tries to do it
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For many hundreds of millions of kalpas.
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No one will be able to repay your favors
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Even if he bows to you respectfully,
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And offers you his hands or feet or anything else.
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No one will be able to repay your favors
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Even if he carries you on his head or shoulders
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And respects you from the bottom of his heart
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For as many kalpas
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As there are sands in the River Ganges.
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Buddhism. Lotus Sutra 4
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Qur'an 40.61, 64: Cf. Qur'an 14.32-34, p. 310; 16.10-18, p. 141; 32.4-9,
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p. 126; Wadhans, M.5, p. 913. On gratitude to parents, see Qur'an
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46.15-16, p. 249. Lotus Sutra 4: The value of the Buddha's teaching is
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immeasurable. It touches eternity, which all temporal phenomena rolled up
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together cannot hope to attain. Hence no temporal acts of gratitude can
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possibly be worthy of it. Cf. Myokonin, p. 774.
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All human bodies are things lent by God. With what thought are you using
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them?
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Terrikyo. Ofudesaki 3.41
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When a man is born, whoever he may be, there is born simultaneously a debt
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to the gods, to the sages, to the ancestors, and to men.
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When he performs sacrifice it is the debt to the gods which is concerned.
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It is on their behalf, therefore, that he is taking action when he
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sacrifices or makes an oblation.
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And when he recites the Vedas it is the debt to the sages which is
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concerned. It is on their behalf, therefore, that he is taking action, for
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it is said of one who has recited the Vedas that he is the guardian of the
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treasure store of the sages.
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And when he desires offspring, it is the debt to the ancestors which is
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concerned. It is on their behalf, therefore, that he is taking action, so
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that their offspring may continue, without interruption.
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And when he entertains guests, it is the debt to man which is concerned.
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It is on their behalf, therefore, that he is taking action if he
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entertains guests and gives them food and drink. The man who does all
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these things has performed a true work; he has obtained all, conquered
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all.
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Hinduism. Satapatha Brahmana 1.7.2.1-5
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Ah, children--
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Be not arrogant, but
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Assist the deities of
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Marvelous spirit power
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In their work.
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Even the grains, and the
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Teeming grass and trees--
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Even these are favored with
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Blessings from Amaterasu,
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Great Goddess of the Sun.
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Morning and evening,
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At each meal you take,
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Consider the blessings of
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Toyouke-no-kami,
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You people of the world.
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The blessings of the
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Gods of heaven and earth--
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Without these,
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How could we exist,
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Even for a day, even for a night?
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Satapatha Brahmana 1.7.2.4: On gratitude to one's parents, cf. Anguttara
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Nikaya i.61, p. 250; Classic on Filial Piety 1, p. 249. Ofudesaki 3.41:
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Cf. Sun Myung Moon, 9-30-79, p. 307.
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Forget not the grace
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Of generations of ancestors;
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>From age to age, the ancestors
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Are our own ujigami,
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Gods of our families.
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Father and mother
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Are gods of the family;
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Even so, honor them as gods with
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heartfelt service,
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All you of human birth.
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Shinto. Norinaga Motoori, One Hundred Poems on the Jewelled Spear
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One Hundred Poems on the Jewelled Spear: The ujigami are eponymous
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ancestors of the clan; one's ancestors should be reverenced.
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Toyouke-no-kami is the Food Goddess worshipped at the Outer Shrine of the
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Temple at Ise, and Amaterasu is the Sun Goddess; they represent all the
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productive forces of nature and humanity which provide our food.
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