Five Buddhist Contemplations for Before Your Thanksgiving Meal

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Some Thanksgiving blessings from the Buddhist tradition, courtesy of Thich Nhat Hanh.

1. This food is the gift of the whole universe: the earth, the sky, numerous living beings and much hard, loving work.
2. May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive it.
3. May we recognize and transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed, and learn to eat with moderation.
4. May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of living beings, preserve our planet, and reverse the process of global warming.
5. We accept this food so that we may nurture our sisterhood and brotherhood, strengthen our community, and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings.

Read the full post at Plum Village.

Top 5 Tools for Cultivating Gratitude

“The man who simply became ready to have God remove his judgmental attitudes was surprised to find God’s answer was to make him more trusting of others and less judgemental of himself.” – Anonymous

I recently attended a covenant group at a local Unitarian Universalist church. It was a group for parents and as is the case with groups of this kind, was accepting new members for a limited time. Most covenant groups close the “tent flap” seasonally in order to nurture trust within the circle and deep conversation and relationship among its members.

As the sounds of our playing (read: screaming) children rose up through the floor, a group of us young couples opened up our hearts and shared about the difficulties of turning the other cheek, setting a good example, frustration with family members and in-laws, fear of failure in front of our kids, and more.

One recurring theme emerged. Across the board and within all three dimensions of self, culture and nature — cultivating gratitude is hard work.

SELF

When it was suggested that part of the solution was to simply be more patient, gentle and forgiving with yourself, one of the fathers said, “I don’t know how to do that.”

At that moment, one (or more) of the kids started banging on a downstairs piano. The sound was jarring and discordant and came up through the floor in angular vibrations that momentarily put all of the parents on edge.

It occurred to me that the children didn’t know how to play the piano, but they were doing the best they could to make music with it. They, too, were ignorant to the workings of the instrument and so they simply wailed away at it, hamfisted and dispassionate. They were being too rough and too forceful, not patient or gentle.

This piano is a metaphor for our self-care. How often do we expect others to be maestros of communication, trust and compassion? How often do we expect others to be delicate, patient and gentle — to take their time, choose their words carefully, think before they speak or act, and to hold themselves with the utmost self-respect? And yet, how often, when it is our turn to do the same, do we bang out a rhythm or a half-baked melody and tell ourselves that it’s good enough. How often do we settle for less when it comes to finding pleasure or acceptance in ourselves?

Self-love and self care is not just about mindfulness. It’s not just about carving the time out of your day to pray, meditate or be present with your friends, co-workers and kids. It’s about moving beyond mindfulness to the difficult work of being in the world and witness to all its suffering. It’s about having the courage to put yourself out there when someone needs emotional or spiritual support, but also having the courage and intelligence to receive that support yourself.

CULTURE

Gratitude is also present in our attitude toward others.

Stephen Prothero has consistently proposed that the world’s faith traditions are an attempt to solve a specific human problem with a specific spiritual solution (sin/salvation, attachment/awakening, pride/submission, exile/return, etc.). Since pride is usually near the top of any list of cardinal sins, it is usually one of the first items to attract the attention of rigorous spiritual practice.  

Gratitude can be seen as the opposite of pride. The process of becoming more grateful, more thankful and more humble is the process of letting go of our pridefulness, ego and will.

Words of Thanksgiving

This is an updated and revised version of the previously published “Thanksgiving Prayer,” with additional material inspired by Matthew Fox.

 

“A Dedication” by Hugo Barros

We are reminded by Meister Eckhart that the word “humility” has its roots in the latin humus, or earth. To be humble, then, means to be in touch with the earth, in touch with our own earthiness, and to celebrate the blessing of our own earthiness and sensitive nature or sensuality. And to deny our earthiness is to bottle up the deep, divine energies of creativity and imagination within us all.

Hildegarde of Bingen wrote, “Holy persons draw to themselves all that is earthly … The earth is at the same time mother, She is mother of all that is natural, mother of all that is human. She is the mother of all, for contained in her are the seeds of all.”

Thanksgiving – by the sheer nature of its name – forces us to face, acknowledge and speak to Spirit in the second person, to thank the “thou” that is the Cosmos, or the Cosmos that is the “thou” – the ultimate Other, Father God, Mother Nature, our Creator, the Holy Spirit.

On this one day a year, even atheists are thankful to their lucky stars, fate, Nature, or the Universe for granting them good fortune and helping to guide them through the signposts of life.

On this one day a year, we open our hearts, we mind our manners, and to whomever (or whatever) we love – or that loves us – we say, simply, “Thank You.”

On this day, as millions gather and hold hands around tables large and small for a shared meal to acknowledge this sense of gratitude and to celebrate with a ceremonial feast, we offer this prayer, honoring Spirit in second person:

We gather to give thanks for all the things we sometimes take for granted.

Our bodies – perfect and beautiful at whatever stage they are at.
Our minds – open and receptive to compassion and understanding.
Our health and well-being.
The health and well-being of our families.
The love and support of our family and friends.
The interconnected community in which we live and thrive.
All of this year’s unfolding and new growth.
All of our milestones and victories and success.
As well as the loss and obstacles we’ve overcome and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Saying Thank You: A Thanksgiving Prayer

Thanksgiving – by the sheer nature of its name – forces us to acknowledge Spirit in the second person, to thank the “thou” that is the Cosmos, or the Cosmos that is the “thou” – Father God, Mother Nature, Gaia, Holy Spirit.

On this one day a year, even atheists are thankful to their lucky stars, fate, Nature, or the Universe for granting them good fortune and helping to guide them through the signposts of life.

Today, we open our hearts, we mind our manners, and to whomever (or whatever) we love – or that loves us – we say “Thank You.”

Today, as millions gather and hold hands around tables for a shared meal to acknowledge this sense of gratitude and to celebrate with a ceremonial feast, we offer up this blessing, honoring Spirit in second person.

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As we gather together today, we give thanks and are grateful for all the things we sometimes take for granted.

Our bodies and our health.
The health and well-being of our families.
The love and support of our family and friends.
The interconnected community in which we live and thrive.
All of our unfolding and new growth.
All of our milestones and victories and success.
As well as the obstacles we’ve overcome and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Today, we are thankful just for the ability to spend time together around the table for a moment without the distractions of our phones and screens.
We are thankful to just be here in the presence of family — to love and be loved — and enjoy a wonderful meal.

We are also grateful.
We are grateful for our ability to give to those less fortunate.
We are grateful to those serving our country and those active in the work of building or rebuilding here and abroad.
To those that have passed on and are unable to be with us today, but from whom we have learned so much.
And to our children and the future generations who will carry on our traditions once we leave this world.

We also ask for blessings.
Bless the hands that have harvested and prepared this meal.
Bless any animals who have given their lives for this meal.
Bless the Earth from which it came.
Bless us as we receive this meal and nourish our bodies.

We ask for renewed strength to navigate this world mindfully, beneficially and sustainably.
That we may be both a beacon and a compass to those in need of an example or guidance.
And that we may leave this world a better place than we found it.

Thank you for the ability to learn and love and laugh and grow.

Thank you for the opportunity to be and to create change in the world, here and now, by changing ourselves.

Thank you for life and for the joyful act of living.

Amen