Since we meet on Wednesday evenings, the night before Thanksgiving has been focused on a Buddhist perspective on gratitude and the increasing spirit of generosity that emerges from dedicated mindfulness and lovingkindness meditation practices. The participants in the group each talked of their experiences related to their practice and this time of year.
This recording contains a guided contemplation on the complexity and richness of life that is often overlooked, especially the day-to-day conveniences we take for granted, as well as the blessing of having found the Buddhist Path of Awakening.
It’s our custom to devote the meeting on Thanksgiving Eve to shared experiences on how Buddhist practices foster gratitude, and how gratitude fosters generosity, which the Buddha regarded as the foremost of the qualities we develop as the awakening process unfolds. We hope that listening to this dialogue will inspire your practice of awakening.
During this talk Tommy gave some background information about the Buddhist concept of dana, translated as generosity. He related this as an outgrowth of gratitude for the clarity and relief brought about through intensive meditation practice. He emphasized the application of gratitude and generosity as important applications of Buddhism, and that generosity depends more on the degree of awareness of the practitioner. He mentioned some of the possible applications of generosity in life. This was followed by the closing night Dhamma talk provided by Peter
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During this dialogue, Tommy reflected back over the last two dhamma dialogue topics, relating them specifically to his practice of realizing them in his daily life. He shared his appreciation for how the teachings supported him during a recent family medical crisis, while also expressing gratitude for the medical personnel who attended to his son, who was quite ill. He also shared some of his “reminder notes” that he uses to reflect on the precepts, the remembrances, and other sayings that inspire his practice.
During next week’s dialogue, Peter will speak about the core practice concepts and principles in the Four Noble Truths discourse that remain relevant in our era.
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