This is a meditation on gratitude and joy.
In Tibet,
The monks and nuns offer prayers of gratitude for the suffering they've been given.
Grant that I might have enough suffering to awaken in me the deepest possible compassion and wisdom.
The Taoists speak about life's 10,
000 joys and 10,
000 sorrows.
The aim of spiritual life is to awaken a natural,
Joyful freedom,
A kind and compassionate heart in the face of everything.
Gratitude is really an acknowledgement of everything that supports us.
A vow of gratitude to our blessings,
An appreciation of our good fortune,
What supports us in our daily life.
It's really an appreciation of life itself.
As gratitude grows,
It gives rise to joy,
Which is the natural expression of an open heart,
Appreciating the goodness around us in others and in ourselves.
Like gratitude,
Joy gladdens the heart.
We can be joyful for those whom we love,
For moments of happiness,
For the birds and the animals and the trees,
From the very breath of life that sustains us.
And as our joy deepens,
We can discover a happiness that doesn't depend on conditions.
We can be happy in life itself,
Just in being alive.
So for this meditation,
Let yourself sit comfortably,
At ease.
Allow your body to be relaxed,
Open,
At ease.
Your breath to be natural,
Your heart at ease.
And begin this practice of gratitude by feeling how throughout your life you've cared for your own life.
And let yourself acknowledge all that has supported you in this life.
And I'll use some traditional phrases and you can reflect on these.
With gratitude,
I remember the beings and creatures,
The plants,
The air and the water,
The sea and the earth,
All whose efforts bless my life every day.
With gratitude,
I remember the work and the labour of all the generations of ancestors who came before me.
I offer gratitude for the safety and security and wellbeing that I've been given.
I offer gratitude for the blessings of the earth that I've been given.
I offer gratitude for the measure of health that has been given to me.
I offer gratitude for my family and my friends that I've been given.
I offer my gratitude for the community that I've been given.
I offer my gratitude for the teachings and practices that have supported me that I've been given.
I offer my gratitude for the life that I've been given.
And you might just take a few moments to let the gratitude arise for anything else in your life that you appreciate and feel grateful for.
And just as we're grateful for our own blessings,
So we can be grateful for the blessings of others.
So continue to breathe in a relaxed and comfortable way.
And bring to mind somebody you care about.
Somebody who you can feel joy when you bring them into your mind and heart.
And picture them.
Feel the natural joy you have for their goodness,
Their wellbeing,
Their happiness.
And with each breath,
Offer them your grateful,
Heartfelt wish.
May you be joyful.
May your happiness increase.
May you not be separated from great happiness.
May your good fortune and the causes for your joy and happiness increase.
May you be joyful.
May your happiness increase.
May you not be separated from great happiness.
May your good fortune and the causes for your joy and happiness increase.
Feel the joy and the caring in each phrase.
See if you can touch into the felt sense in the body,
In the heart.
Just breathing into the phrases.
And when you feel ready,
You might extend this practice to another person you care about.
And recite the same phrases to express your gratitude,
The joy of your heart.
May you be joyful.
May your happiness increase.
May you not be separated from great happiness.
May your good fortune and the causes for your joy and happiness increase.
And it's important in this meditation to not leave ourselves out of these wishes.
So opening to our own,
Caring for this being for ourselves,
Wishing happiness and joy.
Feeling joy in our own happiness.
May I be joyful.
May my happiness increase.
May I not be separated from great happiness.
May my good fortune and the causes for my joy and happiness increase.
Over these next minutes,
You might gradually open the meditation to include others.
Include neutral people who you may not have strong feelings towards either way.
Difficult people.
Until you extend appreciative joy to all beings everywhere.
Young,
Old,
Near,
Far.
May you be joyful.
May your happiness increase.
May you not be separated from great happiness.
May your good fortune and the causes for your joy and happiness increase.
Allow yourself to feel in your body,
In your heart,
Your happiness and joy at the well-being and happiness of others.
And of yourself.
May you be joyful.
May your happiness increase.
May you not be separated from great happiness.
May your good fortune and the causes for your joy and happiness increase.
Extending these wishes to all beings everywhere.
May all beings be joyful.
May all beings increase in happiness.
May they not be separated from great happiness.
May their good fortune and the causes for their joy and happiness increase.
May they not be separated from great happiness.
Thank you.
