Compassion is a strength, a generosity, a joy, a guardian of the mind, a rescue from fear and all forms of suffering, and a fountain of peace. It brings untold benefit both for one who gives it and for one who receives it. Compassion enhances the sublime abidings and the factors of awakening, thus serving, in and of itself, as a dynamic vehicle for the heart’s liberation.

After we set the context of the holiday of Thanksgiving, including Native perspectives, we explore the inter-related qualities of generosity and gratitude. Gratitude is especially in relationship to acknowledging the generosity of others, and of life. We clarify a number of ways to cultivate these two qualities. The talk integrates some discussion and is followed by a longer period of discussion.

Like the waves of the ocean, the breath rises and falls. Bring loving awareness to the breath. Shift your attention from the breath to all the sensations in your body. With mindful loving awareness, notice the whole field of sensations. If there are areas of pain or stiffness, bow to them and hold them with kindness. Hold them as you would a child who is going through a hard time. Notice how this kind loving awareness allows for the tension and knots to soften in their own way. Now as an expression of gratitude, say thank you to your own body for caring so much, for holding so much as you move through the days and nights. Tell your body, “I’m ok just now—you can relax. You can rest.” Now bring your attention to your heart that carries so much. Notice all that your heart has been holding: longings, fear, love, worry, frustration, excitement, sadness, appreciation, doubt, deep love. Say thank you to your heart for caring so much, for trying to help and protect you. Tell your heart, “I’m ok just now—you can relax. You can rest.” Let your heart be at ease. Now bring your attention to your mind that produces a stream of thoughts, images, pictures, plans, memories, ideas. Feel the energy of the mind, creative, sometimes obsessed, analyzing, exploring, opening. Say thank you for working so hard to take care of you, to protect you. Tell your mind, “I’m ok just now—you can relax. You can rest.” Notice that you’re not your body, feelings, thoughts. You are the loving witness, you are consciousness itself. You are the loving awareness that acknowledges the body, heart and mind. Relax into loving awareness. You are the silent, vast witness to it all.

Gratitude is a gracious acknowledgment of all that sustains us, a bow to our blessings, great and small. Gratitude is the confidence in life itself. In it, we feel how the same force that pushes grass through cracks in the sidewalk invigorates our own life. Gratitude does not envy or compare. Gratitude receives in wonder the myriad offerings of rain and sunlight, the care that supports every single life.

The Buddha famously taught that the Sangha is the most important aspect of “the Holy Life”. And Indigenous wisdom (and recent biology) teach us that natural systems are also a sangha, a web of connection, kept healthy by reciprocity and generosity. Betsy reflects on the dharma of the “Mother Trees”, and how elders (and youth) feed the life of our human ecosystem.

The parami are ten qualities of heart and mind that carry us in challenging times. This week we explored the parami of dana (generosity), and the way our individual acts of generosity become a way of living in kindness.

At the start of a retreat, we are often troubled by expectations and habits. Gladding the mind is a gift we give ourselves. Practice around generosity, gratitude and metta can brighten the mind.

In cultivation we’re learning to experience things directly as they really are. We come to understand that we are moved and triggered by signs, not things. A lot of practice is about turning attention away from unskillful signs and cultivating skillful ones – cooperation, generosity, goodness. Then you’ve got something precious that takes you through difficult places and makes you feel comfortable when you’re in a bleak state.

Meditation on generosity, guided by Bhante Akāliko. Dhamma talk by Bhante Sujato on his translation of the Sutta Nipata. Story of Bāvari from the Pārāyanavagga (Snp 5): The Way to the Beyond.

Reflections on what it has meant to find true refuge, by experiencing the generosity of Sangha through grief, through isolation and through their wisdom.