A Powerful Exercise To Cultivate Gratitude

Reflecting on dependent arising and the interdependence of everything.

It is almost a year and a half since I started to learn Buddhist teachings. What I have learned has had a profound impact on my life. I still have so much to learn. 

Today I want to share one of the most profound practices I use in my daily life that always fills me with gratitude. It is an exercise we all can perform in our daily lives at any moment. 

The practice is based on the Buddhist teaching on dependent arising. The concept of dependent arising, also known as dependent origination or interdependent co-arising, is a profound and fundamental teaching that elucidates the nature of existence and the interconnected relationship of all phenomena. According to dependent arising, nothing exists as a separate self in isolation or independently from everything else. Everything is interdependent and arises based on multiple causes and conditions. 

Let's look at the example of a flower. The flower is intricately connected to a multitude of phenomena. The flower emerges from a complex web of interdependence, reliant on various factors for its existence. The flower would not exist without sunlight. The flower also relies on healthy soil beneath it, providing nutrients, minerals, and water through its roots. The well-being and growth of the flower depend on the climate, the temperature, and the presence of other plants and insects in its ecosystem. And this is just scratching the surface. Try to think about everything that had to happen in the years prior for the flower to appear now.

We human beings, just like a flower, rely on uncountable causes and conditions for us to exist now at this moment. However, we as human beings usually don't stop and think in this manner. Our egos and our delusions get in the way of us. With its deeply ingrained sense of self-importance and separateness, the ego thinks of itself as a separate entity from the rest of the world. It becomes a barrier, preventing us from seeing the interconnectedness of our existence.

How to practice reflection on dependent arising

So how do we practice reflecting on the teaching on dependent arising? What I love to do is to take a walk. As I walk, I observe my surroundings and think about the teaching. For example, I might look at the pavement underneath my feet and reflect deeply upon how it has come into existence for me to walk on it. 

I see the men who have built the road for me to walk on.
I see the mothers and fathers who have raised these incredible men who have made this road for me to walk on.
I see the grandmothers and grandfathers and all the past generations.
I see the animals, plants, and water providing food for all generations.
I see the community around allowing this road to be built in this area.
I see the workers and factories providing the know-how and material to build the road.
I see nature and the sun providing us with warmth and light to exist.

My heart is filled with appreciation as I practice on my walk. Gratitude is a powerful energy that will lift me. I feel lighter and happier. I become kinder, and the more I practice, the better the thoughts in my inner mindstream become. Long gone are the thoughts of the ego and its self-importance.

You can practice this throughout your day at any time. For example, when you shower, consider all the conditions that have come together for a nice warm shower in a safe environment. Think of how the whole system of pipes, drainage, clean water, etc., is made for you to have a bath. Or think of the next time you cook about how the frying pan you hold came into existence and how it allows you to make delicious food.

So I invite you to practice this profound teaching. We can defeat our egos by practicing the teaching on dependent arising in our daily lives. And more importantly, we can cultivate the power of gratitude in our daily lives. It will open our hearts leading to a profound transformation in our emotional well-being and outlook on the world.