Gratitude 11/7/07 - Dharma

Today's Daily Dharma from Tricycle is reason enough to be grateful:

Automatic Joy and Sorrow

The view of interdependence makes for a great openness of mind. In general, instead of realizing that what we experience arises from a complicated network of causes, we tend to attribute happiness or sadness, for example, to single, individual sources. But if this were so, as soon as we came into contact with what we consider to be good, we would automatically be happy, and conversely, in the case of bad things, invariably sad. The causes of joy and sorrow would be easy to identify and target. It would all be very simple, and there would be good reason for our anger and attachment. When, on the other hand, we consider that everything we experience results from a complex interplay of causes and conditions, we find that there is no single thing to desire or resent, and it is more difficult for the afflictions of attachment or anger to arise. In this way, the view of interdependence makes our mind more relaxed and open.

~ The Dalai Lama, A Flash of Lightening in the Dark of Night; from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book.

Tags: Buddhism, Automatic Joy and Sorrow, Daily Dharma, Tricycle, gratitude, The Dalai Lama, A Flash of Lightening in the Dark of Night