Possessing Four Things

Possessing four things

One who is foolish, immature, not a person of Good,

Keeps himself severed and uprooted (from the Dhamma)

He is blameworthy, and blamable,

And he generates much demerit:

What four?

1.     Physical misconduct,

2.     Verbal misconduct,

3.     Mental misconduct,

4.     Ingratitude, non-appreciation

Possessing four things,

One who is wise, mature, a person of Good,

Keeps himself connected and firmly planted, (in the Dhamma)

He is blameless and unblameable,

He generates much goodness:

What four?

1.     Physical good conduct,

2.     Verbal good conduct,

3.     Mental good conduct,

4.     Gratitude and appreciation.”  - Akataññutā Sutta, translated by Bhante Ānanda 

This advice comes to us from the early days of Buddhism.  Christian friends might already recognize a pattern in the four things that are said to generate much demerit, from a common confession format used in many churches: “I have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed.”  But isn’t ingratitude already covered under mental misconduct?  Why is gratitude considered so important that it gets its own bullet point here?

I work for the US Army, which involves a lot of training.  “Resilience Training” teaches us how to keep our bodies and minds ready for whatever the future holds.  Very often, this is about changing our perspective.  In a session called, “Hunt the Good Stuff”, the focus is on spending time every day remembering things we’re grateful for or positive things that happened.  Modern science is now validating that approach.  Recent studies at the University of California have found that feeling gratitude causes increased brain activity that leads to less stress, better sleep, and more positive attitudes toward other people.  People in India thousands of years ago couldn’t discover this by doing an MRI.  Maybe they just found something that worked well and decided to keep it up.

Of course, Buddhism isn’t the only faith tradition that puts a lot of emphasis on gratitude.  On Monday, November 22nd, the Inter-Religious Council of Linn County will hold its annual Thanksgiving Service, including prayers and readings from many different traditions.  It will be live on Facebook as well, because we know that not everyone is able to attend events in person right now.  Please join us!

Written by Kelly Kruse.