Gratitude as a Daily Practice

I first met Zenju Earthlyn Manuel at an event sponsored by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship around 2006 or 2007. I was impressed with her lovely demeanor, and want to get to know here better.

She is no longer the director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and I keep encountering writings from her from time to time.

These words of wisdom once again come from Tricycle. She is telling us that when we see that “we are nature itself,” we recognize the importance of gratitude as a daily practice.

Remember, “To desire what you don’t have is to waste what you do have!”

For Zenju – complete tenderness – the path of Buddha opened her eyes to the true nature of life. She was ordained by Senior Dharma Teacher Zenkei Blanche Hartman in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.

She was named Earthlyn by her mother weeks after she was born. Her middle name, Marselean, is the Creole name of her paternal grandmother who experienced slavery. Manuel is a Haitian Creole last name.

Willing to Look | August 3, 2014 If we are willing to look long enough in the mirror of zazen [seated meditation], past seeing ourselves as objects, we have the potential to see that we are nature itself—we are born and will die, just as the trees, flowers, and animals in the wild do. – Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, “The Hidden Lamp”

My daily practice of gratitude consists of finding a minimum of three things that happen each data that I am grateful for. It may be as simple as a good bowl of granola that my wife makes with berries or as wonderful as an evening out with friends and / or family.

I usually do this in the evening before I fall asleep and in the morning just after I awaken.

Can you find a way to practice gratitude as a daily practice? There are many articles about his in these pages. Just click here.

Books by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

Be Love: An Exploration of Our Deepest Desire by Zenju Earthlyn Manuel From the author of Tell Me Something About Buddhism (foreword written by Thich Nhat Hanh) comes another straight forward and simple booklet. How can we BE LOVE instead of craving it? This simple booklet explores that question and presents Four Paths of Being Love based in Buddhist teachings. Guarant… [Read More…]