+1 vote
by (390 points)
We often hear people saying things like write down 3 things you're grateful for each day or force yourself to smile and you will feel more joyous etc...

Would the Buddha encourage someone to do such things to help us put the right conditions so we feel happier? It doesnt cost anything to try I guess but I wonder if there would be anything to say against such practice from a Buddhist perspective.
by (1.8k points)
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by (390 points)
Thanks a lot for your answer! :)
by (390 points)
I really like to think of the smile of the Buddha!!! Great idea thank you! I don't feed birds (neither swans nor pigeons so I didnt really connect with that metaphor ;) haha but it makes sense!!)

Thanks a lot for your answer!
by (1.8k points)
Pigeons are cool, hehehe. ....Just a thought...
If I say to you, “Imagine a pink pony with a rainbow tail skating on a cloud”. I think you will conceive that image in your mind very easily.  During this time,  Perhaps smiling because of the image, are you aware if your eyes are blinking or have blinked? If so, how many times?  

So then the question arises? Which would be more helpful in the long run? Observing Reality, or Dwelling on conceptions?
by (390 points)
Haha! I won't be looking at pigeons the same way next time I see one! ;)

I like the metaphor of the pink poney with rainbow hehe!!

Thanks again for your help!!! Have a wonderful weekend!

2 Answers

+1 vote
by (800 points)
If you look closely joy, sorrow etc. are all composed of arising and ceasing of the aggregates. Therefore both are dukkha* (stress/suffering/dis-ease/dissatisfaction).

So why would one prefer one form of dukkha over another? Meaning the 3-things exercise is only transitioning one between states of dukkha.

There is a sutta that states that some beings come in darkness and head towards light. Some from darkness to darkness. Others from light to darkness. Still others from light to light. Towards light meaning progressive reduction of dukkha.

Gratitude is a wholesome mental state for sure. Best way to use it is not to feel joyous but to use it to head towards light i.e. become skilled in 4NTs. And settle for no less than complete extinction of dukkha.

It is not pessimistic at all. Levels of dukkha reduction can be quantified by the 10 fetters. Lesser fetters one has more useful one is to themselves and to others. More one can be trusted to do the right thing in a situation instead of doing things to satiate their cravings.

PS: Any mental activity is dukkha. Cessation of that does not necessarily mean death. Beginning meditators can glimpse that. And I strongly believe super advanced meditators choose to engage in mental activity only when they need to.
by (390 points)
Thanks a lot for your answer! :)
+1 vote
by (1.8k points)

In my opinion..

Gratitude is a wonderful quality to have, that can help toward contentment in life.

A Buddha is contentment, and would not be in the act of ‘seeking’ things to be grateful for.  Forcing concepts just leads to disturbance and instability in the mind.  What Buddhists engage in is ‘truth’, clarity and understanding of the way things really are, including feelings.  Clarity is achieved through mindfulness.  If we live a moral, kind life, we cultivate purity of mind, which in turn helps our meditation bare fruit. This evokes a ‘pure’ form of gratitude/contentment from within, in tune with reality..and one that has not been ‘forced’ upon the mind (I.e. not through drugs nor imagining crystal balls nor Gods nor seeking happy thoughts to create conditions), but rather through being mindful in the presence.  So, If ‘Happy’, just note.. ‘happy’. 

When we begin to see the nature of reality clearly, we see within ourselves a connection to ‘all’ life, and the preciousness of it. That is gratitude (in my view).  Ever visited a park and wondered why there is a preference to feeding swans, than to feeding pigeons? But when we see swans getting all the food and pigeons being left out (then how do we feel)?

If You notice on Buddha statues, there is a subtle smile (unlike the exaggerated smiles in our Facebook selfies. Probably worth looking into what that smile represents

by (390 points)
I really like to think of the smile of the Buddha!!! Great idea thank you! I don't feed birds (neither swans nor pigeons so I didnt really connect with that metaphor ;) haha but it makes sense!!)

Thanks a lot for your answer!
by (1.8k points)
Pigeons are cool, hehehe. ....Just a thought...
If I say to you, “Imagine a pink pony with a rainbow tail skating on a cloud”. I think you will conceive that image in your mind very easily.  During this time,  Perhaps smiling because of the image, are you aware if your eyes are blinking or have blinked? If so, how many times?  

So then the question arises? Which would be more helpful in the long run? Observing Reality, or Dwelling on conceptions?
by (390 points)
Haha! I won't be looking at pigeons the same way next time I see one! ;)

I like the metaphor of the pink poney with rainbow hehe!!

Thanks again for your help!!! Have a wonderful weekend!
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