To Know is To Be Grateful
I just received the year-end newsletter from Dharmagiri (which is the Hermitage in South Africa that I’ll be going to in January). It included this photo of the Sacred Mountain (which is the translation of Dharmagiri) along with this message from Kitisarro and Thanissara, who will be leading the retreat:
“It’s interesting that the the word for gratitude in Pali, katannuta, actually translates as knowing what has been done. Gratitude is less a perfunctory “thanks very much” but more a capacity to appreciate the learning from the whole spectrum of life experiences; even difficulties are something we can be grateful for — usually in retrospect!
“How is that? At some point, once we move out of our reactivity and quiet ourselves into a deeper wisdom, we attune to a knowing that accepts the perfection of our life — just as it is. From there, we are able to feel the blessing of it all.”