Cattāri Brahmavihārā

For some reason, I have become fixated on the idea of gratitude in the last few days as a practice and attitude in daily life. Searching the internet I haven’t found much although (as I’ve mentioned before) gratitude is taken as the theme and figures prominently in the Mangala Sutta. One site that is of interest is this one: http://www.gratefulness.org/index.htm

I’m not too clear on what it is yet as I haven’t had a chance to peruse it but there does seem to be a section which includes links on different practices to cultivate gratitude. Anyway, I spent this afternoon’s formal meditation session reflecting on my gratitude for five people in my life and found that, towards  the end, my heart/mind was considerably brighter despite the fact that my attention was pulled back to a sense of doubt and anxiety every time I let my awareness slip off of the object. Although I am unsure of how to articulate this, I do remember Ajahn Mun exhorting his students to always bring one’s awareness back within rather than allowing one’s awareness and attention to flow out and become scattered or lost in papanca.  This is especially difficult when working with the brahma viharas and similar practices because so much of the practice relies on external subjects but I definitely feel it’s a good thing to remember as we practice so as not to lose ourselves in a maze of thoughts about the people we are practicing with/for. May this rambling be of benefit! Be well.