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Unlocking Spiritual Abundance

— Foundational Practices of Altruistic Psychology: Gratitude —

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Understanding Gratitude (30 minutes)

Beneficial Thinking (30 minutes)

Practicing Gratitude — Gratitude Journal (15 minutes)
                             The Web of Interdependent Origination (40 minutes)

Summary & Practice Plan (10 minutes)

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PART 01

Understanding Gratitude

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Understanding Gratitude

Definition:
Be grateful for all that you have,
and appreciate everyone who has contributed.

The gratitude in Buddhism is not limited to a specific person or thing. Buddhism holds that all beings are interdependent — no one can survive without family, society, the broader community and nature. Therefore, we should face everything with a heart of gratitude.

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In-Class Exercise: Self-Reflection (10 min)

Observe your behaviors and inner states in various life situations — with gratitude and without. Fill in the table below, and estimate the proportion of time gratitude is "online" vs. "offline" in each situation.

| Scenario | State Without Gratitude | % | State With Gratitude | % |
| Ex: Group practice | Dissatisfied with certain classmates, complaining, thinking "they don't self-study, their sharing goes way off topic, wasting my time!" | 30% | Grateful for all classmates; without them, I'd have no partners to learn with | 70% |
| Ex: Eating | Picky, finding the food not to my taste, the server gave too little, the line is too long... | 40% | Thinking of all the labor that went into this meal, truly savoring the nourishment, feeling deeply content and energized | 60% |
| With family |  |  |  |  |

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Group Discussion & Sharing (15 min)

In various life situations, how often is my gratitude "online"?

When I feel grateful for the people, events, and things around me, what is my mental experience? What is my physical experience?

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{% 利益思维 = benefit-oriented thinking / thinking in terms of practical benefits %}

PART 02

Beneficial Thinking

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{% 最佳收益 lit. "optimal benefit/return" — rendered as "Maximum Enjoyment" for natural English flow %}

Why Practice Gratitude (Beneficial Thinking)

According to leading gratitude researcher Robert Emmons (Emmons & Mishra, 2012), practicing gratitude brings eight distinct benefits:

Maximum Enjoyment: Gratitude allows us to derive the greatest satisfaction from positive experiences.

Self-Worth and Self-Esteem: Gratitude enhances our self-worth and self-esteem, making us more confident and effective. It helps avoid self-pity — a tendency to feel like a victim.

Coping with Stress: Gratitude helps us cope with stress and adversity. After the initial shock, gratitude helps us assess what matters most in life.

Helping Others: Grateful people are more likely to help others. They become more aware of acts of kindness and care, and feel compelled to reciprocate. They are less likely to be materialistic and more likely to cherish what they have.

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Better Relationships: Gratitude strengthens our relationships. When we truly recognize the value of friends and family, we tend to treat them better. When we are kind to them, they are kind to us in return.

Fewer Negative Comparisons: Expressing gratitude reduces the likelihood of comparing ourselves to others. We become grateful and content with what we have (friends, family, home, health), and are less likely to feel upset about what we lack.

Fewer Negative Emotions: When we express gratitude, we tend to experience fewer negative emotions. For instance, when we are grateful, we are less likely to feel guilt, greed, or anger.

Slower Adaptation: How long does the joy of a new possession last? Initially, we feel happy, but that happiness doesn't last long. By appreciating the meaning and value of things and experiences, we can slow this adaptation and extend the experience of joy.

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Modern empirical psychology research has found that sustained, long-term gratitude practice can:

Significantly reduce anxiety and depression levels, and increase well-being.

Enhance physical health and immune function; reduce inflammation; improve heart health.

Improve relationships: workplace collaboration efficiency increases by 55%; expressions of gratitude within families reduce conflict rates by 37%.

Achieve goals faster and better: students with high gratitude levels show a 42% increase in academic goal attainment; workplace innovation proposals increase by 55%.

Improve sleep quality: reduce time to fall asleep by 19 minutes; increase deep sleep duration by 17%.

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{% 调柔 = Buddhist term: a mind that is tamed, softened, pliable — rendered as "gentle, flexible" %}
{% 福报 = blessings and merit accumulated through wholesome deeds %}

From the Buddhist perspective, a grateful heart brings these benefits:

Gratitude is the wellspring of blessings and good fortune.

It makes the mind gentle, flexible, and joyful.

It generates affinity — bringing joy to others, earning their acceptance, and building positive connections with all beings.

It contributes to social harmony.

It is the foundation of loving-kindness and compassion.

Group Discussion & Sharing (15 min)

Drawing from real life, share observed real-world examples for each benefit of gratitude.

Do I need to cultivate gratitude? Why?

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{% 算计你 = scheming against you / plotting against you — rendered colloquially as "out to get us" %}
{% 助缘 = Buddhist term: auxiliary/supporting condition; a contributing factor, not the sole cause %}

Viewing All Beings With a Grateful Heart

Without gratitude, we often feel nothing toward others — or worse, we may develop opposition, feeling that the world is full of enemies out to get us. When we view people with this mindset, we find no joy in anyone, and no one finds joy in us.

If we realize that every day we are receiving the gifts of others — not only the care and love of parents, relatives, and friends, but also the services of people from all walks of life, and even the birds, fish, and insects that co-create the earth's ecosystem — we can view all beings with gratitude and find joy in everything we see. When we regard all beings with such a heart, we naturally develop affinity, bringing joy to others and earning their acceptance. This harmony and joy is a supporting condition for true happiness.

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PART 03

Practicing Gratitude —
Gratitude Journal & The Web of Interdependent Origination

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1. Gratitude Journal

Notice and appreciate the small, beautiful moments in life.

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{% 纸笔 = pen and paper — "pen" omitted in translation; "on paper" covers both %}

In-Class Exercise: Gratitude Journal

Carefully observe the people, events, and things in your life worthy of gratitude. Write them down on your phone or on paper — the more, the better. Rate your "level of gratitude" for each item (1–5, with 5 being deeply grateful).

1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
······

After writing, review your list and experience the feeling of gratitude that arises in your heart. Rest in that feeling for 30 seconds.

Timed exercise: 3 minutes. How many can you write?

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Group Discussion & Sharing (10 min)

Share your gratitude journal.

What feelings and insights arose during the exercise?

What is the effect of this simple practice? Should I continue doing it? Why?

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Gratitude Requires Deliberate Practice

If we don't consciously pay attention to all that we have, we will unconsciously be drawn to negative things.

When we focus on the negative, negative things keep surfacing. More importantly, an excessive focus on negativity blocks out happiness.

Cultivate as much gratitude as you can — it will bring you the most beautiful experience of life and the most abundant existence.

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2. The Web of Interdependent Origination

Every beautiful thing arises from conditions, never in isolation — brought into being by countless beings and interdependent causes.

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{% 有恩于你 = has shown you grace/kindness; 恩 (ēn) = grace, kindness received that calls for repayment %}

Everyone Has Been Kind to You — The Entire World Is Serving You

We do not live in isolation. We need parents to raise us, teachers to instruct us, and even as adults, we cannot live without the contributions of society. Otherwise, we would have to farm our own food, weave our own cloth, and manufacture everything we need. Just considering our daily necessities — clothing, food, shelter, and transportation — how much help and effort have we received from countless beings! Therefore, every being is a benefactor to us, someone we should repay with a grateful heart.

Modern people tend to emphasize the feeling of "self." But from the Buddhist perspective, this "self" is nothing more than a complete and thorough deception. Misled by this sense of self, people easily set themselves against the world, even viewing everyone as a potential enemy — leading to loneliness, self-isolation, and even psychological disorders like depression. If we shift our perspective and recognize that everyone has been kind to us, that the entire world is serving us, then we will never see anyone as a stranger.

Group Discussion & Sharing (10 min)

In daily life, whose contributions do I usually take for granted, rarely feeling grateful toward them?

In daily life, who do I regard as unrelated strangers? With what mindset and attitude do I encounter these "strangers"?

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{% 原子化 = sociological term: atomization — the breakdown of social bonds into isolated individuals %}

In-Class Exercise: The Web of Interdependent Origination (10 min)

Modern "atomized" living often creates an illusion of isolation. In reality, all life is deeply interconnected and mutually dependent.

Choose one thing you are grateful for and write it in the center of a sheet of paper.

List all the causes and conditions (people, events, things) that made this thing possible. Connect them with lines — use boxes for things and events, circles for people.

Each person or thing is itself dependently arisen, not independently existing. Continue listing the causes and conditions behind each of them, forming a "Web of Interdependent Origination."

Notes:
Once familiar with this practice, any object — food, possessions, even a person or an event — can be examined deeply through the lens of dependent origination.

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Interactive Exercise (10 min)

In pairs, exchange your "Web of Interdependent Origination" exercises and supplement each other's: What additional causes and conditions can I think of? (5 min)

Share your additions and insights with each other. (5 min)

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Group Discussion & Sharing (10 min)

What thoughts and feelings arose during the exercise?

Share one chain of interdependent causes that particularly moved you.

What causes and conditions had I never thought to be grateful for?

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{% 上报四重恩 = repaying upward the four great kindnesses (parents, teachers, country, all beings) %}
{% 慈悲心 = loving-kindness (慈) + compassion (悲), a core Buddhist paired virtue %}

See and Appreciate Everything You Have

Living in this world, we are both independent individuals and part of a greater whole — inseparable from the nourishment of all things and the protection of all beings. That we are here today is likewise the result of countless causes and conditions coming together. For all of this, we should feel heartfelt gratitude. In Buddhism, "repaying the four kinds of kindness" means remembering with gratitude the kindness of parents, teachers, country, and all beings, and resolving to repay them. When gratitude arises, the heart becomes joyful and tender, and we naturally think of doing something for society and for all beings. This is the foundation for growing loving-kindness and compassion.

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{% Original slide says "PART 06" — apparent typo; corrected to PART 04 to match the 01→02→03→04 sequence %}

PART 04

Summary & Practice Plan

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Key Takeaways

What is the essence of a grateful heart?
Be grateful for all that you have, and appreciate everyone who has contributed.

What are the benefits of practicing gratitude?
Happiness, joy, blessings, harmony...

How to practice gratitude:
[Gratitude Journal] — Actively notice the people, events, and things in life worthy of gratitude.
[Web of Interdependent Origination] — Establish gratitude through the lens of dependent origination.

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Purpose of the Exercises

Self-Reflection
Build the habit of consciously facing people and situations with gratitude across different life scenarios.

Gratitude Journal
Build the habit of noticing kindness and good things in life (even the smallest ones).

Web of Interdependent Origination
Establish a universal sense of gratitude and broad interconnectedness — feel oneself living within a vast web of causes and conditions, weakening self-centeredness and the sense of isolation.

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{% 座上 = "on the cushion" — formal seated meditation practice; rendered as "Formal" %}
{% 座下 = "off the cushion" — informal practice in daily life; rendered as "informal" %}

Practice Plan

|  | Daily Formal Loving-Kindness Practice | Daily Gratitude Practice |
| Week 1 | Loving-kindness toward oneself — 15 min | Gratitude Journal |
| Week 2 | Loving-kindness toward oneself — 15 min | Web of Interdependent Origination |

1. Practice requirement: Formal + informal practice at least 5 days per week.
2. Daily sharing: Share your daily practice and insights in the class group.
3. After each weekly class session, 2–3 students share their practice reflections from the week.

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Recite Together

A Prayer of Gratitude

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{% 三宝 = Three Jewels: Buddha (佛), Dharma (法), Sangha (僧) %}

A Prayer of Gratitude

Grateful for nature's gifts, grateful for our parents' nurturing,
Grateful for our teachers' guidance, grateful for our country's nourishment,
Grateful for the support of all beings, grateful for the Three Jewels' protection.

May we feel gratitude for all that we have,
and may our gratitude inspire us to give with joy.
May this gratitude bring comfort to all beings,
awaken those sleeping hearts, and dissolve every barrier between self and other.
May people open their hearts in gratitude and care for one another.
May the world be filled with warmth through gratitude, and may peace reign everywhere.

