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my life to the pure compassion of 
my teacher. 
Therefore even if I feel tired now 
and then 
and would prefer to take a rest, out 
of gratitude 
I realize that for as long as my 
teacher 
Blessing Twenty-Five: Gratitude 
283 
doesn't rest from our mission, it is 
not my 
place to protest "How much longer 
do we 
have to wait before we can take a 
rest," or 
worse than that to go about 
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persuading other 
oarsmen to take a rest too." 
We will begin to realize that the 
difficulties we 
are facing in our personal 
cultivation are very 
minor when compared to the huge 
debt of gratitude 
we have to our teacher for 
ameliorating the 
course of our destiny! 
Thus gratitude is a form of social 
approval which 
can be used to give leverage in 
elevating the usual 
threshold of our patience in 
cultivating virtue to 
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the level of the ideal — even 
beyond the bolstering 
effect of respect. But something 
which remains of 
the utmost importance in the 
cultivation of virtue 
is that we must train ourselves a 
great deal in the 
regular practice of meditation —
especially at times 
when we must `weather out' 
conflicts or when we 
are feeling demoralized — we 
must be quick to sit 
for meditation, because otherwise 
hesitation can 
cost us our career of virtue 
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cultivation. 
Schoolchildren persevere in their 
studies, often 
not because of their own intent, but 
out of gratitude 
to their parents and teachers. 
Similarly spiritual 
practitioners,who in spite of their 
good intentions 
often succumb to petty quibbling 
with their 
fellow practitioners, can keep 
themselves on track 
to self-betterment by reminding 
themselves of their 
gratitude to the Lord Buddha and 
their spiritual 
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teachers, even when their own 
vocation might be 
weak. Thus gratitude is one of the 
most important 
virtues which will act as a catalyst 
to allow even 
higher virtues to be developed in 
the future. 
B. GRATITUDE AND 
INGRATITUDE 
B.1 Definitions 
The Pali word for `gratitude', 
katanilE, used in 
this Blessing means recognizing 
benefit or virtue 
(in Pali the same word `guAa' is 
used for both commodities). 
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It is similar to the western notion 
of `loyalty' 
— but loyalty to those people or 
things that 
have done favours for us or 
brought us benefit in 
the past. For our purposes in this 
blessing, 
`katafifiE' means: 
I. Recognizing benefit brought to 
us by others: Such 
benefit usually comes to us as the 
result of an 
intentional effort on behalf of 
benefactor. In this 
context, the word `gratitude' is a 
reasonable 
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translation. 
2. Recognizing the latent benefit: 
sometimes benefit 
comes to us not by any intentional 
action, 
but simply by the presence of a 
personage or a 
thing with latent virtue. An 
example of this is a 
paccekabuddha who is enlightened 
and has rid 
himself of all defilements — but 
because he lacks 
teaching skills is unable to 
transform his latent 
virtue into benefit for others who 
want to learn 
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from him. It also applies to the 
benefit of things 
like merit in our mind accumulated 
by our past 
actions. This second meaning is 
something we 
have not yet met in the preceding 
Blessings —
and it is not quite the same as 
respect either. 
B.2 Degrees of Gratitude 
When we categorize any sort of 
thing in the world, 
we have to choose the standards by 
which we judge 
them. Some people divide up 
people according to 
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the colour of their skin, or their 
nationality or the 
level of their knowledge, or maybe 
you can divide 
them into fools and wise men as 
we have done since 
the earliest Blessings. However, 
using gratitude as 
your standard, you can divide 
people into three 
different types: 
I. Able to appreciate favours 
received from others 
[katafitiu]: This might be compared 
to virtue at 
the primary school level. Even 
some animals have 
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virtue at this level of development 
so any person who 
still lacks this virtue should 
seriously question their 
own level of maturity. If you can 
already practice virtue 
at this level you can congratulate 
yourself that 
you are already more advanced 
than some dogs! 
2. Able to appreciate the favours 
received from others 
and repays his debt of gratitude to 
others 
too [kataririE-kataveda This 
might be compared 
to virtue at the secondary school 
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just thinks, "my parents have done 
me a favour 
by bringing me up so I will return 
the favour by 
looking after them in their old age" 
then it is only 
goodness at the secondary school 
level. If the 
person is truly virtuous he will not 
only repay 
his debt of gratitude to his parents 
— he will also 
honour them in some of the ways 
already discussed 
in Blessing Eleven (§D. & E.). If 
you remember, 
you can honour people in two 
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ways —
with gifts [amisapEjA] and also by 
putting into 
practice what they have taught and 
exemplified 
for your benefit [patipatipEjA]. 
You can see the 
distinction clearly in the case of a 
person who 
looks after their parents in their old 
age, but they 
never listen to any advice their 
parents give —
they do whatever they feel like 
doing — they 
never think what they might do to 
keep up the 
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parent's inspiration to take concern 
for their 
child's well-being. 
B.3 Degrees of Ingratitude 
Similarly using ingratitude as your 
standard, you 
can divide people into three 
different types: 
I. Low-down people: Even though 
you know that 
a person has done you favours in 
the past, you 
don't even attempt to repay your 
debt of gratitude. 
The Buddha didn't go as far as to 
cause 
such people wicked but he called 
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them `lowdown' 
people. Such people often try to 
forget the 
good things that people have done 
for them in 
the past. Even a pet dog will help 
the owner 
guard the house, but if human 
being doesn't even 
recognize the debt of gratitude 
they have to another, 
there is something seriously 
wrong. 
2. Wicked people: Such people are 
unable even to 
recognize the benefits or favours 
brought to them 
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by others. In the olden days, even a 
robber 
wouldn't touch the possessions in 
a house where 
he had been given a free meal. 
However, the robbers 
of today are different. When they 
have finished 
the food they have been given, 
they will 
steal everything in the house and 
even hurt the 
householders too. Doing a favour 
for such a person 
is lost on them. 
3. Treacherer: Such a person goes 
further than the 
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forgoing — they will not only fail 
to recognize 
the benefits they have received 
from others —
they bite the hand that feeds. They 
will not stop 
short of killing those to whom they 
have a debt 
of gratitude. Such a person might 
grow up as 
adopted child in someone's house, 
and as soon 
as they are old enough, run off 
with the householder's 
daughter. 
Ungrateful people find it very 
difficult to integrate 
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in society because they cannot 
accept the thinking 
of anyone else. If you are ever on 
the receiving end 
of a new acquaintance, employee, 
spouse etc. then 
always examine the degree to 
which they have or 
lack gratitude. If they have no 
gratitude and are 
unable to develop it, especially for 
their own parents, 
never shelter them in your house 
— no matter 
how tempting it may be to have 
someone who 
is very skilled or talented close at 
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hand. You may 
find otherwise, it is like letting a 
cobra into your 
house. If you find your own 
children have such a 
tendency, quickly reeducate them 
from an early age, 
otherwise when they grow up there 
will be no limit 
to the evil they will be capable of. 
Don't go thinking 
that they will understand for 
themselves when 
they get older. You have to take 
responsibility for 
guiding them from the earliest 
possible age. 
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C. OBJECTS OF GRATITUDE 
C.1 Comparison between Respect 
and Gratitude 
There are many parallels between 
the list of people 
and things worthy of gratitude and 
those worthy 
of respect already discussed in 
Blessing Three. 
Gratitude is elicited not merely by 
a person or a 
thing that has latent virtue 
but 
by the good that 
person or thing has done us. Thus 
the objects of 
gratitude tend to be more concrete 
than the corresponding 
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