One thing which we must keep in our mind and be grateful for is that our life has been secured for us by our ancestors from a long time ago. We have parents, our parents have their parents, and their parents have their parents too. In this way, our family tree has been extended to us, just like the light of a candle which has been relayed from a long, long time ago.

All Buddhist events are based on the idea of gratitude, including the week of O-Higan held twice a year. There are two meanings: One is to express thanks to our ancestors and to understand how important life is; the other is to obtain a peaceful mind through Buddhist practices. Expressing thanks to one’s ancestors means to understand gratitude religiously. As a result, we hold a service to pray for our ancestors, but sometimes in today’s busy society, we become lazy and forget to pray for them.

Nichiren Shonin said in one of his letters, “Although parents raised ten children with their love, the grownup children would not take care of their mother. Though all wives want to sleep with a warm husband, there is no wife who wants to keep her mother’s cold feet warm. Even if a person takes care of his parents well when they are alive, and after the parents passing he faithfully holds Memorial Services properly for three years, after another ten years no one takes care of his parents anymore.” (Gyobu Saemon-no-jo Nyobo Gohenji)

When we take all phenomena for granted, a thankful mind cannot survive. The Buddha teaches us to pay attention, observe everything as it is – all phenomena have a cause and effect which relate to each other, influence each other, and become universally “as it is.” When we realize this teaching, we will be impressed by the wonder of nature and the wisdom of our ancestors. Then, gratitude will naturally arise within us.

In order to express gratitude willingly, we require a feeling of thankfulness. Thus, Buddhism places a great emphasis on a way of life of being able to express thanks naturally, rather than forcing us to express it as a commandment.

All the teachings of Buddhism are based on peace and harmony. This does not mean peace and harmony within only human society, but also encompasses animals, plants and everything in nature. The teachings direct us to live harmoniously and respect all living beings. This is the way of a peaceful mind and a mind of enlightenment, which Buddhists aspire to.