While teaching Vipassana S.N.Goenka emphasized that devotionon the path should not be blinddevotion; we should not accept acertain truth because our teacher

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In this week, while USA residents observe the Thanksgiving holiday, we take theopportunity to empasize our gratitude to all customers, donors, volunteers and well-wishers, for the support given to Pariyatti this year. Many minds, hearts and hands came together, with one collective intention; ofsharing the gift of Dhamma with the world. We are immensely grateful for that. Mayyour good deeds be an inspiration for others to practice. May your generosity oftime and resource be a benefit to your progress on the Path.

Gratitude on the path of Dhamma

said so, but rather practice andexperience it for ourselves. In thesame way showing gratitude shouldnot be a blind devotional action.

Whenever the concept of (showing) gratitude is mentioned within our tradition, it isin the context of 'walking the path and paying it forward'. In the discourse on day 10 of a Vipassana course Goenkaji mentions: "in any personwho progresses on the path there will arise a feeling of gratitude and also a volitionto serve others without expecting anything in return. These two qualities werenotable in Siddhattha Gotama, the historical Buddha. He had achievedenlightenment entirely by his own efforts. Nevertheless, out of compassion for allbeings, he sought to teach the technique he had found to others." "The same qualities will appear in all who practice the technique [of Vipassana] andwho eradicate, to some extent, the old habit of egotism… along with the experienceof Dhamma there is bound to grow a feeling of gratitude to Gotama the Buddha forfinding and teaching this technique, and gratitude as well to those who selflesslystrove to maintain the teaching in its original purity through twenty-five centuries tothe present day."

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On Day 2 of the Satipatthana Sutta course Goenkaji tells the story of how thepreservation of the technique came to be: "When the Buddha passed away at the age of 80, his students then present whowere arahants, fully liberated, understood that everyone, a Buddha or an ordinaryperson, has to pass away. This is a law of nature. Others of his students who werenot developed to this extent felt very sad, and some even cried. However oneperson, a monk, old in age but not in wisdom, dissented. He felt very happy that theold man had passed away: now they were free of his clutches and could do whatthey liked. The Buddha’s own teaching was after all: You are your own master.

This incident reveals that elements had already entered the Sangha who were notinterested in Dhamma, but had come for status, a comfortable life and more almsand respect they would receive otherwise. I feel very grateful to this monk. Why? When Mahākassapa, a wise elderly monk, an arahant, fully liberated, heard this, hedecided to preserve the actual teachings of the Buddha against future distortion bysuch elements. For 45 years the Buddha had taught Dhamma, hardly resting two orthree hours at night and even that not in ordinary sleep but with awareness andequanimity, with wisdom. He had given 82,000 discourses, and his leading arahants disciples another 2,000.Mahākassapa thought that others, like this old monk in future would misquote theteachings, substituting their own words and removing essential disciplines -all ofwhich did happen. He decided to call a conference of 500 elderly minks, arahants and eyewitnesses tothe Buddha’s teachings, to recite compile and authenticate the actual words."

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In an article (1985) Goenkaji touches on his gratitude for the preservation of bothpariyatti (theory) and patipatti (practice).

"From these experiences boundless gratitude would arise in me, firstly to theBuddha and then to his Dhamma sons, the chain of teacher and pupil extending linkby link from the Buddha to Sayagyi U Ba Khin. To all of them I felt deep gratitudefor preserving this technique in its original purity without any admixturewhatsoever." "At the same time gratitude would arise in me towards all those who had preservedthe words of the Buddha free from any corruptions, so that today it is still possibleto read them and be inspired by them. Pariyatti and patipatti—study accompaniedby practice—these two seemed to me like a gem, the beauty of which is enhancedby its golden setting. How greatly I benefited from these experiences, yet how littleare such experiences accessible to meditators today!" We are grateful that much has changed since then and that we have been part ofthat. During the same year Goenkaji expressed the words above, Pariyatti started itsendeavors of disseminating the words of the Buddha. Again: we are grateful for allthe support, advice and creative energy that helped Pariyatti grow from a garage-

At the 1999 Annual Conference atDhamma Giri Goenkaji expressed hisgratitude to his teacher, Sayagyi U BaKhin (here depicted paying respectto Ven. Webu Sayadaw), as follows:

based book service into a non-profit organization, offering range of services in theUSA and internationally.

"In his memory we have to work hard. We may make many memorials, manymonuments. Nothing wrong; do it. But the biggest monument is the individual. Eachof you is a monument. Develop yourself to such an extent in Dhamma, so thatpeople know "Here is a Vipassana meditator who got Dhamma from Sayagyi U BaKhin and his tradition. Oh, how it changes people! How this person has progressed!"Everyone should do that in one’s own interest. You are not obliging Sayagyi U BaKhin by developing yourself in Dhamma. Of course, you are making an effort toshow your gratitude towards him; at the same time you are making an effort toencourage people to come on the path and help themselves to get liberated." Sayagyi's deep wish was to get the Dhamma re-established in this country of itsorigin (India), and to have it spread around the world. As by the time of his deathonly a small step had been taken, Goenkaji dedicated many years of his life to fulfillthis mission, out of gratitude and volition. Whereas Sayagyi felt the deep wish to help repay Burma’s debt to the Buddha andto the land of the Buddha, many meditators nowadays feel indebted to Burma, forkeeping the teaching alive in pristine form over the centuries, being supremelycareful not to allow it to be polluted. The Golden Path, is a unique guide (FREE PDF) for Dhamma seekers who wish todevelop in patipatti (practice) and pariyatti (theory) while in Myanmar (Burma) andgain an appreciation of Burmese Buddhist and monastic life.

Pilgrimages

Currently 31 Pariyatti pilgrims are on theway ‘Along the Path’. The image depictsthem participating in a Sangha Dana atthe Burmese Vihara in Bodhgayā.Goenkaji taught some of his first 10-dayVipassana courses in India there. Whilethe pilgrims offered the Sangha of theBurmese Vihara their daily meal, theyshowed to be full of mettā, gratitude andvolition.

Upcoming pilgrimage Along the Path (India & Nepal)February 28 to March 21, 2018

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Introductory (Sean Salkin):January 7 - 17, 2018

*Intermediate (Sean Salkin):

January 17 - 21, 2018*

Introductory (Adriana Patiño):September 10 - 16, 2018

*Temecula, California, USA

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Learn Pāli for free at Pariyatti’s Learning Centre (PLC). The course calledBuddhasahassanāmāvali uses verses that Vipassana meditation teacher S.N. Goenkacomposed and chanted to express his gratitude and devotion towards the Buddha asthe basis for learning Pāli.

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Donations: Either one-time or monthly pledge Pariyatti is a charitable, nonprofit, educational support system for the Dhammacommunity. Pariyatti exists because of funds donated by supporters.FACT: Did you know that Pariyatti is the sole distributor in the West for publications from the Vipassana ResearchInstitute (VRI), Pāli Text Society (PTS) and Buddhist Publication Society (BPS)?

Daily Words

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The Pāli word for gratitude is kataññu-katavedita — acknowledging the debt owedto others and paying it back with gratitude.

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