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The Buddha often taught his disciples to maintain a proper mindset and to be grateful to one another at all times. Only when people have gratitude in their hearts can they be content in life. Those who are content will enjoy great blessings, and they are bound to be people with high morals and great virtue.
To illustrate this, the Buddha told the story of a country whose people traded in pearls and sandalwood. Though it was a small country, the majority of its people were very wealthy, and only a minority were poor.
In that country, there lived two brothers whose parents had just passed away. The older brother felt that the family assets should be split between them, and each should separately work for his future. However, he could not decide how best to divide the assets to ensure fairness. His wife said, “It should be split thus: one person gets the entire family fortune while the other gets a servant.” After the decision was made, the elder brother naturally got the entire fortune, while his younger brother got only a servant boy.
This servant boy was young and intelligent, and knew that he had been sold as a servant into the household because his own family was poor. Though he had a lowly status, his old master had treated him very well and for that, he was very grateful and content. Knowing that he had nothing valuable on him and that his food and living expenses would add to his young master’s burden, he promised himself that he would serve his master in any way he could.
The young master and his wife and children left what was once their home. With nothing except the servant boy, the young master felt very worried as he had no idea where they could go and how they could make a living. But his servant reassured him: “Don’t worry, I will work hard for you; wealth and honour will be yours one day, and you will return to your hometown in glory.” The young master replied, “I have nothing now and even survival is a problem. How could I ever amass a fortune?”
As he was absorbed in his worries, his wife suddenly discovered that she was still wearing some jade bracelets and gold accessories. She took them off, saying to the servant boy, “These are the only valuables we have now, take them with you and see what you can do!”
The servant boy immediately set forth for the city with the ornaments, hoping to be able to trade them for something. Seeing that there was nothing worth trading for, he then headed out of the city, whereupon he saw someone carrying a bundle of wood for sale. He noticed that there was a slender piece of valuable sandalwood within the bundle, and knowing that sandalwood was prized as a cure for many illnesses, he made a deal with the seller and happily carried the bundle back.
Not long after, a rich man in the village became seriously ill. Though he was very wealthy, he was unable to obtain superior quality sandalwood that was needed for his prescription. The servant boy saw his opportunity and delivered the sandalwood to the rich man’s home.
Once cured of his illness after taking medicine made from the sandalwood, the wealthy gentleman was so grateful and happy that he rewarded the servant boy with half of his family fortune. The servant boy took the money and returned it to his young master. With his knack for doing business, he worked hard over the next few years and helped his master amass much wealth; eventually, the latter became even richer than his elder brother.
Embarking on Spiritual Cultivation
Now that they were living stable and comfortable lives, the young master and his wife had a discussion on how they could repay their servant. “One’s freedom is the most precious thing in one’s life. Regaining his freedom may give him the most happiness,” said his wife. Hearing that, the young master was in total agreement.
One day, the young master told his bond servant: “You’ve given me too much already and I don’t know how I can ever repay you. I’m willing to let you regain your freedom and in addition, I’ll give you a part of my fortune.”
The servant was deeply grateful that his master had released him from a lifetime of bondage. However, he declined to take any money, saying: “I only want my freedom. Perhaps I have not cultivated blessings and virtue in my past life and so, I was born poor and of lowly status. Now I want to embark on spiritual cultivation quickly. I wish to go to the Buddha and request him to accept me as a disciple and let me join his monastic community, so I have no need for any assets.” Hence, his young master gave him his blessings and sent him off happily.
The servant set forth to find the Buddha, who joyfully ordained him as a monk. From then on, he worked very hard to learn the Dharma and practised with great diligence. A few years later, the monk was able to assimilate and benefit from the Buddha’s teachings completely, and he had attained a high level of spiritual cultivation. Besides meticulously upholding the precepts, he was foremost in preaching the Dharma to the masses. Thus, he was widely respected.
Gratitude Begets Blessings and Wisdom
However, the monk never forgot the kindness of his former master. He was very grateful to the latter for letting him regain his freedom so he could have the opportunity to receive the Buddha’s teachings and experience the bliss of entering the Dharma. One day, he took leave of the Buddha and set forth for his former master’s home.
During the reunion, both the monk and his former master were very happy to see each other. The master perceived the dignified appearance of his former servant and was greatly inspired to learn the Dharma. He had a sumptuous vegetarian feast prepared for the monk. After the meal, the monk shared the Dharma he had learned with his former master.
Feeling great joy in hearing the teachings, the master expressed his wish to receive teachings from the Buddha in person. The monk agreed to help, saying, “The Buddha is most compassionate. I will put forth your request, that he may accept the invitation to teach the Dharma here. This way, it will also benefit the people of this country.” Thinking that this made a lot of sense, the master said, “Having experienced the joy of Dharma myself, I must convey this to the king and request him to make known to all that the Buddha will be invited to expound the Dharma so that everyone can benefit from his teachings.”
The arrangements were successfully made and the king, who had long heard of the Buddha’s name, happily came to attend the Dharma lecture. When the Buddha and his disciples arrived, a deep sense of reverence arose in the king’s heart, and he prostrated himself to the Buddha with sincere respect.
After the Buddha had received offerings from the people, he began to expound the Dharma. At that time, many of those present at the assembly had the same thought in their minds: “We have the remarkable opportunity to hear the teachings today all because of this monk. He was once a bond servant, yet he was able to learn and gain wondrous Dharma. How did he come to be so blessed?”
As the Buddha spoke to the people, he said, “We must always be grateful to one another. Those who are grateful will seek to repay others for their kindness, and in this way, they are very blessed. This monk has a grateful heart and knows to count his blessings and cherish them, so he receives even greater blessings. In addition, he also has great virtue and wisdom, and therefore, he was able to gain enlightenment.”
Indeed, we truly must be grateful to one another. The servant boy in the story was grateful to his master; similarly, his master did not forget the help he received from him. This was what brought about a harmonious and happy ending to the story.
When we have a heart of gratitude, we will develop virtuous conduct. No matter whether we are the giver or the receiver, we must keep gratitude in our hearts. Giving love to help others is a blessing, and having gratitude in our hearts is wisdom. In this way, we cultivate both blessings and wisdom.
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