The Ninety-seventh of 108 Gates Of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

The Ninety-seventh Gate; Accretion of Happiness

Accretion of happiness is a gate of Dharma illumination; for it benefits all living beings. (Nishijima/Cross)

Assembling benefaction is a gate of realizing dharma; it benefits sentient beings. (Tanahashi)

Gate Gatha:

May we, together with all buddhas;
Promote the growth of happiness
That we may contribute to the benefit of all living beings.

Reflection Prompts:

1. How does adding to happiness benefit all living beings?
2. Write a new Gate Gatha.
3. Comment on the Capping Verse.

Capping Verse:

Among the dark clouds
Peeks of sun
Follow a warm smile.

合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai

[Tairin]

How does adding to happiness benefit all living beings?

it is like our nurturing seeds. Joy promotes joy. Plant and nurture joyful seeds will produce joyful plants. Planting seeds of fear, despair, anger, etc will render weeds.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Choujou]

Reflection Prompts:

1. How does adding to happiness benefit all living beings?
2. Write a new Gate Gatha.
3. Comment on the Capping Verse.

1. When you add happiness to yourself, you benefit others by not being a jerk! But seriously, happiness is contagious, and when one throws that rock of happiness into the pond of life, then the ripples will go out to all beings and have a positive impact upon them… and then they throw their rocks of happiness, and we get a torrent of good things happening!

2. May we, together with all buddhas;
Throw rocks of happiness into the pond of life
And let it ripple out to all beings everywhere

3. I don’t know if I would “follow” a warm smile… seems like attachment…

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today