June 8, 2016

Kanshya (Gratitude)

Another in the series I've called "Beyond Happy," this post draws on something I read recently.

Rev. Koichi Barrish, leader and teacher at the Tsubaki America Grand Shrine (Shinto) in Washington said on his Facebook page he received a calligraphic card from a former teacher, the 96th High Priest of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine in Japan that reads:

HIBI NI KANSHYA
SHIAWASE WO UMU
 
In the most simplistic terms, it means that “everyday gratitude is the path to happiness.”   

However, he goes on to explain that “as we look deeper… Hibi ni Kanshya can be thought of as… “deep gratitude towards each day… Shiawase translates as happiness and Umu comes from the verb to give birth/be born/engender. So when we think of of gratitude giving birth (or causing to be born) happiness (or joy) we are, I think, absorbing the meaning of (the High Priest’s) writing and thinking.”

In Sensei Barrish’s words, this is the basic belief of Shinto: “Harmonizing with the natural law of Heaven and Earth as the foundation for bringing happiness into your life.”




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