You once taught us that having gratitude generates wisdom. I would like to ask how wisdom occurs.

Question:
Dear venerable Luang Phaw Dattajivo, you once taught us that having gratitude generates wisdom. I would like to ask how wisdom occurs.

Answer
by Venerable Dhattajeevo Bhikku

Gratitude is the initial and important source that will lead to one’s wisdom. I’d like to give you an example. Phra Sariputta, the right-hand preeminent disciple of Lord Buddha, was praised for his excellent wisdom. Throughout his whole life he demonstrated the highest gratitude for his teacher.

There is story that was recorded in the Tipitaka, before he obtained the utmost Dhamma and became an arahant. He once had a teacher in another religion, but later discovered that the teachings in that religion couldn’t save him from misery. So he left that teacher and searched for another teacher until he met an arahant. This arahant gave Phra Sariputta a short discourse before, and then he attained the primary Dhamma and became a stream enterer.

As soon as he became a stream enterer he hurried to find his previous teacher in order for him to meet the Lord Buddha so that he could also get past the misery. Unfortunately his previous teacher refused to meet Lord Buddha. This story demonstrates that Phra Sariputta tried his very best.

After he’d become an arahant, every night before he went to bed he would meditate to check where his arahant teacher had gone to propagate Buddhism and educate the people of the world. Once he discovered the location, he would turn his head in that direction and pay his respect by bowing to his teacher. Since he couldn’t be near, he would at least turn his head, the highest point on his body, to the direction of his teacher, as a way of paying homage. This was what lay in the heart of Phra Sariputta.

When he had a chance to serve his teacher, he did his fullest. When he was unable to do it, he would at least turn his head in the direction of his teacher as a way to pay homage to him. This was what lay in his heart, and the trait of having gratitude carried over from many lifetimes. This was why he was endowed with wisdom far greater than than of others.

You asked why does this happen. Why does having gratitude lead to wisdom? To look at it simply, generosity was through the acts of kindness we received when someone was kind and helped and assisted usin the past. Receiving these kind gestures will enable some of us to overcome obstacles, increase our knowledge, Dhamma, and capability, and gain goodness in our lives. The wisdom, wholesomeness, and capability cannot be purchase with money. We won’t exchange our lives for all the riches in the world. We will choose our life over anything. By this reason, the kindness given cannot be all repaid. We have to express our gratitude to the people who gave us favor, whenever we have a chance as long as that person, or we, are still alive.

Even if they have passed away and we are still alive, we have to find a way to express our gratitude by dedicating merit to them. We have to try hard to express our gratitude during our whole life, which forces us to increase our wisdom to the fullest. The favor we receive from only one person still forces us to use our wisdom to express our gratitude.

Wisdom is an interesting thing. The more you utilize it, the more it increases, and the less you use it, the more it decreases. What is this like? It is like an athlete. The more he exercises, the more tired he becomes, and more the more strength he gains. It is likewise in that, the more we use our wisdom to find ways to express our gratitude to that person, the wiser we will become.

Before we became grown-ups, we received kindness from countless people, starting from…

1. Our parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. That’s from one source, and it is already numerous.

2. Teachers. Before we graduated, we had countless teachers. Well in ancient times, even cattles that helped plough the fields were considered animals that provided us with kindness. The people and animals that have been kind to us are countless.

Therefore in their entire life, a grateful person will spend his every breath to find a way, with all their might and wisdom, to express gratitude. This is why their wisdom develops automatically.