Who should I give my thanks to in moments of danger?

The Watercooler
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Good day people, I hope you’re doing great.

This topic came to mind not so long ago:

This is a hypothetical scenario…

Let’s say you got trapped in a building, and now you have no space to breath and remain calm; stress and anxiety comes in, you remain trapped for hours and even days. When it seems there’s nothing you can do, somebody rescues you, and now you’re free, but of course you’re still nervous…

End of the hypothetical scenario.

Now here comes my question: who should I give my thanks to in that case? Of course, one can say that the person who rescued you (pretty obvious indeed); but, the real reason why am asking such a question is this: where I grew up, I’ve been taught that in scenarios like that, one should give all their thanks to God because that is believed to be a “divine miracle from the lord”.

I don’t want to judge that, as in moments of extreme danger is comprehensible that we human beings feel weak, intimidated, etc, and want to rely on someone or something else in order to remain calm and tranquil. But personally, I decided long ago (since I started this journey on Buddhism) that I don’t want to rely on the perception on God in order to feel safe and tranquil not out of egoism and arrogance; but because the teaching of the Buddha is penetrating my reality, little by little every day.

Nevertheless, I can’t deny that in such scenarios (the one I commented above) is pretty difficult to remain steady and calm. So here comes my question again: who should I give my thanks to in a scenario like that?

Maybe that question should be written differently, but honestly, it’s the best way I can describe this thought that came to mind. Hope you can understand it, I’m open to your contributions.

With metta.

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Personally in times of serious danger, I utter such dense and long Qo’ranic prayers such that it would make any muslim weep in absolute display of faith. Then again, I’m not as alergic to the word “God” as some other people, and I take poetic liberties in my personal life.

But perhaps SN 6.2 could be an inspiration from the canon that answers the similar dilemma the Buddha was in:

"I’d honor and respect and rely on another ascetic or brahmin so as to complete the entire spectrum of the knowledge and vision of freedom, if it were incomplete. But I don’t see any other ascetic or brahmin in this world—with its gods, Māras, and Divinities, this population with its ascetics and brahmins, its gods and humans—who is more accomplished than myself in the knowledge and vision of freedom, who I should honor and respect and rely on. Why don’t I honor and respect and rely on the same Dhamma to which I was awakened?”

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This phrase stuck with me, because in the past I developed some kind of “allergy” to that word. Now, regardless of my beliefs, I’d like to be more open to hear that word and be equanimous to it, instead of argue if it’s correct to think that way or not.

It’s not an easy thing, as from time to time, whenever I hear the word “God” or “thank godness”, the perception of “oh well, but I do not believe in it…” arises; but now I’m more concious about it and prefer to remain silent and ignore that perception.

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I think you answered your own question. Give thanks to the person who saves you, and also, don’t forget that that person is but one element in an uncomprehensible web that makes every moment possible. Gratitude does not need to be limited. Make your gratitude boundless in every moment.

I’ll give you an example from the zen tradition. There is a verse recited before having a meal. It is done with the bowl held before one. The first line says: “I reflect on the efforts that brought me this food, and consider how it comes to me.”. The gratitude that arises from that reflection can’t be small or limited, cause countless people and beings contributed to the food on the plate. There’s no need for an almighty saviour god, when all of existence contributes to you being rescued.

It’s not difficult to undertand, however, how deep religious conditioning runs, and it’s normal one would repeat “thank God”. It’s not a crime either way, and no punishment comes because of it.

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Thank you for pointing that out. I’ll keep it in mind every moment of my life.

It’s not a crime either way, and no punishment comes because of it.

I wouldn’t like to reach that extreme either, as my goal is to be kind to others, but in order to do that, I have to be kind with myself too.

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Thich Nhat Hanh’s writings are especially beautiful on that point.

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Oh, yeah. He was excellent at explaining what he called “interbeing”. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I was raised by non-believers/hippies, so my default would be to ‘thank goodness’. As a Buddhist, reflecting on this idea I feel like it’s totally inline with spiritual worldview. If I have the good fortune to be saved from a dangerous situation, it is due to my goodness, the goodness of the people who save me, and possibly the goodness of devas who are wishing for me to continue creating goodness (kusala karma)..

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IMO, thanks should be given to your past self who did good kamma. That good kamma done in the past happened to bear fruit now since circumstances aligned in a favourable way, resulting in rescue.

Random variation to hypothetical scenario

The somebody who was to rescue you had a flat tyre because of a random nail in the street… they got delayed and by the time they dug you out, it was too late.

While dying, you had a last moment burst of clarity- you remembered strewing nails on the street as a youngster for ‘fun’! :rofl:

End of random variation to the hypothetical scenario

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