RECEIVING THE GIFT OF BLOOD

When people receive blood transfusions, the circumstances are almost never happy. Whether blood loss is due to a car accident, postpartum hemorrhage, or the on-going treatment of a disease, transfusions arrive in our lives in the midst of hardship—physical and emotional. But rather than seeing the transfusion itself as a sign of pain, we can choose to see the offering of blood as a gift.

The Buddha famously taught that pain is inevitable but that suffering is not. One of the ways to avoid suffering is to acknowledge the broad reality that surrounds our pain. Injury and disease are occasions for us to enter more deeply into compassion and gratitude.

When you receive a blood transfusion, you are receiving a gift—not just of blood but also of an occasion to open your heart to gratitude. While pain can lead to feelings of isolation and constriction of consciousness, gratitude leads to expansiveness and joy. We see that we are not alone, and the ego drama of suffering is pacified. By humbly and joyfully receiving the gift of blood, we turn aside from self-centeredness and towards the reality of selfless interdependence.

The Great Bell Chant:
The End of Suffering

Read by Thich Naht Hahn