June is Pride Month for the LGBTQ+ community. It is a month that is celebrated each year to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.

Growing up practicing Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, one of the biggest challenges for me was the ability to apply the teachings that we learned outside of the Hondo or outside of just Sundays. Whether it was through Dharma messages, the Golden Chain or from our Dharma School teachers, the teachings were meant to be seen everywhere and anywhere because practicing Jodo Shinshu Buddhism was to simply walk-through everyday life.

And for me, who was the master of accomplishing this? Of course, Reverend Harada. I remember listening incredulously as he asked for members of the Sangha to shout out a word or phrase and then proceeded to carefully craft a message as to how that word or phrase was related to Buddhism. Sure enough, he was able to create the most eloquent and seemingly perfect response without fail. And after a while, I couldn’t help but wonder what I would say if I was put to the same task. So, I’m asking you all to humor me….

If someone shouted out “Pride Month”, how would I connect that to Buddhism? Well, I’d go back to the one Buddhist teaching that played a role in how I’ve learned to hold and interpret ‘pride’ during this month – gratitude. A few years ago, I was listening to a podcast from a trans comedian. The topic wasn’t about his gender identity, but rather his social anxiety that he’d grown up with. He talked about how as an adult now who pursued his passion for comedy, he was truly grateful for his anxiety because it made him a better comedian. His mental illness that had caused him so much anxiety in social settings was what developed his quick thinking. It developed his ability to come up with witty responses that would make people laugh, and therefore, like him. A skill that has made him a successful comedian. It was this outlook of gratitude towards something that society has often branded as “negative” that really made an impact on how I viewed my identity as a gay man.

Today, I no longer view my sexuality as just “one small part of me”. Rather, I choose to see it as an aspect of me that has influenced my personality, my drive, my compassion – some of the things I value the most about myself. I like to think that it has made me more fashionable too, but maybe that’s more delusion speaking. Regardless, in my opinion the power of gratitude is that it gives you the power to see and experience the best parts of life. So, as I celebrate Pride Month this June, know that I am not proud despite being gay, I am proud because I am gay. I have Buddhism, my family, my friends and so many others to thank for that. Happy Pride Month to all who I hope feel proud of who they are.