Merits - accumulating and dedicating?

Jali

My compulsive curiosity hasn't quite gotten around to recovering enough since my last binge to start looking into merits, but while it was on my mind, I'd figure I'd ask here. :rolleyes:

What exactly constitutes a merit? I would assume that mantra repetitions, good deeds, offerings, and things like that would count. Did I miss something fundamental about the concept, or am I on the right track?

Is dedicating your merits something that shares with the person/thing you've dedicated them to similiar to sharing with them the benefits of your work in accumulating the merits? Like, if you earned merits for making an offering, and then dedicated those merits to a sick friend, would they receive the same benefits as you did for making those offerings?

Sorry if I don't understand.

Jali

CPaul

I would assume that mantra repetitions, good deeds, offerings, and things like that would count

all of this will gain you no merit.

Bodhidharma said it best (and I'm paraphrasing here, forgive me)

emporer: What merit do I get for building all of these temples?
bod: No Merit.

mugzy

By dedicating the merit to the highest cause, the awakening of all sentient beings throughout all times and places, we avoid losing it by performing negative acts. Therefore it is recommended to dedicate the positive potential you generate after meditating, or performing kind deeds, or what have you. Thus have I heard

zombiegirl

there seems to be some disagreement on the topic of "accumulating merit". a member from my old sangha once gave me a book in which you were supposed to check off every 100 mantras chanted all the way to one million. this was determined based upon time, i forget now but i think it was like 20mins.=roughly 1000 mantras, or daimokus, as we called it. the theory was that you chanted 1 million daimoku with a single goal in mind and by the time you were done, you would have achieved said goal. or as it was explained to me, anyhow.

personally, this never made any sense to me. i like to look at things from a more logical standpoint, and for an assumption like that, there is no logic. buddhism is the search for truth, not delusion. the accumulating merit seems a little too much like casting a spell to me. i do hear this term tossed around a lot though and i don't mean to offend anyone. just my view on it.

i think there is a logical base for accumulating merit from "good deeds", as i'm sure it does have psychological effects. but i always felt like this was more a result of "karma", not so much "merit".

Engyo

All -

I will have to look into my notes. At the NONA Business meeting I attended late last month, we were priveleged to be presented a paper on the topic of "Transference of Merit". It was given by a professor from Rissho University in Japan, who is currently studying/teaching at Harvard University. He identified the properties of merits, and provided doctrinal references to how those properties are derived. It was quite well done, if a bit more theoretical than I am used to working with.

FoibleFull

In Tibetan Buddhism classes, dedicating merit is the finish to every dharma gathering. The English translation that our center uses is:

By this virtue may I quickly attain the state of Guru-Buddha (enlightenment),
And then may I lead into that state every being without exception.
May the most precious and supreme bodhicitta awakening mind which has not yet been generated now be generated,
And may the precious mind of bodhicitta which has been generated never decline but always increase.

We are taught that if we just hang onto our merit for ourselves, then when we do something negative, our merit is destroyed. If we dedicate it for the sake of ALL sentient beings, it is never destroyed.

On a more personal, psychological level, I see it as part of the mind re-training of Buddhism. If we, in all ways, strive to develop caring and compassion for all beings, this takes us further away from being so totally self-centered. The practices work on reframing our attitudes, sort of like cognitive-behavioral therapy does except more effectively, and this dedicating the merit helps generate the "right view" towards ourselves and towards others. I have no idea if it is anything more than that, but I accept that is has value for our end goal.

CPaul

We are taught that if we just hang onto our merit for ourselves

how would someone do such a thing even if they wanted to?

GuyC

Don't worry about accumulating merit; just do what is good and good results are sure to follow.

Mind precedes all knowables,
mind's their chief, mind-made are they.
If with a corrupted mind
one should either speak or act
dukkha follows caused by that,
as does the wheel the ox's hoof.

Mind precedes all knowables,
mind's their chief, mind-made are they.
If with a clear, and confident mind
one should speak and act
[happiness follows caused by that,]
as one's shadow ne'er departing.

- Dhammapada
http://www.buddhanet.net/dhammapada/d_twin.htm

shenpennangwa

CPaul wrote: »

how would someone do such a thing even if they wanted to?

Its a meditative practice for building bodhicitta, I dont think its meant literally.

Jali

You guys are awesome. Thanks for the replies!

bodhiactivity

CPaul wrote: »

I would assume that mantra repetitions, good deeds, offerings, and things like that would count

all of this will gain you no merit.

Bodhidharma said it best (and I'm paraphrasing here, forgive me)

emporer: What merit do I get for building all of these temples?
bod: No Merit.

Please note that in the case of Bodhidharma, he said that of the emperor because
1. The Emperor was getting very proud of his merit and thus spoiling his merit
2. The emperor was also fixating on the notion of merit. According to the Vajra-cutter sutra, "a Bodhisattva should practice giving while not fixating". Thus although the emperor had practised well the relative merit accumulation but he did not combine it with the prajna-wisdom accumulation by not fixating on his positive acts and realising its emptiness. So that was why Bodhidharma said what he said. Bodhidharma was speaking at the ultimate level of truth which is that even merit is emptiness.

It is also a skilful means by Bodhidharma to lead the emperor to the ultimate truth.

It does not literally mean that the emperor did not acquire any merits through his building the many temples. There has been many misconceptions through this story. It should be noted that this emperor will definitely accumulate temporal merits through these temples as cause-and-effect never fails in relative truth which applies as long as we live in this world.

bodhiactivity

Hi Jali, not sure if you still accepting answers... , my answers below...

Jali wrote: »

My compulsive curiosity hasn't quite gotten around to recovering enough since my last binge to start looking into merits, but while it was on my mind, I'd figure I'd ask here. :rolleyes:

What exactly constitutes a merit? I would assume that mantra repetitions, good deeds, offerings, and things like that would count. Did I miss something fundamental about the concept, or am I on the right track?

Merit is positive act so will bring positive result (law of karma or cause-and-effect). Dedication is the intent or prayer to channel your merit into its effect.

There are many ways to accumulate merit. One way is through mantra recitation. Other ways include, releasing lives of animals captive and destined for slaughter / death. Eg. rescuing insects drowning in water is also considered releasing lives. Offering lights/lamps, reciting sutras, doing prostrations, circumambulations, printing sutras, creating buddha images (whether statue or posters etc) , making tsa-tsas, giving food, clothings, necessities to the poor, helping those who are sick, giving medicine, giving alms to the ordained, monks, nuns etc, offering to the Triple Gems (eg, flowers, water, food, incense etc), clearing roads, building bridges, developing patience, loving-kindness and compassion, practising filial piety, teaching the dharma, helping others on the path to liberation, rejoicing in others' merits, keeping vows, taking one-day fasting precepts, doing service for your teacher, temple, sangha...

In general, one should help sentient beings in any way, that will generate merit. But help with wisdom and not with attachment. Also help given should not damage oneself irreparably. The first five of the six paramitas of the bodhisattva path are all about creating merit. Eg, The first of the paramitas is generosity. Amongst generosity, there are 3 types of generosity: giving material needs, giving fearlessness (eg in life release, one is removing fear from the animals about losing their lives) and giving dharma. They are increasingly meritorious because of the increase in benefit to beings both in terms of time and extent of benefit.

If the need is greater, then the benefit is greater and thus the merit is also greater. For eg, giving to disaster relief, people in starvation is much better than feeding a rich man although both are giving and will generate merits

I have my own experiences that through developing merit diligently, it allows one's positive wishes to be fulfilled, benefits others, smoothens one's path and removes obstacles or negative life circumstances.

Is dedicating your merits something that shares with the person/thing you've dedicated them to similiar to sharing with them the benefits of your work in accumulating the merits? Like, if you earned merits for making an offering, and then dedicated those merits to a sick friend, would they receive the same benefits as you did for making those offerings?

Merit is dedicated generally to all sentient beings so that they will attain Buddhahood. When we dedicate merit, it is to put the merit to work to the highest purpose of all, so that we don't waste the merit. As long as the purpose is not fulfilled, merit will remain and continue to increase towards that. And also because this merit is locked in an aspiration for all beings to attain the highest perfected state, it will never diminish, just as a drop of water (your drop of merit) is merged into an ocean (all sentient beings' merit) can never dry up completely.

Merit can be destroyed when one:
1. Regrets the positive act later
2. Makes a negative/perverted dedication
3. Fails to dedicate the merit
4. One loses one's temper and get angry

Also, the merit of one's acts depends on the motivation. If one's motivation is for one being, the magnitude of the merit is reflecting that of one being... and correspondingly if your motivation is for all beings, your merit is very vast. So if you are always practising and dedicating for all beings, your accumulation of merits will be very great.


Sorry if I don't understand.

Jali

treederwright

I write a blog on bodhichitta, this is the greatest merit one can get.I am currently in the commentary called Meaningful to Behold by G.K. Gyatso. its great and i am constantly blogging on shantideva. This is my way of building merit to help others see real life scenerios to live bodhichitta.