The Profound Meaning of the Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra from the Consciousness-Only Perspective (Second Edition)

Chapter 20: The Universal Transformation of the Dharma Realm (Part 19)

Original Text: “Subhuti, what do you think? If someone were to fill the three thousandfold world system with the seven treasures and use them for giving, would this person, by means of this cause and condition, attain much merit?” “Yes, indeed, World-Honored One. This person, by means of this cause and condition, would attain very much merit.” “Subhuti, if merit had substantial existence, the Tathagata would not speak of attaining much merit. Because merit is without substantial existence, the Tathagata speaks of attaining much merit.”

Explanation: Subhuti, what do you think about this matter? If someone were to take the seven treasures filling the three thousandfold world system and give them all away in almsgiving, would the merit this person could obtain through this cause and condition of giving be very great? Subhuti replied: It is very great, World-Honored One. This person, taking such giving as cause and condition, would in the future receive the karmic result of attaining extremely great merit. The World-Honored One said to Subhuti, if the merit attained by sentient beings possessed substantial reality, I would not say that the merit they attain is very great. Because merit is without substantial reality, without essence, and without inherent self-nature, therefore I say that the merit attained by this person giving away the seven treasures of the three thousandfold world system is very great.

Why does the World-Honored One say merit is without substantial reality? Using the World-Honored One’s own words: So-called merit is not merit, therefore it is called merit. Merit belongs to the conventional dharmas; it is without self-nature and is merely a name. Let us examine in what form merit manifests. Giving brings merit. Giving includes material giving (dāna), Dharma giving, and fearlessness giving. Material wealth belongs to objects, which are form dharmas (rūpa). Fearlessness giving belongs to mental dharmas, the spiritual realm of the mind-consciousness, not transcending the sphere of the six dusts (objects of the senses). When sentient beings give to cultivate merit, it is the five-aggregate body that gives the six dusts—forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas—that it possesses to the five-aggregate body of the recipient for their use. The six dusts—forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas—belong to conventional dharmas. Giving conventional dharmas results in karmic retribution also in the form of conventional dharmas; this is what is called merit.

The retribution of conventional dharmas is nothing other than wealth, sensual pleasures, fame, food, sleep, forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and tangibles within the three realms. Specifically, it manifests as: reputation, power, status, retinue, wealth, enjoyment of the form body, health, longevity, and other such conventional dharmas of merit. One aspect of these conventional merits is that once they are enjoyed, the merit disappears; for every bit enjoyed, a bit of merit vanishes. Ultimately, when all is enjoyed, the merit is completely exhausted. Therefore, conventional merit has a time when it is used up and finished. Thus, the merit possessed and enjoyed by sentient beings is characterized by arising and ceasing; it is not real. What is real is inexhaustible, like the Buddha's merit, which can never be exhausted, because that is not merely the merit of the conventional world.

The unreality of merit in conventional dharmas can also be understood from another perspective: all merit is a dharma arising from causes and conditions. Giving is the cause for obtaining the fruit of merit, and within this so-called cause, the true cause primarily resides in the Tathagatagarbha. When giving acts as the cause, the Tathagatagarbha manifests the five-aggregate body to concretely perform the act of giving, while simultaneously the Tathagatagarbha stores the karmic seeds of the giving. Afterwards, the Tathagatagarbha again relies on various conditions—for instance, for this person to gain wealth, the conditions for gaining wealth must manifest; to gain power, the conditions for gaining power must manifest; to gain a retinue, the conditions for gaining a retinue must manifest; to gain longevity, the conditions for gaining longevity must manifest; to gain fame, the conditions for gaining fame must manifest. When these conditions are fully present and manifest, the Tathagatagarbha outputs the karmic seeds, and this person will obtain the corresponding karmic retribution of merit.

These karmic retributions are also obtained through the Tathagatagarbha cooperating to manifest the five-aggregate body, which then enjoys them. Every minute detail involves the assistance of the Tathagatagarbha; all are illusions manifested by the Tathagatagarbha. Every single link is false and unreal. Therefore, overall, all the actions of giving and the entire process of obtaining merit—these causes and effects—are all illusions manifested and produced by the Tathagatagarbha; hence, they are entirely illusory and unreal. It is precisely because of this that the Buddha says sentient beings, by cultivating merit through giving, attain much merit—illusory dharmas alone have the concept of quantity, of much and little. In the dharmas of true reality, there is no quantity, no much or little, no large or small, no long or short, no square or round... These merits appear to exist superficially, but their existence is illusory, merely deceiving the eyes. In essence, they are all the Tathagatagarbha.

Does the merit obtained from Dharma giving possess substantial existence? Is it the nature of merit? Can it be exhausted? What merit does Dharma giving bring? The merit obtained from Dharma giving encompasses two aspects: one is the attainment of merit within conventional dharmas, gaining superior forms, sounds, scents, tastes, tangibles, and dharmas; the other is the attainment of supramundane dharmas merit. The merit of supramundane dharmas will continuously accumulate until Buddhahood is attained; it will never disappear and is ultimately inexhaustible. Dharma giving enables one to attain supramundane wisdom, realize the true reality dharma of the supramundane Tathagatagarbha, thereby continuously increasing wisdom, progressing stage by stage, and ultimately achieving the complete enlightenment of Bodhi. Therefore, a large portion of the merit obtained from Dharma giving possesses the nature of merit; it has substantial reality and is far more superior than giving the seven treasures of the three thousandfold world system.