Indulgence Is the Dissipation of Merit

Buddhist practitioners should constantly reflect on the ways in which they are continuously depleting their merit. Once identified, they must correct these behaviors, taking care not to squander their merit lightly, so as to expedite progress on the spiritual path.

Does the material prosperity of modern society indicate that sentient beings today possess greater merit than those in the Buddha's time? Not at all. The magnitude of merit is not measured by outward extravagance, but by whether one’s energy and merit are directed toward spiritual cultivation and wholesome deeds; whether one continually unlocks the treasury of wisdom; and whether merit is preserved within the Tathagatagarbha for future spiritual practice rather than being needlessly exhausted in worldly pursuits.

When worldly beings lack sufficient merit, they often find themselves in an age of superficial glamour, easily cashing in their seeds of merit to indulge in worldly pleasures and flaunt their power and status. If Buddhists remain unawakened, following worldly trends of enjoyment, carelessly depleting their merit through meaningless secular activities, and making no plans for their spiritual path, this reveals a lack of wisdom and wholesome roots. Those with wholesome roots and wisdom preserve their merit for spiritual cultivation, refusing to cash it in for worldly enjoyment or display.

Many people pride themselves on possessing worldly fame, profit, and status, obsessively clinging to illusory, impermanent phenomena. They fail to recognize that wealth, honor, and splendor are like flowers in the sky—fleeting and ultimately empty. Worldly beings struggle to comprehend emptiness, perceiving only the illusion of existence. Thus arises the mindset of seeking immediate gratification, with no regard for future lives.