The Importance of Merit

Merit is the cornerstone of Buddhist practice and realization. If merit is insufficient, meditative concentration (samādhi) cannot be cultivated successfully; without meditative concentration, or with insufficient meditative concentration, it is very difficult to understand the meaning of the Dharma. When merit is insufficient, some things may look very easy, yet no matter what, one cannot accomplish them. One may clearly feel that keeping the precepts is easy, yet simply cannot keep them; some teachings may seem easy to understand, yet one just cannot penetrate them deeply through contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā). Without merit, nothing goes as one wishes, including all kinds of endeavors in worldly matters. Once meditative concentration and merit are both complete, contemplative wisdom will readily arise with respect to every dharma, enabling us to realize emptiness (śūnyatā), so that the mind is empty of self and of things, liberated and at ease. Practice is also a process of perfecting the various causes and conditions for seeing the Path; only when the causal conditions are complete can one see the Path, attain purity of the Dharma eye, and realize the meditative absorption of emptiness (śūnyatā-samādhi).