Lecture Notes on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (223)

Merit comes from making offerings and giving (dāna)

The Wheel-Turning King was able to cultivate this merit only after drawing near to immeasurable Buddhas. We cannot accomplish even the smallest things; having never cultivated merit, we lack self-mastery (avaśatā) with regard to things like gold, silver, and treasures—no matter how hard we rack our brains, they will not appear. Without having cultivated merit and virtue, even a university graduate or a PhD holder, striving in this world for a whole lifetime, will still not succeed; although their abilities are complete, without blessings they cannot obtain what they need. A person who has cultivated blessings, even if illiterate, can still achieve great wealth and honor. In the past, many poets complained in their verses that their talents went unrecognized—why? Talent alone is useless; one must also have blessings. Everything we obtain in this life is what we cultivated in past lives. If we wish to have great merit and virtue at our disposal, we must continually cultivate blessings. All merit and virtue will not fall from the sky; it all comes from the cultivation of blessings that benefit others. In particular, one should cultivate more blessings within the Mahāyāna Dharma, making more offerings and giving more to the Mahāyāna Three Jewels.