Manifestations of Cashing in Merit

Question: Suppose a person earns a lot of money in this lifetime, but keeps it all in the bank and never spends a penny until death. Having earned so much money in this life but never enjoyed it—did he cash out his merit, or did he not?

Answer: If a person's merit has not been cashed out from the tathāgatagarbha, then no form of blessing can manifest in his worldly life. Being respected, admired, revered, having high fame, great power and influence, good looks, good health, everything going smoothly, psychological well-being, family harmony, filial children, and so on—all of these are manifestations of enjoying the retribution of merit.

A person who earns a lot of money in a lifetime—that itself is merit, flowing forth from the tathāgatagarbha. Not spending money does not mean having no money; as long as one has money, it is a manifestation of merit, showing that the karmic seeds of merit have flowed out from the tathāgatagarbha in the form of money. Although this person has not spent money to enjoy it, that money nonetheless gives him psychological comfort and peace of mind in life; he feels secure, feels he has something to rely on, feels happy, feels wealthy, feels proud and elated, feels superior to others—all of these feelings are the result of enjoying the retribution of merit. Otherwise, he would be anxious and fearful all day long, feeling that life has no support and no security, feeling inferior to others—that would be a sign of lacking merit.

Although this person did not spend money in this lifetime, it is deposited in the bank, and his own family members and relatives can enjoy it, benefiting his family—this too is a manifestation of merit. If he owed his family, this settles the debt, which is likewise a manifestation of enjoying merit. If his family did not get to enjoy it either, then the bank gains the benefit: either he repaid debts owed to the bank from a past life, clearing the debt; or he made generosity (dāna) to the bank, benefiting it, and in future lives he will receive merit a thousandfold, ten-thousandfold.

When a person cashes out his merit, he can then give it away again, using merit to generate merit—this is the greatest business in the world, the most profitable investment. Whoever you invest in becomes indebted to you and will repay it a thousandfold, ten-thousandfold later—a surefire high-interest loan. Yet some people simply like to incur such high-interest debt in exchange for immediate gain.