The Profound Yogācāra Meaning of the Diamond Sutra (111)

Regarding the non-authenticity of merit in worldly dharmas, from another perspective, all merit is a dharma arising from causes and conditions. Giving (dāna) is the cause of obtaining the fruit of merit, and within this so-called cause, there is above all the true cause of the tathāgatagarbha present. When giving is performed as a cause, the tathāgatagarbha manifests the five-aggregate body to concretely carry out the act of giving, and at the same time the tathāgatagarbha stores the karmic seeds of that giving. Afterwards, the tathāgatagarbha relies on various conditions—for example, if a person is to become wealthy, the conditions for wealth must manifest; if one is to gain power and influence, the conditions for power and influence must manifest; if one is to gain retinue and family, the conditions for retinue must manifest; if one is to gain longevity, the conditions for longevity must manifest; if one is to gain fame, the conditions for fame must manifest. When these conditions are complete and manifest, the tathāgatagarbha outputs the karmic seeds, and that person will obtain the corresponding retributive fruit of merit.

These retributions are also obtained by the five-aggregate body that the tathāgatagarbha cooperates in manifesting, and are enjoyed and used by the five-aggregate body. Every subtle link involves the assistance of the tathāgatagarbha; all are conjured forth by the tathāgatagarbha, and every link is illusory and unreal. So, in summary, all the actions of giving, all the processes of obtaining merit—these causes and fruits—are all conjured and manifested by the tathāgatagarbha; therefore they are entirely illusory and unreal. It is precisely because of this that the Buddha said that when sentient beings cultivate merit through giving, the merit they obtain is "much"—only in illusory dharmas is there such a notion of quantity, of more and less. In the dharma of true reality, there is no number, no more or less, no great or small, no long or short, no square or round... These merits appear on the surface to exist, but this existence is false existence, merely dazzling to the eye; in their essence, they are all the tathāgatagarbha.

Then, as for the merit obtained from the dāna of Dharma—does it have any reality? Is it the nature of merit? Can it be used up? What merit does the dāna of Dharma obtain? The merit obtained from the dāna of Dharma includes two aspects: one is that one will obtain merit within worldly dharmas, obtaining excellent forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas; the other is that one will obtain the merit of supramundane dharmas. And the merit of supramundane dharmas will continuously accumulate until one becomes a Buddha; this merit will never disappear and can never be exhausted. The dāna of Dharma can enable one to obtain supramundane wisdom and to realize the supramundane true-reality dharma of the tathāgatagarbha, whereby wisdom is continuously advanced, ascending from bhūmi to bhūmi, and ultimately one can perfect the fruit of bodhi. Therefore, the merit obtained from the dāna of Dharma, to a great extent, possesses the nature of merit and has authenticity, being far more excellent than the giving of the seven treasures of a trichiliocosm.