Compilation of Daily Discourses
Chapter Five: On Cultivating Merit
I. How to Maximize Forming Karmic Affinities and Accumulating Merit
Every step of cultivation requires an immense amount of merit to support it. Accumulating merit is inseparable from sentient beings—apart from sentient beings, no merit can be obtained. Likewise, attaining buddhahood requires the support and protection of vast numbers of sentient beings; apart from sentient beings, no buddhahood can be achieved. Therefore, forming wholesome karmic affinities with sentient beings is extremely important. How can one maximize the formation of wholesome affinities with sentient beings? Forming affinities with sentient beings through the physical body is, after all, very limited, with a narrow range of contact; but the affinities formed with sentient beings through mental thought are both numerous and swift, and the merit accumulated is likewise abundant and great, unbounded by the physical body.
There are two methods to maximize forming affinities with sentient beings and accumulating the resources of merit. The first method is dedication of merit (pariṇāma), called "universal dedication of merit" in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra—dedicating all the wholesome dharmas and merit one has cultivated to all sentient beings throughout the dharma realm: those of the three realms and six paths, the twenty-five forms of existence, the womb-born, egg-born, moisture-born, and transformationally-born, all flying and crawling creatures, and all beings possessing consciousness. The principle of dedication is to dedicate daily, or to promptly dedicate any unfixed wholesome dharmas cultivated each time. In this way, the beings to whom merit is dedicated receive wholesome dharmas and merit, receive blessings, and form wholesome affinities with oneself. One thereby not only forms wholesome affinities with sentient beings but also obtains the merit and virtue gained from helping them. Thus, continuously accumulating affinities and merit, one's resources for cultivation grow ever greater, and the path of cultivation becomes ever smoother. Therefore, for the sake of our own progress on the Path, we should dedicate merit every day, dedicate it regularly, practice the bodhisattva path extensively, benefit sentient beings abundantly, and vow to attain buddhahood together with all sentient beings.
The second method is offering food to spirits and other beings of the subtle realm. Beings of the spirit realm are extremely numerous, pervading the realm of empty space and the worlds of the ten directions. As long as the power of one's mental thought can reach the worlds of the ten directions, spirits throughout the ten directions can all benefit and form affinities with one. For the power of mental thought to be strong, one's meditative concentration and visualization power must be strong; at the same time, compassion and aspiration must be brought forth. Then the beings one gathers and receives will be many and widespread. With many wholesome affinities, merit gradually becomes vast.
The specific procedure for food offering was explained before; here is a brief supplement. The food-offering ritual of most monasteries is somewhat complicated, but it can actually be simpler and quicker: take seven grains of rice, raw or cooked, or other kinds of food equivalent in size to seven grains of rice, and place them in an open, spacious area. Recite aloud: 汝等鬼神众，我今施汝供，此食遍十方，一切鬼神共。After reciting, recite the food-offering mantra seven times: 嗡，穆立陵梭哈。Then snap your fingers three times, and at that moment the spirits can partake of the food. There is no need to form mudrās, no need to summon the spirits to come to your side; instead, let the food automatically appear before the spirits of the ten-directional worlds. In this way, you will not be troubled or entangled by spirits.
The most important thing here is the visualization while reciting the mantra seven times. If the visualization is accomplished, the food becomes supremely wonderful and pervades the ten directions, so that all spirits can obtain food. How should one visualize? First one must understand the meaning of "this food pervades the ten directions." The ten directions are the worlds of empty space in the ten directions centered on the Sahā world; the food being offered must pervade all these places. Even just the locations of this one trichiliocosm, the Sahā world, are immeasurable and boundless, including a billion Jambudvīpas, Uttarakurus, Aparagodānīyas, and Pūrvavidehas; a billion great oceans, seven golden mountains, hells, Mount Sumeru, palaces of the moon, and palaces of the sun; as well as a billion Heaven of the Four Great Kings, Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, Yāma Heaven, Tuṣita Heaven, Nirmāṇarati Heaven, Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven, and the First Dhyāna Heaven of the form realm, plus the Second Dhyāna Heaven up to the Heaven of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception. The buddha-lands as vast as the Sahā world throughout the worlds of the ten directions are even more immeasurable and boundless. If one can visualize the food pervading the empty space of so many worlds so that all spirits can partake of it, the merit is simply enormous, and the affinities with sentient beings are incredibly vast.
But how can one visualize all of this? It requires gradually training one's visualization power bit by bit. While reciting the mantra seven times, the visualization in the mind should gradually expand from the district and county where one is located. How far it can expand depends entirely on one's visualization power; when the mantra stops, the visualization stops. Generally speaking, the places where spirits roam are mostly by rivers, at the foot of mountains, around forests, at crossroads, on plains, among mountains and rivers, in empty space, and so on. One should visualize the food appearing in these places; as long as the mind's thought can swiftly flash to these places, the food will appear there.
When visualization is not yet proficient, recite the mantra more slowly, and let the visualization increase the locations step by step in accordance with one's power of concentration: from the nearby district and county to the city and province, then to the whole nation, then to the entire earth, then to the four great continents and the four great oceans beneath Mount Sumeru, then to a thousand such small worlds, then to the trichiliocosm, and finally to the worlds of the ten directions. At the beginning, when the concentration for visualization is insufficient, visualizing only the empty space, mountains, rivers, and earth of one's city, province, or nation is also acceptable. After the visualization ability improves, gradually expand the range until it reaches the empty space of the worlds of the ten directions. As for the food, try to visualize it as exquisite as possible, but also proceed according to your own ability—this is an excellent way to cultivate one's visualization power.
Visualization is extremely important in learning Buddhism and cultivating practice. The final accomplishment of the Buddha's dharma depends to a large extent on visualization. The worlds of the ten directions are all produced by thought—why not make good use of thought to make the world more perfect? In fact, we already use visualization when receiving precepts. For example, during the three rounds of karman in receiving the Bodhisattva Precepts of the Brahmajāla Sūtra, one must visualize three times the buddhas and bodhisattvas radiating light that shines down, with the buddhas' light pouring in from the crown of the head throughout the whole body. When the visualization is accomplished, one receives the blessings of the buddhas and bodhisattvas and obtains the substance of the bodhisattva precepts. From then on, with the precept substance protecting one's body, one can guard against wrongdoing and stop evil; when circumstances for violating the precepts arise, one can evade them in time, not violate the bodhisattva precepts, preserve the precept substance, and thus cultivation will be free of obstructions, smooth and swift. Furthermore, the samāpatti taught by the Buddha in the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment is precisely the accomplishment of the Buddha's dharma through visualization. In short, cultivation is inseparable from visualization.
II. How to Increase Blessings and Good Fortune Most Quickly?
Question: How can one increase blessings and good fortune most quickly? Is single-mindedly reciting the Diamond Sūtra and the Śūraṅgama Mantra acceptable?
Answer: Reciting sūtras can indeed generate merit, but this is the merit of wisdom—merit brought about by wisdom. This merit is related to wisdom and manifests and functions mainly in the domain of wisdom. However, within what period of time the karmic seeds of the merit from reciting sūtras will ripen, when the causes and conditions will be complete, and when the merit will manifest and be enjoyed—this is hard to say. Generally speaking, the realization of the merit of wisdom is not very fast and does not appear immediately; it may not even manifest before the end of one's life. Upholding precepts and cultivating meditative concentration can also generate merit; this merit is manifested in the precepts and meditative concentration, enabling one's mind to be pure and free of afflictions, but it does not necessarily bring the blessings of wealth and prosperity, nor necessarily the pleasures of the five desires such as clothing, food, shelter, and transportation.
There are many channels for generating merit. Any wholesome karma or pure karma can generate merit, so merit in all aspects should be cultivated together without bias. Not only do precepts, concentration, and wisdom generate merit; generosity of wealth, generosity of dharma, generosity of fearlessness—all endeavors beneficial to sentient beings can generate merit and should all be cultivated; no aspect should be neglected. Otherwise, merit will be lopsided and incomplete, still imperfect and flawed; the karmic retribution cannot be fully satisfactory, and attaining the Path is even more impossible. Many people are interested only in reading sūtras and studying the dharma, indifferent to and neglecting other aspects. As a result, after years of study they remain as they were; perhaps their arrogance may increase, making it even more severe. Only those without merit have afflictions that only increase and never decrease.
In fact, nothing increases merit faster than generating great bodhicitta. The World-Honored One exhorted sentient beings to generate bodhicitta in many Mahāyāna sūtras; this is the secret and the key of cultivation, and it can directly determine one's destination in future lives. Where one goes in future lives is also determined by karmic merit. Generally speaking, those without merit go to the three evil paths to suffer; those with great merit ascend to the heavens to enjoy blessings, or go to the buddha-lands to cultivate beside the buddhas; those with middling merit can obtain a human body. Those who generate great bodhicitta have great power of vow. If their power of vow, compared with the power of karma, is greater than the power of karma, then at the end of life they will not be governed by the power of karma or dragged by it, but will be governed by the power of vow, which determines their destination in future lives toward wholesome paths and the buddha-lands. Therefore, the merit gained from generating great bodhicitta comes fastest and is greatest, and attaining buddhahood is also fastest; no merit can compare with the merit of generating great bodhicitta.
III. Does Cultivating Merit Count as Cultivation?
The aim of cultivation is to increase precepts, concentration, and wisdom, to subdue afflictions, and to extinguish greed, hatred, and delusion. If it is not like this, it does not count as cultivation. The same applies to cultivating merit through generosity: it depends on what kind of mind one cultivates merit with. If it is not for one's own greed and other desires, nor seeking repayment of favors, but purely for the benefit of sentient beings, cultivating merit with a bodhicitta mind, then it can aid one's progress on the Path and give rise to precepts, concentration, and wisdom—only such cultivation of merit counts as cultivation. But cultivating merit without generating bodhicitta ultimately only increases greed, hatred, and delusion and strengthens ignorance; that does not count as cultivation.
An obvious example is Māra Pāpīyas. In a past life, Pāpīyas built monasteries and made offerings to pratyekabuddhas, obtaining great blessings that made him the lord of the Paranirmitavaśavartin Heaven. Because he did not generate bodhicitta in his past life, and cultivated merit not for the sake of the Path but to satisfy his greed and desires, he uses this great blessing to control the beings of the six paths to satisfy his desire for retinues. To prevent beings from escaping his control, he constantly destroys the Buddha's dharma, leaving beings no opportunity to leave the desire realm, much less transcend the six paths, so that life after life they remain his māra retinue, indulging in desire alongside him, transmigrating through birth and death. Therefore, cultivating merit without generating bodhicitta may lead to committing great evil karma after obtaining blessings—it would be better not to cultivate merit at all. Another example is Hitler. Hitler's blessings were also extremely great; because of his great blessings, there was no obstacle to committing great evil karma. The number of people he killed was the greatest in the Sahā world, and having fallen into hell, he will truly have no foreseeable end to his suffering. If he had not cultivated merit, the world would have been at peace, and sentient beings would not have had to suffer the pain of birth and death.
Cultivating various wholesome dharmas without generating bodhicitta is māra's work. Regarding this principle, some people remain defiant in various ways, but the facts are right there—what is there to be defiant about? Could a person without merit have the capability to commit many of these great evil deeds? With great blessings come great power and influence; when committing evil deeds, no one can stop them and no one can match them. Such blessings are a misfortune for sentient beings.
IV. The Importance of Attention (manaskāra) When Performing Wholesome Deeds
When performing the generosity of dharma or any other wholesome deed, one should have good attention (manaskāra), inwardly wishing that others may thereby obtain various benefits. Once such an aspiration is brought forth, not only will dharma-protecting deities help bring the aspiration to fulfillment, but one's own tathāgatagarbha will also help bring it to fulfillment. In this way, those receiving the generosity will have a resonant response, receive blessings, feel joyful, be more receptive to the generosity, open their minds, and give rise to wisdom. Thus a wholesome affinity is formed, and one thereby also increases one's merit and virtue—achieving twice the result with half the effort, with both self and others benefiting and the matter accomplished perfectly.
The mind's intention can change everything, similar to dedication of merit. Once a person's wholesome thought is emitted, it has magnetic force; the energy of the magnetic field strengthens, and it easily draws people in. When the aspiration is utterly sincere, there is blessing power and guiding power, and the other person will have a spiritual resonance, reading with ease and delight, and the effect will be good. Blessing wishes and benedictions serve precisely this function. When others receive blessing and assistance and improve, one's own merit and virtue naturally become great. This is called benefiting self and benefiting others; one who delivers others is delivering oneself. It is the same with doing anything: add your mind's intention into it, do things with a utterly sincere mind, do things with a focused mind, and anything can be done well—food cooked will be fragrant, flowers grown will flourish, vegetables planted will yield abundantly, and undertakings pursued will easily succeed.
Each person's way of applying the mind differs, and the results differ greatly. If you let others feel your sincerity, they will respond with sincerity, and the reward will come quickly. Why are some people able to make others like them when interacting with others? Because they have a sincere and focused mind; when goodwill is sent out, others can sense it and will respond in kind—this is the effect. In the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, the World-Honored One taught us that when doing anything, we should recite the corresponding mantra, wishing that others obtain wholesome fruits, blessing others with the merit and benefit of wholesome dharmas. When the benediction is realized, sentient beings benefit, and one obtains the corresponding merit and virtue—benefiting others necessarily benefits oneself.
V. In Cultivation, the Merit of Meditative Concentration Alone Is Not Enough
Whether living in the mundane world or cultivating the supramundane dharma, having only the merit of meditative concentration is far from enough. Non-Buddhists cultivate only meditative concentration; they have only the merit of concentration, without the merit of wisdom, without the merit of generating great bodhicitta, and without the merit of generosity. Such merit can only be enjoyed within meditative concentration: no matter which heaven they dwell in, they enjoy blessings in samādhi, and after emerging from samādhi they have nothing at all. Śākyamuni Buddha's non-Buddhist teachers had only the merit of meditative concentration, without the merit of wisdom; they cultivated to the highest samādhi in the three realms, the samādhi of neither perception nor non-perception. When they emerge from samādhi after many kalpas in future lives, they will commit evil deeds in accordance with the evil vows they once made, and then, following the conditions of that evil karma, fall into hell to undergo retribution. Therefore, having only the merit of meditative concentration is still tainted and not ultimate; it cannot guarantee liberation and freedom, nor guarantee entering nirvāṇa and attaining buddhahood. In learning Buddhism, one should cultivate merit in many aspects; only when merit is complete will the path of cultivation become smoother and extend further, without limitation.
Even if one has the merit of concentration, or great blessings in other respects, one should not squander and waste them freely in daily life, nor use them all in worldly living; one should reserve them for cultivating the Path. Once the Path is accomplished, worldly blessings count for nothing. Merit plays an enormous role in cultivating the Path—falling short by just a little merit, one cannot cross over a step in cultivation. Therefore, cultivators should have lofty aspirations and far-reaching goals, should not covet the low-grade enjoyments before their eyes, and should not take conditioned and perishable dharmas seriously; only then can they reach the unborn and unceasing eternity.
