Cultivation Requires Accumulating Vast Merit; The Entire Journey to Perfect Practice is a Process of Continuously Accumulating and Perfecting Merit
Merit is the provision for practitioners. Without merit, there are too many obstacles on our path of practice. Almost everything around us becomes an adverse condition, and we cannot get any help from others regarding the Dharma, companions, wealth, or a place to practice. Some people say, “I constantly do good deeds, but it seems there are still obstacles; I still don’t get good returns.” Actually, this just means the good deeds you’ve done are far from enough to offset your karmic force. You still haven’t accumulated enough ordinary good karma, so the merit of your good conditions cannot mature. In fact, throughout the entire process of cultivation and realization, we must continuously accumulate merit. Do not neglect even the smallest good deed; do not commit even the smallest wrong. Only this way can you ultimately perfect your merit and perfect your practice.
Generosity, holding precepts, patience, and samadhi are all ways to accumulate merit. The result of accumulating this merit is that we attain the wisdom of the Buddha. Through the Buddha’s wisdom, we realize that we truly possess everything, thereby achieving the greatest satisfaction in life. The frantic mind instantly rests, and from then on, the mind is at peace.
Generosity is divided into two types: inner generosity and outer generosity. Inner generosity, simply put, is being a little kinder to yourself. Binge eating and drinking, not eating or sleeping on time, obsessing over various pleasures and stimulations, living an irregular lifestyle, drinking excessively, taking drugs, and getting angry and vexed—all of these cause damage to our physical bodies. When we often get angry, it damages our liver. When we are often impatient and lose our temper, it damages our heart. Failing to eat on time and chew our food thoroughly damages our spleen and stomach. An irregular lifestyle, unchecked sexual desire, and promiscuity damage our kidneys and reproductive system. Not resting on time and overthinking lead to an insufficient blood supply to our brain, and so on. This is just a brief description, but very few of us have ever truly treated ourselves well. Doing this will deplete our merit.
Outer generosity means using everything you possess to help all sentient beings unconditionally. You can give your smile, your love, your labor, your enthusiasm, your good mood, your money, your skillful means, your skills, and your insight into the Dharma to those who truly need help—whether people, animals, or plants, even expanding this to all sentient beings in the three realms. Outer generosity is not about how much you give; the emphasis is on your sincerity and doing your absolute best. Of course, making offerings to monastics and building temples are also included in outer generosity. Generosity can accumulate merit.
Holding precepts is divided into two types: mental precepts and physical precepts. Mental precepts start directly with the arising of every single thought, bringing up mindful awareness. You observe every thought that arises, cultivate and realize the nature of your greed, anger, delusion, pride, and doubt, and slowly eliminate your habitual tendencies. Actually, this process also includes generosity, patience, and samadhi. Therefore, this process accumulates the greatest merit.
When holding mental precepts, because we still have habitual tendencies and desires, we cannot cultivate and correct our arising thoughts right from the start. So, we must first learn to use our minds skillfully. For example, if you are a doctor, whenever a patient comes for a consultation, imagine them as your own family member. Ask yourself: if your family member were this seriously ill, how would you feel? Then, your inner concern, your visceral empathy, and your love will naturally show. No matter how dull the patient might be, they will feel it. The vast majority of patients are anxious and restless, but once they feel the doctor’s warmth, they become willing to open up and trust the doctor. Then, during treatment, perhaps relying simply on this trust, their body will absorb the medicine better, and they will recover faster. Being a doctor like this, you accumulate merit. Even if you don’t practice cultivation and your medical skills aren’t that high, the minimum return is that you will enjoy good health for many lifetimes. This is because you have cured many people’s illnesses with your heart, and you frequently generate the intention wishing for others to be healthy.
By the same logic, for instance, if you frequently and sincerely rejoice in others, wishing for them to be happy, once this merit accumulates to a certain point, you will feel like you are always glowing with joy. You won’t be troubled by trivial little things, and your happy moments will increase more and more. We use our minds to visualize; even though our abilities are limited, as our good thoughts increase, our greed, anger, delusion, pride, and doubt will gradually decrease. When we reach the point where we cultivate our arising thoughts without conscious effort, our minds naturally align with the qualities of the Way: universal love, compassion, and equality. When we uphold the precepts without consciously trying to uphold them, we have achieved the ultimate goal of accumulating this merit.
Physical precepts mean practicing what we preach, using our actions to prove that we are practitioners. This includes no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no intoxication, no false speech, and so on. The fundamental Five Precepts of the Buddha Dharma should be upheld by anyone determined to cultivate and realize the Dharma. Holding precepts can accumulate merit.
Patience means being tolerant, forbearing, understanding, and rejoicing in every type of sentient being around us, without calculating personal gains and losses. Patience can accumulate merit.
Samadhi means that we can live totally in the present moment, no longer worrying about the past and no longer anxious about the future. The karmic return of this merit is the fastest; in just a single instant, we can simultaneously enjoy the joy and satisfaction brought to us by this merit. Samadhi can accumulate merit.
Mindfully recollecting the Buddha and deeply contemplating the sutras with the heart can both accelerate the perfection of our merit.