On the Matter of Merit

The merit (puṇya) that a Buddhist practitioner cultivates in the Dharma, or the merit cultivated for propagating the Dharma, has a fixed quota and is limited in quantity. With a limited amount of merit, if more of it is spent on worldly affairs, then less merit will remain for cultivation and realization of the Dharma—the two are like the two ends of a scale: when one is low, the other is high, simultaneously and in equal measure. For example, in worldly affairs your job compensation improves, your position is promoted, your reputation grows, your status rises, you gain power and influence, you earn more money, your personal relationships improve, and so on—in short, you become more and more pleased with yourself, more and more comfortable, and even your family relationships get better and better.

All of these are drawn from the merit you cultivated in learning Buddhism and propagating the Dharma. The merit is thus cashed out from the bank of the tathāgatagarbha, and what remains is not much—whether it will be enough for cultivation and realization of the Dharma is hard to say. If it is not enough and your practice still cannot advance, then you will have to keep cultivating merit. And if the merit you cultivate is again spent on worldly affairs, then when your practice needs it, the merit will still be insufficient. In such a cycle, when will you ever cultivate yourself to accomplishment?

Therefore, while cultivating merit, you should also make vows: a certain percentage of this merit is to be used for cultivating the Path, and as far as possible not spent on worldly affairs, because it is not worthwhile—once cashed out and used up, it is gone. The more money you earn and the higher your status, the more merit is cashed out, and the less remains deposited in the tathāgatagarbha. With that, what will support your career on the Path and your cultivation toward attainment?

Do not think that the more money you earn the better, or that the greater your power and fame the better—unless it is for earning money to propagate the Dharma; otherwise the deposits in your tathāgatagarbha bank will dwindle, and you will be unable to sustain your practice. A clever and wise person always keeps a considerable deposit in the tathāgatagarbha bank, rather than cashing it out for use in worldly affairs. As long as you can just get by in worldly life, with food to eat and clothes to wear, that is enough; but the merit used for cultivation must be guaranteed in full measure, abundant and more than sufficient—only then can your practice proceed smoothly and swiftly.