Talking About the Matter of Merit

The merit (puṇya) that a Buddhist practitioner cultivates in the Buddha-dharma, or the merit cultivated for the sake of propagating the Dharma, has a fixed amount and is limited in quantity. With limited merit, if more of it is used on worldly dharma, less merit will be available for use in the cultivation and realization of the Buddha-dharma; the two are like the two ends of a balance—just as the two ends of a balance rise and fall simultaneously. For example, in worldly affairs your work compensation improves, your position rises, your reputation grows, your status elevates, 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 and so forth get better and better.

All of these draw upon the merit you have cultivated in learning Buddhism and propagating the Dharma. Then the merit is cashed out from the bank of the tathāgatagarbha, and what remains is not much—whether it will be enough for use in the cultivation and realization of the Buddha-dharma is hard to say. If it is not enough and your practice still cannot advance, then you will have to continue cultivating merit. And if the merit you cultivate is again used on worldly dharma, then when your practice needs it, the merit will still be insufficient. In this cycle, when will you ever cultivate yourself to accomplishment?

Therefore, while cultivating merit, you should also make vows as to what percentage of this merit will be used for cultivating the Path, and try not to use it on worldly dharma, 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 this, what will you use to support your Path-work and attain realization through practice?

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 in order to propagate the Dharma; otherwise, the deposits in your own tathāgatagarbha bank will grow fewer and fewer, and there will be no way to support your practice. A person who is intelligent and wise always maintains a considerable degree of deposits in the tathāgatagarbha bank, rather than cashing them out for use in worldly dharma. It is enough to just get by in worldly affairs—having food to eat and clothes to wear is enough. The merit used for practice must be guaranteed to be fully sufficient, with abundance to spare; only then can one's practice proceed smoothly and swiftly.