The Importance of Merit

Merit is the foundation stone of Buddhist practice and realization. If merit is insufficient, meditative concentration (samādhi) cannot be cultivated; without samādhi, or with insufficient samādhi, it is very difficult to understand the meaning of the Dharma. When merit is insufficient, some things may look very easy, yet no matter what, one cannot accomplish them. One may clearly feel that keeping the precepts is easy, yet simply cannot keep them; some dharmas may seem very easy to understand, yet one just cannot go deep into contemplative practice (vipaśyanā-caryā). Without merit, nothing goes as one wishes, including all kinds of worldly endeavors. Once samādhi and merit are both complete, wisdom of contemplative practice easily arises with respect to every dharma, enabling us to realize emptiness (śūnyatā), so that the mind is empty of self and of things, liberated and at ease. Practice is also a process of perfecting the various causes and conditions for seeing the path; only when the causes and conditions are complete can one see the path, attain the purity of the dharma eye, and realize the samādhi of emptiness.