The Difference and Connection between Merit and Virtue

Question: Emperor Wu of Liang built Buddhist temples and made offerings to monks, yet Patriarch Bodhidharma said there was no merit (puṇya) in it—so that was only merit/blessing (puṇya in the sense of worldly merit). How can one attain true merit and virtue (guṇa)?

Answer: Merit and virtue (guṇa) is a quality of the nature (svabhāva); it is the virtuous capacity inherent in the mind-nature. For example, subduing afflictions is merit and virtue; cultivating until the mind is untainted (anāsrava) is merit and virtue; attaining wisdom is merit and virtue; when precepts (śīla), meditative concentration (samādhi), and wisdom (prajñā) all advance and tend toward perfection, that is merit and virtue; or being fully endowed and complete, so that one can personally enjoy its benefits and also bring benefit to others—that is merit and virtue. Generally speaking, merit and virtue is not easily lost, and it is inexhaustible in its benefits, all the way until buddhahood. Worldly merit and blessing, on the other hand, is mostly for one's own enjoyment, can be used up, can be destroyed, is not ultimate, and cannot guarantee that one will not use that merit to commit unwholesome karmic actions. Merit and virtue, however, can gradually turn the mind toward tranquility (praśama), and will also cause worldly merit to grow. If worldly merit and merit-and-virtue are obtained simultaneously, the worldly merit will become firm and will continually increase.

Even so, one must still cultivate worldly merit; if worldly merit is insufficient, merit and virtue will also be difficult to manifest—the two complement each other. However, the worldly merit that is cultivated should not be used for enjoyment of worldly dharmas; do not seek the karmic rewards of humans and gods, but dedicate all of this merit (pariṇāma) toward the accomplishment of the Buddha Way. If you wish to cultivate more merit and virtue, you must diligently cultivate precepts, concentration, and wisdom, extinguish greed, hatred, and delusion, broadly practice the bodhisattva path, receive, uphold, read, and recite the Tripiṭaka and the twelve divisions of the scriptures, investigate Chan and practice meditative concentration, jointly apply śamatha and vipaśyanā, maintain the equal cultivation of Samādhi and Prajñā, eradicate the view of self (satkāya-dṛṣṭi), aspire to seeing the mind and realizing enlightenment, progress through the bhūmis one after another, and perfectly accomplish the fruit of buddhahood. All of these are merit and virtue, and indeed great merit and virtue, all the way to perfect and complete merit and virtue.