Generosity (Dãna) Not Only Accumulates Merits to Advance Spiritual Practice But Also Repays the Buddha's Grace

Everyone possesses a heavy burden of ego-attachment. Only through studying the Buddha Dharma and realizing the true nature of the world can this ego-attachment gradually dissolve. In past lives, some studied the Dharma for a long time, while others studied it briefly, resulting in different capacities among sentient beings. However, regardless of one's capacity, anyone who enters the Dharma is one who awakens ahead of other sentient beings and should feel fortunate. Behind us, there are countless, innumerable beings who cannot even obtain a human body, let alone have the opportunity to encounter the Buddha Dharma; their suffering is boundless and endless. By the time we attain Buddhahood, we won’t even know in what form of existence these beings are trapped. Therefore, as practitioners of the Buddha Dharma, we should give rise to compassion—not only for ourselves but also for all sentient beings. If we can generate the resolve to deliver sentient beings, our own cultivation will progress swiftly.

Strive to cultivate as much merit and virtue as possible. Only when merit and virtue are abundant can the path of practice advance and wisdom grow. Many people neglect the cultivation of merit, resulting in shallow understanding of the Dharma despite long years of study, with no growth in wisdom whatsoever. The fundamental issue is insufficient merit and virtue. Those who diligently cultivate merit progress rapidly, and their wisdom increases swiftly. Consider carefully: is it beneficial to cultivate merit or to neglect it?

The Buddha is the Honored One with perfect merit and wisdom. Attaining Buddhahood emphasizes only merit and wisdom; these two complement each other and neither can be lacking. Merit and wisdom are like twin brothers, inseparable. When each person cultivates to a certain level, if merit becomes insufficient, they often become stuck at some point, stagnating or even regressing. This is based on my observations of some Dharma practitioners.

The study and practice of the Buddha Dharma follow a sequence. Practices like giving while breaking through attachments to form, giving without dwelling on form, and giving without clinging to the results—these are fundamentally impossible for ordinary beings. If, fearing attachment to the results of giving or fearing giving with attachment to form, one refuses to give, then one remains forever an ordinary being devoid of merit. Only after realizing the mind and attaining a certain level of fruition can one gradually practice formless giving. At the level of an ordinary being, giving inevitably involves attachment to form. However, attachment to form is not a critical issue; after all, giving still generates merit. With merit and virtue, one can attain the Way—this is most essential.

We who cultivate the Mahayana path cannot be like Arhats, who care only for themselves without considering the suffering of sentient beings. Arhats are self-liberators. Though they can liberate themselves from suffering and possess the ability to transcend the cycle of rebirth, the Buddha reproached them as "scorched sprouts and rotten seeds," fallen into the pit of inert nirvana, unable to grow the roots of the Buddha Dharma. If everyone were like the Arhats, who would save the sentient beings of this world? We all rely on Buddhas and Bodhisattvas for deliverance. If Arhats do not propagate the Dharma, and Bodhisattvas also refrain, sentient beings would remain forever adrift in the ocean of birth, death, and suffering, with no hope of escape. Every drop of grace we receive comes from the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. Sentient beings cycling through the six realms all depend on Bodhisattvas for salvation; if Bodhisattvas do not propagate the Dharma to deliver beings, we would never have the chance to encounter the Buddha Dharma. None of us wish for this. Therefore, we should empathize with others, always keeping in mind the suffering of other sentient beings and always seeking ways to help them relieve their anguish. Only then do we not betray the care the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have shown us, not waste the opportunity to encounter the liberating Dharma, and only then can we repay the kindness of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.