Merit is not easy to understand. Here, we explain briefly what merit is.
Merit is an English word for So-nam (Tib.). In English, the word ‘merit’ means something good to be collected. It is like a plus point or reward. So-nam carries a meaning bigger than that.
THE PROPHECY FOR MAITREYA BUDDHA
Buddha Shakyamuni made a prophecy. The next Buddha after him will be Maitreya Buddha. He will be the fifth Supreme Nirmanakaya of this Fortunate Eon. According to the prophecy, when Maitreya is born on earth, he will also live as a prince, destined to be a king.
Then, one day, when the prince has come of age, he will offer a big jewel to the King, in front of the ministers. It will be made of ruby or some other precious stone. However, as he raises the jewel, accidentally, this very big jewel will form a crack, or will fall and make a crack.
Seeing this crack, the prince will realize the faults of Samsaric existence. He will see the limitations of his fortune, fame and power as a prince. He will develop complete ‘renunciation’.
This incident will lead him to search for an end to this Samsaric existence. He will practice and eventually, in that life, he will become Maitreya Buddha and begin his Buddha activities.
OVERFLOWING WITH MERIT
Buddhist merit is something unfamiliar to our everyday thinking. In that story, we would say that the prince, the future Buddha Maitreya, has accumulated so much merit, an overwhelming amount of merit. Because, by merely seeing a crack in the jewel, he will understand the faults of all of Samsara and pursue the path of Buddhahood.
MERIT
Merit is an individual’s potential to understand the Buddha’s teachings. Lack of merit = Little potential to understand or appreciate the Buddha’s teachings.
With a lot of merit, we will consistently move towards the Buddha’s wisdom. We will overcome the many obstacles and problems on the Buddhist path, such as doubts, arrogance, attachment to wrong views, and so on.
For some, we cannot find time to learn and practice. We easily become distracted from studying the Dharma. We have so many doubts about Buddhism. These obstacles are due to little merit.
Merit is accumulated through doing virtuous activities, and engaging in virtuous thoughts, speech and actions. Merit is also accumulated by dedicating one’s virtue to attain Buddhahood for oneself and others.
IN SUMMARY
Merit is a potential to correctly understand the Buddha’s teachings. It is something that will make us taste the real Dharma, or understand Buddha’s wisdom.
The Buddha said in the Sanghata Sutra,
“Take all the Bodhisattvas of the ten stages in all the ten directions and the three times. Treat each of their merit as a drop of water in the ocean.
One Buddha’s merit is much more than all those drops of water combined.”