Merit (Buddhism)
The Pāli word puñña translates literally as merit, meritorious action, or virtue. Theravāda commentator Dhammapāla defined it as that which cleanses the life-continuity. Opposing concepts include apuñña and pāpa, terms meaning infertile, barren, harmful, or bringing ill fortune. Before Buddhism arose, this term functioned within Brahmanical sacrifice contexts to bring devotees to an eternal heaven of the fathers. The Upaniśads period established rebirth beliefs where life in heaven depended on accumulated merit from previous lives. Buddhism rejected the idea of an eternal heaven but kept the belief that merit could secure a temporary heavenly rebirth. This shift invested merit with ethical meaning beyond mere ritual product. The Tipițaka scriptures stress its importance across nearly all Buddhist traditions. Merit acts as a beneficial force extending over long periods through physical actions, words, or thoughts. It generates good results internally by making the mind happy and virtuous. Externally, present circumstances like health, wealth, and lifespan arise from past merits. A mixture of merit and demerit creates mixed results in daily life. This automatic cosmic reaction operates without divine intervention or human intention. People cannot take material possessions into death, only their accrued merit and demerit. These forces determine future destinations including next lives. Some scholars conclude merit is inherently stronger than demerit because multiple merits can push bad karma to the back of the queue.
The Pāli canon identifies three specific bases for accumulating merit known as puññakiriyā-vatthu. Giving stands as the easiest base while virtue and mental development follow in order of difficulty. Giving helps overcome selfishness and stills the mind for further practice. It functions as a form of saving since people receive back what they give in future rebirths. Virtue comprises three aspects of the Noble Eightfold Path: right speech, right action, and right livelihood. Practicing these forms the main criterion for moral behavior in Buddhism. Most followers undertake five precepts though eight precepts may be kept occasionally. The five precepts are part of many ceremonies and help practitioners become strong and healthy. Mental development includes meditation practices that lead to the highest heavenly worlds or Nirvana itself. Post-canonical texts like the Dhammasańganī expand this list to ten deeds. Seven items added include honoring others, offering service, dedicating merit to others, rejoicing in others' merit, listening to teachings, instructing others, and straightening one's views. Commentator Buddhaghośa grouped all ten within the original three categories. Mahāyāna traditions sometimes add ritual actions called power of blessed substances to protect against calamities. Scholars criticize concepts of merit as amoral or calculative due to their quantitative nature. Others argue personal benefit and altruism merge on the spiritual path. Western ethical concepts do not always apply because Buddhist ethics stem from metaphysics including the not-self doctrine.
Good deeds done toward specific recipients accrue more merit than those given to others. This concept compares a seed planted in fertile ground reaping better fruits than infertile soil. Brahmin priests performed sacrifices generating merit for donors who provided gifts. Buddhism assigned this role to monks considered worthy of offering. Monks became described as āhuneyyo meaning worthy of offering by analogy with Brahmanical terms. The Sangha monastic community also received descriptions as qualified to accept offerings. Giving to the Sangha preceded early rituals and allowed community participation. The main concept holds that good deeds yield greater fruits when directed toward the Sangha as a whole. Deeds done with favoritism produce less fruit than sańghadāna. A Buddha image serves as another field of merit where any good deed becomes very meritorious. Mahāyāna tradition considers production and reverence of Dharma texts highly meritorious. This cult of the book stimulated print technology development in China. Repaying gratitude to parents or showing compassion for suffering beings creates valuable merit. Deeds done towards the Sangha yield even more fruits than deeds to the person of the Buddha himself. In pre-Buddhist times, Brahmins used sacrifices to generate merit for donors providing gifts. Buddhism recognized ways of generating merit apart from offerings to monks unlike Brahmanical yajña emphasizing priestly offerings.
South and Southeast Asian kingship went hand-in-hand with merit-making practices among higher echelons. The Tipițaka framed governance ideas around the wheel-turning monarch ruling righteously according to Dharma. Kings earned sovereignty through spiritual merit rather than mere inheritance. Emperor Aśoka appears in later Pāli works as an important patron supporting the Sangha. Chronicles like the Mahāvańsa show royalty performing meritorious acts sometimes as repentance for wrongdoings. From the tenth century CE onward Sri Lankan kings assumed roles as lay protectors of the Sangha. Thai kings during Sukhothai and Ayutthaya periods followed similar patterns. Some rulers described themselves as bodhisattas establishing epithets and royal language accordingly. Kingship connected with the Sangha field of merit where kings acted as exemplary donors. The Sangha legitimated kings as state leaders while both facilitated one another. During famines or hardships kings performed grand-scale meritorious activities to improve kingdom conditions. This overflow karma helped stabilize societies facing crisis. Queens played similar roles accumulating past-life merits attributed to their rise to power. Burmese and Thai concepts hpone and barami capture these sociological dynamics enduring into modern eras. In Thailand, the Vessantara Jātaka festival legitimized kingship over seven centuries through yearly preaching events. Prince Vessantara's generosity story emphasized merit-making and pāramīs development. Rama IV reform period dismissed the festival as not reflecting true Buddhism though popularity diminished. Thai monarchy continued using merit-making to solidify positions until late twentieth century.
Studies from the 1960s and 1970s showed massive time effort and money invested in merit-making across Burma Thailand and Sri Lanka. Spiro described Burma's rural economy as geared toward wealth accumulation for acquiring merit. Up to thirty percent of people's income went toward merit-making in some rural Burmese studies. Burma ranked highest on the World Giving Index tied with the United States in 2014 due to this habit. Scholars noted significant groups no longer believed in karma during 1980s Thailand though this was not a majority. Average expenses per person reached 1512 Baht annually in Bangkok Metropolitan Area compared to national averages of 804 Baht in 2005. Critics argue spending savings on temples prevents consumption investment stunting economic growth. Other researchers claim temple investments stimulate growth through goods purchasing. Even if economies might function better without merit-making many populations would prefer current systems. Temples often redistribute resources widely serving social roles helping various groups. Community-based merit-making strengthens social ties called sociokarma by Walters. Belief in merit can cause social differences to stay unchanged when poor resign to fate. Quick changes in status justify themselves because someone's store of merit ran out. Earned value gained by doing good deeds matters more than assigned birth status values.
Transferring merit to deceased relatives happens simply through mental wishes without decreasing the giver's merit. A candle lights another candle yet light does not diminish similarly here. Dead relatives must sympathize with the meritorious act for them to receive transferred merit. If they do not receive it the transfer remains beneficial for the giver himself. Rejoicing in others' merits serves as prerequisite for transferring merit to occur successfully. The practice connects with intermediate state beliefs helping deceased cross safely to next rebirth. Some Mahāyāna traditions believe transfers help relatives attain Pure Land states. Dedicating merit to devas obtains their favor since deities cannot make merits themselves. Resolving revenge bonds between people also motivates some transfers believing vengefulness creates harm. Scholars initially believed transfer developed late between fifth and seventh centuries CE. Evidence shows early Theravāda tradition contained doctrine foundations though fully developed forms appeared later. Pre-Buddhist ancestor worship transformed into responsibility toward parents using ethical psychological principles. Veneration of dead ancestors replaced by veneration of Sangha monastic community. Inscriptions across South Asia prove widespread practice during first few centuries CE. Japan hosts temples called ekōdera meaning temples for merit transfer. Merit transfer became standard element in basic liturgy of all main Buddhist schools.
Merit release rituals involve releasing animals from captivity to make merit common in many societies. Origins trace unclearly to sources like the Humane King Sutra among others. Large numbers released simultaneously include chanting resolutions and merit transfers alongside fish birds crabs lobsters. Wildlife conservationists criticize practices potentially fatal for high percentages of released animals affecting threatened species survival. Black markets emerge creating public hygiene threats when animals captured specifically for sale. Thailand cases show animals sold into unsuitable ecosystems causing ecological damage. Conservation organizations work with religious communities adapting practices through education pushing new laws controlling releases. Singapore fined participants limiting merit release on Vesak celebrations. Canada-based Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society released lobsters planned with local lobster-men in 2016. Lincoln United States resident bought rabbits raising them under better conditions before release. Two Taiwanese Buddhists released crabs lobsters at Brighton United Kingdom facing £15,000 fines for wildlife offenses. Despite criticism merit release continues growing developing new forms in western countries. Some countries issued laws controlling practice while others encourage adaptation with conservation groups. Communities generally respond positively to suggestions despite ongoing controversies surrounding environmental impact.
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Common questions
What is the Pāli word for merit in Buddhism?
The Pāli word for merit is puñña. This term translates literally as merit, meritorious action, or virtue and functions to cleanse the life-continuity according to Theravāda commentator Dhammapāla.
How do Buddhists accumulate merit through giving virtue and mental development?
Buddhists accumulate merit through three specific bases known as puññakiriyā-vatthu: giving, virtue, and mental development. Giving stands as the easiest base while virtue comprises right speech, right action, and right livelihood from the Noble Eightfold Path. Mental development includes meditation practices that lead to heavenly worlds or Nirvana itself.
Why does giving to the Sangha generate more merit than other deeds?
Good deeds done toward the Sangha yield greater fruits because monks are considered worthy of offering by analogy with Brahmanical terms. Deeds done with favoritism produce less fruit than sańghadāna which directs good deeds toward the Sangha as a whole. A Buddha image serves as another field of merit where any good deed becomes very meritorious.
When did kingship connect with merit-making practices in South and Southeast Asia?
South and Southeast Asian kingship went hand-in-hand with merit-making practices among higher echelons from ancient times onward. From the tenth century CE onward Sri Lankan kings assumed roles as lay protectors of the Sangha. Thai kings during Sukhothai and Ayutthaya periods followed similar patterns until late twentieth century.
How much income do people spend on merit-making in Burma according to 1960s studies?
Up to thirty percent of people's income went toward merit-making in some rural Burmese studies conducted during the 1960s and 1970s. Burma ranked highest on the World Giving Index tied with the United States in 2014 due to this habit. Average expenses per person reached 1512 Baht annually in Bangkok Metropolitan Area compared to national averages of 804 Baht in 2005.
What happens when merit is transferred to deceased relatives without decreasing the giver's merit?
Transferring merit to deceased relatives happens simply through mental wishes without decreasing the giver's merit like a candle lighting another candle. Dead relatives must sympathize with the meritorious act for them to receive transferred merit successfully. If they do not receive it the transfer remains beneficial for the giver himself.