Merit (puñña) refers to the inner purification that occurs through virtuous acts of body, speech and mind. Meritorious actions elevate and ennoble the mind, and are accompanied by a sense of well-being.
In Thailand the popular idiom “making merit” (tham boon) usually refers to making offerings to the monastic order. Such offerings, if given with the right motivation, may indeed be meritorious, but merit is not restricted to such acts.
Generous actions are meritorious because they reduce the power of selfish attachment, and teach us the joy of giving. Keeping precepts is meritorious because it weakens the compulsion to harm ourselves and others, and because it accustoms the mind to freedom from remorse and to feelings of self-respect. But the highest kind of merit arises from cultivation of the Eightfold Path, particularly the practice of meditation. Practicing meditation on a regular basis entails a commitment to the cultivation of life skills. It means taking direct responsibility for the abandonment of the causes of suffering and the cultivation of peace, wisdom and compassion. As meditation has the most profound transformative effect on the mind, it is most powerful generator of merit.
Sujata gives food to Buddha, his last meal before reaching enlightenment.
The Buddha taught that the fruits of merit do not end at death, but contribute to a good rebirth. Although the Buddha emphasized the importance of liberation from the cycle of birth and death (samsara), he also acknowledged that for those people unready for such a path, the accumulation of merit for benefits in this and future lives is an understandable (and not unintelligent) path to follow.
More questions and answers HERE
Source:
- Without and Within – Ajahn Jayasaro
