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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Making "Merit" in Buddhism

Wisdom Quarterly edit of Wikipedia entry "Merit"
The Bodhisattva Ksitigarbha vowed to save others even from the hells (en.topictures.com)
  
The best merit contributes to one's growth towards liberation (nirvana, moksha, full emancipation). But it is generally useful and welcome however it manifests.
    Merit can be gained in a number of ways. Before the Buddha's time, it was customary to pray and make vows (deals). Others chanted Brahminical-style mantras and engaged in unprofitable rites and rituals: 
       
    According to a latter day Mahayana Buddhist invention, the Sutra of the Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, one can "transfer" 1/7th of the merit of an act performed to a deceased loved one such as in the Shitro practice in order to diminish the deceased's suffering in his or her rebirth.
       
    "Transferring" merit is possible but not in the way we might imagine. IF one makes merit then "shares" it by offering it for the benefit of relatives (which extend seven generations back) not able by their circumstances to perform very many profitable deeds, AND those relatives approve of such deeds, MERIT is produced by their approval. It is actually their own doing with the help of the living.
       
    Great Sivali, an arhat of astounding merit, abundance
    The extent of their merit is measured by the meritoriousness of the deed of which they approve (commend, laud, rejoice, and delight in).
          
    Giving to the noble Sangha or the Buddha or giving the gift of the Dharma (Dharma-dana) is superior karma most beings in the universe do not have access to and of which few have knowledge.
       
    Beings able to receive this transfer of merit is limited, but it is possible. And it is meritorious to offer. Shakespeare's ghost writer was right when he borrowed someone else's observation noting that mercy does not dissipate by being expressed; it is only strengthened:
      
    The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
    It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
    Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
    It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
    'Tis mightiest in the mightiest....
    (Wm. Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice)
      
    Transferring Merit
    Pariṇāmanā is a Sanskrit term that may be translated as "transfer of merit" or "dedication." It involves helping others by generating merit then sharing it and thereby accruing even more as a result of having shared. The recipient to whom it is dedicated then has the opportunity to also generate merit IF s/he approves of the deed.
      
    As humans we need never feel jealous or envious of others' accrual of good deeds, their riches of merit. Instead by approving, applauding, and rejoicing in them, we generate profitable mental karma based on the strength of their good. Our commendation and happiness for them, as well as the special strength of the deed(s) we are approving, enriches us. Unlike limited resources -- gold, greenbacks, oil, wage slaves, precious gems -- merit is a boundless fountain of happiness.
      
    Sadly, the same goes for unprofitable karma: Often without realizing it we approve and applaud, sometimes silently at heart, karmically unwholesome deeds. One example is the death penalty. Or we celebrate the mistreatment or killing of others we have labelled "enemies" and members of other groups we distinguish ourselves from. 
       
    Rejoicing in the foolish misbehavior of others (violating precepts, holding to wrong views, encouraging actions motivated by greed, aversion, and delusion) brings us harm. This is mental karma bearing a mental resultant and later coming to fruition as miserable outward circumstances.
      
    In fact, merely suggesting or praising or encouraging that one kill another (e.g., abort) or commit suicide -- if that person then does it -- makes us co-guilty of the action from a karmic standpoint.
      
    Three Bases of Merit
    There are three bases of merit. In the "Meritorious Deeds" sutra (AN 8.36, A 8.4.6), the Buddha identifies them:
    And in the "Chanting Together" sutra (DN 33, Verse 38), Sariputra identifies the same three.
       
    In the Khuddaka Nikaya's Itivuttaka (Iti. 1.22), these bases are defined as: giving, self-mastery, and refraining. In the same discourse the three are restated as: giving, a serene life of mental calm, and a mind of good-will (metta, universally extended friendship).
       
    More Merit
    Buddhist monastics accrue merit through Buddhist meditation (developing karmically profitable qualities), mindfulness (staying aware of the present moment), sustained contemplation (anussati), wise reflection (yoniso manasikara) while chanting sutras, personal restraint, higher virtue, preserving the Dharma for the human world, teaching the Dharma for the benefit of all beings, and practicing in accordance with the Dharma for the sake of liberation of oneself and others. It is not either-or, it is both.
       
    A post-canonical commentary elaborates on the three bases of merit (D.III,218) by stating that lay practitioners can make merit by performing seven other actions:
    1. honoring others
    2. offering service
    3. inviting and involving others in skillful deeds
    4. rejoicing, being thankful, and appreciative for others' good deeds
    5. listening or studying the Dharma
    6. instructing others in the Dharma
    7. straightening one's own views in accordance with the Dharma (ditthujukamma).

    Zen Koan: Gokoku's Three Shames

    Wisdom Quarterly; Book of Equanimity; Koan Study Group, PasaDharma.org
    PREFACE TO THE ASSEMBLY
    The person without clothing is indeed a naked heretic.
    The person who doesn't chew a grain of rice is certainly the burned-face demon king.
    Even if you were born in a holy place, you can't avoid falling from the top of the pole.
    Is there anything to cover up this shame?

    MAIN CASE
    Attention!
    A monk asked Gokoku, "When a crane stands upon a withered pine, then what?"
    Gokoku said, "On the ground below, it's a shame."
    The monk then asked, "When dripping water freezes, what then?"
    Gokoku replied, "After sunrise, it's a shame."
    The monk then asked, "At the time of Esho's persecution of Buddhism,
    Where were the good gods [kami, ten, tiān, devas] to protect the Dharma?"
    Gokoku said, "For the two guardians of the triple gate, it's a shame."

    APPRECIATORY VERSE
    Vigorous in the prime of life, one's temples are not yet grey;
    A man who doesn't exert himself is not awarded nobility.
    Instead recall the family members of unbroken honor;
    The brook for washing ears is not for watering the ox.

    Commentary
    Pagoda Toji, Kyoto, Japan
    Comments cannot hope to make clear a koan -- which presents a riddle or conundrum that leads to insight when one realizes the futility of linear reasoning. These comments, therefore, are only meant to set the proper historical stage for pondering the story and averting misguided assumptions particular to our social and historical setting.
       
    Preface to the Assembly
    A "heretic" is simply anyone professing another dharma or doctrine of liberation, of which there were six famous Indian teachers at the time of the historical Buddha. The Jains were famous for their extreme asceticism and spiritual nudity. The Buddha pointed out the concern with external matters leaving internal ones untended. If one moves toward more and more asceticism, it is presumed less and less internal work is actually being done. The outside cannot cure the inside, but the inside can.

    Prof.sor Buswell (The Zen Monastic Experience)
    What sort of person eschews the "staff of life" (rice rather than wheat) in Asia? At that time in China or Japan, it would have been unimaginable. (Food allergies are a modern phenomenon related to genetic manipulation, pesticides, contaminants like aflatoxin, and our confused and damaged immune systems. Moreover, who is the "burned face demon king"?
       
    It would seem to be Mara, who delights in erecting obstacles to liberation. He is the leader of armies of yakkhas or rakshasas, which are ogres that are often called "demons." It may refer to Yama, the King of the Dead, who is the leader of wardens on hellish planes of torment (niraya loka). But Yama is not regarded as evil nor are the tormentors in hells as understood in the West. While they seem to delight in their work, it is said that they are creations of the person who falls into the Great Waste, unfortunate destinations of rebirth due to the fruition of unskillful karma.

    Even if one is born in a heaven or a good and prosperous human home, one is sure to fall eventually into realms of woe. Why? Simply speaking, in the absence of enlightenment/awakening or enlightened guidance teaching us the nature of this world and the worlds to come (other worlds one may be reborn in and the karma that leads to those abodes), we engage in unprofitable karma. Because of ignorance, greed and aversion are dependently originated. Therefore, the highest highs do not prevent one from falling to the lowest lows. Stream entry means safety; all other kinds of spiritual attainments only delay the revolving of samsara (wheel of life and death) and the cycling through unfortunate rebirth destinations. 
      
    There are more than Six Realms emphasized by Zen and Chinese Mahayana, which is often only talking about the lowest of three spheres. It is indeed a shame that no matter how lovely one looks, how safe one feels in a particular rebirth, there is hell to come, ignominy, devastation. The Dharma exists to prevent this, but we ourselves set off on the path, practice the techniques, calm the mind/heart and develop liberating insight. What can disguise or "cover up" this pitiful situation, this "shame"?

    Main Case
    Gokoku Jinja, Osaka, Japan
    Gokoku is a wise Zen master being asked, When a bird meant to wade and poke around in water instead stands on a dessicated tree -- like a tall pole from which it will fall -- what about that? It's a shame, Gokoku replies, on the ground.

    When what is of a nature to be fluid and drip temporarily freezes and holds, what about that? the monk goes on.

    Gokoku thinks that's a shame, too: After the dark, when it's coldest and being held by such cold, this position will not be something the water can hold. It will drip and fall.

    The monk gets historical to the time of the ruler Esho who resisted the spread of the Dharma, the teaching of liberation making use of one's own efforts rather than depending totally on a priesthood or elite class of spiritual interpreters. Buddhism upset the cart and was persecuted, suppressed, and inadvertently made more attractive. The truth, like the sun and moon, cannot be kept hidden for long.

    Why did the helpful devas (generally superior space beings) not prevent this counter-revolution? What did they know about the ultimate effects of intervening and letting the oppression play itself out? Esho's efforts would only help entrench the Dharma; opposition would only strengthen it or at least spur interest in it.

    Gokoku makes reference to the typical layout of a temple compound, "the triple gate," with its two watchmen. While they fail to guard, yet what the temple is guarding is safe. The temple complex is not the Dharma. So even if it is ruined to the chagrin of gatekeepers, the Gateless Gate is still there. The ideas, lessons, practical instructions still exist even when the external elements are attacked.

    Appreciatory Verse
    "Look!" - "It's a shame."
    Near the beginning, one has not yet aged enough to show it. But temples, the sides of the head, will show it. (No clever reference to religious temples are likely being implied in Chinese or Japanese). How foolish a person is not to make an effort for liberation, or at least the storing up merit that will be carried into the future when everything else has to be left behind, when one is strong and full of vigor.

    The way to noble attainments is exertion, not to be confused with over-efforting. Rather than going down that road, reflect and contemplate on lineages of enlightened persons, who made the right effort (the balanced effort) and succeeded. This will inspire one in a very profitable way.

    The pure, clean water for hearers (shravakas) devoted to hearing the Dharma to use to ready themselves to receive instruction and explanation is not the same H20 used for dousing the oxen, which need not be as pure or precious. H20 is H20 but the source matters for what it is to be used for, a supramundane or mundane task.

    India plunged into darkness

    Wisdom Quarterly
    Sitting in the dark (washingtonpost.com)
    A portion of the population larger than the United States was thrown off the electrical grid yesterday as India suffered a massive but mysterious blackout. Its origins were unknown but eventually corrected in the five Indian states affected. Power had to be drawn from what was until recently the last Himalayan Buddhist kingdom, Bhutan. Then today the blackout grew more massive now involving half a billion people, and still the cause is unknown. With private generators some small portions of the capital are operating. But the vast majority of citizens is suffering in sweltering heat with no end in sight. Is it due to a mass coronal ejection from a solar flare, which like a pulse weapon can easily destroy a grid, or might it be a planned attack to see how a large populace would fare in a power outage?

    Pussy Riot goes to court (video)

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