Sharing Merit - Punya

Sharing merit, or punya, with those who have helped you in your life as a way to open up the heart to all. Ends with a 5 minute guided metta meditation.

Transcript

The sharing of merit,

Punya.

As this new day begins we can reflect also that what we do today,

How we live our life,

Has its effect on the universe we live in.

So just our very silent listening and patience,

Our good actions,

Our refraining from acting on selfish impulses,

Cruel impulses,

Our keeping of the sealer,

Our practice of the Dharma.

All this is meritorious.

What we mean by this is a kind of goodness or grace,

Or that which is good accumulates around us when we live a good life,

Or kind,

Generous,

Charitable.

When we practice the Dharma,

When we keep the sealer.

Now this we also see as something that we do not accumulate for our own self,

But a way of humbly,

Mentally,

Emotionally offering this goodness or this grace for the welfare of all sentient beings.

So that in your practice here the idea is not to practice just to get something for yourself,

To get enlightened,

To get out of suffering,

But also to offer any good results,

Any grace,

Merit or goodness from your practice,

Offering it back for the welfare of all sentient beings.

In other words,

How can we help the third world?

People ask,

What do you do for the third world?

Sitting in your monastery,

Doing all those chants and washing your breath,

You should be out helping the third world.

Of course people that usually say that aren't doing anything much to help the third world.

They're out building a toilet in India or something.

But this is helping the third world,

And the second,

And the first.

In any worlds that are fourth,

Fifth or sixth,

All sentient beings,

Because in this way this practice of Dharma,

If I practice it,

My life is right and in balance,

Then that has its effect on all sentient beings.

If my life is led selfishly and stupidly,

Then it also has its effect on all sentient beings.

I figured out years ago that there is this practice of sharing of merit is also a way of praying for other beings,

A kind of Buddhist prayer,

That your mother is ill,

Is depressed or unhappy,

And there's nothing you can do for her.

You can't,

You've done what you can,

But you still,

You can still say,

Go out and do charitable action and offer this action with any goodness or grace for this action,

The way of,

May this be of benefit to my sick mother.

In other words,

You're using some unpleasant situation in your life,

Concern for someone else that's close to you,

When you really can't do anything,

Then you do good action in the world,

Help someone else who does need help,

Who you can help in some way,

Some kindness in this,

And offer this merit,

This grace,

For the healing of your mother or friend,

This psychologically very valid,

Very useful way of doing it.

For the third world,

For the nuclear arms race,

For the American government,

For the Soviet government,

For the Iranian government,

All governments.

In England I,

Every day,

Share a merit with Queen Elizabeth.

I don't know if she appreciates her.

With Margaret Thatcher.

Some people in England find that hard to do.

We aren't taking political sides,

We're sharing merit with all sentient beings.

Now this also opens up the possibility of sharing merit,

Say of doing good action in the world.

This kind of reflection,

Like if we begin the day with this attitude of sharing punya,

Then we are careful,

More careful of how we live our life during this day.

So that we will say,

If you're just at home you have to go to work,

You have to do things,

You're not here at meditation center or at a monastery,

Then you say it also will remind you to go to your office,

Your factory,

School or whatever,

With an attitude of giving and sharing rather than of getting,

Dwelling in aversion or resenting or begrudging.

The changing our way of looking at things,

On this conceptual level,

Changing the way we look at the life that we're living,

The beings that we live with,

The world that we live in.

We can complain about the way the world is,

There's plenty enough to complain about.

You read the newspapers,

It seems to be hopeless kind of crisis,

World problems.

Plenty to complain about,

About the present government,

The economic,

Political,

Social problems of the United States,

Of the world.

But constant complaining and discontentment only breeds negativity wherever we go.

I go up to the United States and say,

Oh the terrible things they're doing in the government,

Oh the awful things in the economy,

Oh the hopelessness of the society,

All the crime and violence,

Oh everything in the society is going to the dogs.

And then after I chewed you up with that,

I told you about some terrible scandal,

Some terrible kind of violent atrocity.

Then you go on to the next person and you think,

Oh I heard today that there's this terrible scandal and atrocity and the world is going to the dogs and everything is hopeless.

And you go and spread good cheer throughout your day like that.

So we developed a whole network of negativity,

Just poking at each other,

Complaining,

Oh look in England they're good at complaining about the weather.

Actually the English climate is quite pleasant.

It's quite a temperate country and it's a very pleasant place to live.

But English people insist that their climate is the worst in the world.

They convince everybody that it is,

So by the time you go to England you're already biased.

It's a way to start a conversation,

It's the English way of being friendly,

Oh it's raining again.

But it's a negative way isn't it?

It's to create in people a complaining mind,

Oh the pound is dropping,

Oh the percentage of unemployment is rising,

Oh and so forth.

Spend our days in these tearful little tidbits of life.

And we wonder why mental illness is on the increase,

Why people get depressed,

Can't get out of their depression,

Why mental hospitals are filling up.

Because we're also responsible for that in our lives as we complain,

Spread negativity and discontentment wherever we go,

We're also responsible for that.

For what we say and how we live in the world.

So this sharing of merit is a skillful kind of practice.

It doesn't mean you're being goody-good,

Pollyanna-like.

But it's a positive kind of expression of doing and living in the world in a way that is useful,

Helpful and kind.

So that our life as meditators,

As religious seekers,

As Buddhists or yogis or just as human beings,

As a man or woman,

Is a positiveness,

A movement of effort towards that doing that which is good,

Kind,

Charitable in the world that we live in,

In the society we live in.

It doesn't mean we're blind to the faults of it.

We certainly are,

Our discriminative faculties are highly developed already,

So we're certainly aware of the faults and flaws and imperfections.

But like in your own practice of meditation,

To dwell constantly on the imperfections of yourself,

The fault only leads to misery and constant suffering.

Same with the society,

Learning to be within a society even though it's very imperfect,

But being that which is,

Say,

A force of dharma,

Of truth,

Of good action,

Generosity,

Charity.

And this will definitely help and be of use and of service to all sentient beings.

So in this reflection we reflect on the monks,

We always reflect on our Upacaya,

Our preceptor,

Because having been ordained as a bhikkhu is a great honor,

So that the man or the monk that ordained us always has a very special place in our life,

Something that our life is among,

Our good practice,

Meritorious actions,

Good sila,

And all this as a way of repaying that,

Our preceptor for giving us this opportunity to be a bhikkhu.

And for those of you who aren't bhikkhus,

Do this to your teachers.

Bhikkhus,

We do it to our teachers,

Like I spread this merit,

This punya to Ajahn Chah.

You can share this punya with me,

Venerable Sujita,

Or with Jack and Joseph,

Or with Dharma teachers who have helped you in some way,

Whether they're Christian or Buddhist or whatever,

It doesn't make any difference.

Those who have taught you to be good,

To refrain from doing evil,

Have helped you to understand more clearly the truth.

Then with your parents,

With your husband,

Wife,

Brothers,

Sisters,

Children,

Relatives and good friends.

All those people you know that you like that are ill or unhappy,

To live this day,

Spend this day practicing,

Developing your practice,

Humbly waiting,

Patiently listening,

Not as an end in itself for your enlightenment,

But also offering any goodness or merit from this practice,

As an offering to say your parents or your friends,

Or those you know who are unhappy or sick.

Then we also offer this merit to our enemies,

To those people we know that we don't like,

We can't stand,

Who have hurt us or humiliated us,

Caused us some pain.

To the government,

To President Reagan,

Congress,

All the people in power in this country who make decisions,

With all the happy,

Good devas of the universe,

The celestial beings,

With all the malevolent forces in the universe,

With all the animals.

Just think of how we exploit animals just for our own greedy purposes.

We think we have little cats and dogs that we like,

We can love,

And it's easy to share merit with our dear little cat,

Lovable little dog,

Our horse,

Or animals that we keep for pets.

But then the animals that we eat all the time,

Exploit,

Cows,

Pigs,

Chickens,

Ducks and geese,

Sheep and so forth.

We think it's our right to just take their lives and use their animal hides and so forth.

But we never think of sharing merit with a cow or a pig.

They've helped us in all kinds of ways,

These animals,

The nori stuff.

So to share merit with all these animals that we've exploited and we like to eat and use.

It helps us like horses and all the cow,

The milking of cows.

Thailand you have the water buffalos,

Very useful animal that pull the plows.

All these chickens that lay eggs.

The way of recognition,

Of reminding ourselves of all these sentient beings of this same life force,

Wanting to live,

Not wanting to die,

Having fear,

Feeling pain and pleasure.

A recognition of this so that when we reflect on this we're more careful of how we live.

Not just taking for granted that somehow we have the right to exploit at the animal world for our own pleasure and convenience.

Then all the animals that we don't like,

Like mosquitoes and these black flies,

When you're out in the garden.

Remember that you're sharing merit with the black flies.

In Thailand we do it with the mosquitoes.

It doesn't mean you love black flies.

You can share merit with all sentient beings,

People you hate.

We're not asking you to like or love everything,

But this sense of complete open giving and sharing regardless of personal preference.

Then sharing merit with all the unfortunate,

Unhappy people in the world that we don't know about.

Such as those locked away in prisons,

In prison camps,

In mental institutions.

Those that live in the world of constant fear,

Anxiety.

People addicted to drugs,

Alcohol,

Sexual abeyance.

People that have to live in constant misery and obsession.

This way of offering any merit,

Any grace from our lives for their welfare.

Well you see,

Psychologically this sharing of merit is a way of opening up the heart.

Here you're expanding.

You're not limiting to only this group,

Only the Buddhists.

Only the Buddhists that keep the sealer.

Only the Buddhist meditators that come to the Insight Meditation Center.

Only the Theravadan Buddhists.

And we are only the Theravadan Buddhists then a bulwaja would feel hurt.

Even with the Tibetan Buddhists.

The Mahayanas,

The Zenists,

Christians.

This is a prayer,

I'm just giving this morning as a way for reflection in your own life.

Attitude of the sharing of punya.

This will have a beneficial effect on your practice too.

Because in practice,

As I was saying,

This is an opening.

It's not sitting here to get something.

If I sit here long enough I'm going to get enlightened.

But it's a patient waiting in an opening up.

It's not sitting here closing down and shutting everything out.

Somebody comes and calls and you say,

Ooh,

I wish that person would drop dead.

There's a patient waiting.

I'm listening.

An opening of their heart.

And then this attitude of giving out.

Because our life,

This life here,

This being here,

Is not separate from the universe.

It is the universe.

Now just sit comfortably,

Relax.

This attitude of metta towards yourself.

Just feel at ease and at peace with your own body and mind.

Just kind of sweep through the body with this metta,

Kindness,

Friendliness.

Inner ease.

Just relax inwardly and be at peace with all the cells of the body.

The blood vessels,

The nerve endings,

All the organs.

Sit here and just reflect on the body itself.

And there's this friendliness,

Kindness,

Ease.

All these solid elements,

Liquid elements,

The air and fire in the body,

The spaces.

Having metta for all your internal organs.

The body likes this friend very much and it responds very nicely.

It's metta for your kidneys,

Liver,

Heart,

Intestines,

Lungs.

For all your sense organs,

Eyes,

Ears,

Nose,

Tongue,

Body,

Brain,

Skeleton.

All that.

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Reviews

A wonderful reminder of right speech
Watering the right seeds
Thank you 🙏

I transcend time and space whilst listening to this, and join everyone who has ever shared, and will share, loving compassion for all sentient beings.

Thank you, just wonderful. And I am moved by the fact that this talk was apparently given 30-odd years ago, yet I was led to it today, just when I needed it!

Excellent dharma talk about sharing the good you accumulate with all sentient beings as well as being more positive in your life

Interesting concept I will adopt from today