Professional Documents
Culture Documents
2014 EDITION
Author: Brian Chung
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THIS TEXT IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN AND HAS NO COPYRIGHT
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INTRODUCTION
In the Treatise on Response and Retribution (Kan Ying Pien), Lao Tzu states that:
A virtuous man speaks only good, does only good and sees only good. Hence,
he does at least three good deeds everyday. After 3 years (1000 days), karmic
rewards are guaranteed to manifest. The evil man does the opposite and amasses
evil deeds daily. Therefore, disasters and misfortunes will
certainly befall upon him after three years
Furthermore, in the instructions on how to implement the teachings of the Kan Yin
Pien, one important passage states that:
The third requisite is Determination and Perseverance. Now goodness in little
things brings a speedy recompense; the rewards of great virtue come slowly. But
speedy rewards consist of only trivial blessings; those which delay their coming
consist of very great ones. There are people in the world who believe this, but very
few who act it out with any resolution. And why? Because, after they have walked
in the ways of virtue for little while, they meet with difficulties or obstacles;
whereupon they are discouraged, and say, foolishly, that the laws of Heaven are
really very hard to understand; so that finally they abandon p. 110 all the progress
they have made so far, and allow their impatience to hinder them from reaping the
rewards of their well-doing.
These two passages succinctly illustrate the key to significantly changing one's
fortune for the better. If we wish to create enough good karma to change our fate, we
must show sincerity and determination in accumulating merits. If one does 3 good
deeds daily for 3 years, 3000 good deeds would have been done. The power of the
merits created by such diligence would not only melt away all your pending evil
karma, but will also cause good fortune to manifest immediately at around the end of
the three year period. Note: Technically, it does not have to be three years, the
3000 deed mark is the important factor here. Thus, if you can accumulate 3000
good deeds in 6 months or one year, you will see your reward immediately.
As stated above, Lao Tzu's advises us to do at least one good deed of the body, one
good deed of the mouth and one good deed of the eyes every day. Hence, below is a
recommended list of good acts for each category. Also, it should be stressed that the
amount or value of our donations are not the important factor here. The most
important thing is that one does good and gives in accordance to his or her power and
income ability. For instance, a one cent donation from someone experiencing severe
financial pressures would still be extremely significant from a karmic perspective.
However, a donation from a rich man that forms only a miniscule portion of his
wealth and income would yield weak fruit even if the amount was large.
Moreover, in one story of the Pettavatthu ( a Theravada scripture on the importance of
giving), a Earth Deva (who had acquired such status after making one wood axle and
gifting it to someone whose cart axle was broken) once spoke the following stanza:
'What he gives becomes not just that. Just give the gift. Giving he traverses both
(worlds); by it he goes to both , Be not slothful.'
This stanza, in the context of the aforementioned, clearly means that the amount of the
gift does not matter. As long one does what is in one's power, the merit will be very
great. Furthermore, by "traverses both (worlds)", he means that he who gives can
expect fortune both in this life and the next.
Lastly, in Upasaka Huang Nien Tsu's commentary of the Infinite Life Sutra, it is
stated that there are four fields of merit, they are:
1. One's parents and elders.
2. Triple gem (i.e. the Buddha, Dharma & Sangha).
3. The poor, sick and needy.
4. Animals and the environment.
This means that acts planted in any of the four fields (i.e. causes) will be very
worthwhile and yield abundant karmic rewards.
SUGGESTED GOOD DEEDS:
Meritorious Actions of the Eyes:
1.) Reading and studying the Mahayana Sutras (e.g. Diamond Sutra, Infinite Life
Sutra, Amitabha Sutra, Lotus Sutra and Shurangama Sutra etc.).
Fang Shih-ko, a native of Hsing-an, had been very sickly from a child. Afterwards
he began to enquire into the mysteries of Taoism, with a view of procuring the secret
of immortality. Arrived one day at the Cloud-capped Mountain, he met a person of
strange appearance, who said, "With such a face as yours, how can you expect to get
the blessings that you seek? It is impossibleunless you first plant a root of
goodness." Then Shih-ko went home; and although he was a poor man he found
means to print off an edition of the Book of Recompenses and distribute copies among
his friends. By the time he had printed ten pages, his sickness was half-cured; when
the work was completed, he found himself entirely recovered; and from that time
forward he became p. 115 robust in body, and quite different from what he had been
before in appearance.
A certain man of Huei-chou, named Wu Ta-tso, had great difficulty in procuring a
son. He prayed in all sorts of temples and in every variety of manner, without
receiving any answer. But one day a friend sent him a copy of the Book of
Recompenses, saying, "This contains the secret of procuring children and securing
happiness." Wu bowed to the ground, and accepted the gift. Then he studied the book
with all his heart and soul. Whenever he was able to perform a virtuous action he
performed it; whatever vice he had to be discarded, he discarded; and in a very short
time he found himself the father of three sons. Whereupon he was led to place implicit
faith in the supernatural proofs thus afforded of the truth of the book; so he printed
off a number of copies at his own expense, in which he recorded his personal
experiences. This occurred in the reign of Tien Chi of the Ming dynasty.
When Wang Yuen, a native of Chien-tang, was still a child, he met with the foregoing
essay, and took great delight in studying it. And not only so; he followed all the
admonitions therein contained, with great p. 111 reverence and care. As Mr. Ching Hs,
his father, was prevented by death from fulfilling his intention of having additional
copies of it prepared, he spent his own money in the work: leaving no stone unturned
to enlist the pecuniary assistance of certain other men of worth. He printed in all ten
thousand copies, which he distributed broadcast. One night he dreamt that his father
appeared to him, and said, "Not only have you completely carried out the design I
was prevented from fulfilling, but, you have succeeded in securing the assistance of
others in the good cause. In consequence of this, I have already ascended to the Halls
of Paradise; your mother will be blessed with a long life; while your own name and
the names of your coadjutors are conspicuous upon the roll of virtuous men."
Subsequent events proved the truth of these predictions.
Wang Chu, a native of Hsien-ch Hsien, had a son named Wang Tsing, who fell sick
and died when only four years old, to his father's deep-felt grief. Whereupon Wang
Chu formed a resolution to print a number of copies of this book, which he distributed
among the people with the object of causing his lost son to enter once more into his
mother's womb. Some time afterwards, his wife found herself enceinte; p. 112 and one
night she dreamt she went to the Ting-kuang Temple at Huang-yen Hsien, whence she
returned carrying her little boy home in her arms. When she awoke she experienced a
movement in her womb, and soon gave birth to a son, vastly resembling the one that
she had lost. In fact, the same body was born twice over; the bones and flesh had
actually been brought together a second time!
Yang Chn, a native of Huang-yang Hsien, came of a very poor family. He saw his
fellow-villagers printing off copies of the Book of Recompenses, and longed to assist
them; but he was powerless to do so, by reason of his poverty. Still, he managed to cut
one block for the seventeenth page; and on a certain night he dreamt that a spirit
appeared p. 113 to him and said, "As a reward for doing the little you are able to, Sir,
you shall meet with success in the examinations;" and he actually did come out
seventeenth in the examination for the degree of Doctor! Note: This degree is not
simply academic but actually guarantees a high ranking magistracy for the bearer,
with substantial remuneration.
Commentary:
In Liao Fan's Four Lessons (an autobiography of a Ming dynasty scholar who
changed his fate by accumulating merits), it is recorded that Mencius once said that
whatever one wishes for can be obtained by doing good. This is because the outside is
merely a reflection of your past karma. So your family life, career, health, looks and
so forth are all the result of past actions.
Therefore, if we sincerely decide to do good, the goodness will not only eradicate our
past bad karma but will also create such a powerful stock of merit that our lives are
bound to improve. If we only do a good deed every now and then, then the merit will
manifest in our next life. However, if we follow Lao Tzu's advice and accumulate
3000 good deeds over 3 years, we are bound to receive extreme blessings in this very
life (at the end of that period).
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Personal Merit Ledger
Instructions: The following grid has a total of 1000 squares (representing 1000 days).
Fill in your starting date and place one mark for each good deed you do. Ensure that
there are at least 3 marks per square. For the purpose of simplicity, limit the number
of marks to three per square. If you have done several good deeds in one day, then
reserve the surplus good deeds on a separate sheet of paper for use as a reserve. Thus,
if circumstances should cause you to fail to be able to accumulate the three minimum
deeds in one day, you can draw from this reserve.
Example: Sample routine for a person of average means:
1.) Sincerely recited Namo Amitabha for at least 10 times.
2.) Reverently burned incense in front of a Buddha image.
3.) Bought a sandwich for a homeless person and donated bills/change to
collection boxes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Your Name:__________________________
Date of Starting Day: ___/___/___ (D/M/Y)
1000!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Congratulations!
You have just completed at least three thousand good deeds over three years. You can
expect the power of such karma to yield great fortune shortly. Furthermore, Lao Tzu
further states in the Kan Ying Pien that those who have accumulated 300 good deeds
in this life can expect to become a Earth Deva in their next life while those who have
accumulated 1300 good deeds can expect rebirth in the higher heavens. Hence, by
completing this ledger, you have guaranteed yourself not only fortune in this life, but
also supremely wonderful bliss in the next life as well. The rewards for virtue and
good deeds are indeed boundless!
Merit Dedication:
In the Larger Infinite Life Sutra of Amitabha, it is stated that householders who wish
to be reborn in Pureland (thereby attaining enlightenment) should dedicate all their
good deeds towards such a rebirth.
The Buddha said to Ananda, "The middle grade of aspirants are the devas and
humans in the worlds of the ten quarters who sincerely desire to be born in that
land. Although unable to become monks and cultivate much merit, they awaken
Namo Amitabha
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