Merit... Who needs it?!!!

[Max]

I want to touch this subject again because it's very important, just as important as meditation.

 

A spiritual path as one of the hardest paths and many people follow it but very few reach even beginner stages of samadhi. Why is that? Why the person who meditates 2-3 hours a day can't open the Microcosmic Orbit, although he may be privately thinking he is almost enlightened.

 

Quoting Master Nan: " When beginning to cultivate samadhi and wisdom it is important to have determination and will power, i.e. to have made a firm resolve to attain Bodhi. Second, since one's cultivation is nourished by merit, one should perform meritorious deeds and acts of charity whenever possible. By sowing the seeds of good behaviors, one reaps abundant rewards... Strong determination and accumulated merit are the foundation of Tao. Since one is easily deflected from the truth if he lacks either one, they are the basic prerequisites of success..."

 

There are some say that unless the action is not pure, there is no merit in it.

 

There is no such thing as pure action, unless you reach a very high level of spiritual development. All actions are tainted no matter how you look at them, be that the expectation of some kind of response to your action or any other thing. All the Buddhas knew that when they were teaching people why doing good deeds is so important. All the sacred teachings in India, China and the Western world say the same thing: do good things to people and stay away from bad things. Does it mean if you feed the hungry and expect good merit, you won't get any? Of course you will.

 

If you say you won't, how do you think you will develop your virtues and wisdom. Through meditation? Some Immortal will appear and grant them to you? LOL

 

So do help others. Feed the hungry... Feed the spirits... Do whatever you like for the benefit of others. And the merit from your actions will be the fuel that will help you in your cultivation. Without this fuel, no matter how hard you press on the throttle, it will all be just noise.

[hagar]

Is it possible to burn off karma by suffering or experiencing hardship you think? I think there is a real possibility of "opening" myself spontaneously when in the midst of something difficult, or after a period of emotional turmoil. what do you think?

 

As to merit, I think real selfless actions is done by both humans and animals all the time. No high level needed. Without motivation for merit.

But then again, how is it possible to tell, from the outside?

[RON JEREMY]

MAX YA BE RIGHT TOO, TAO AINT NO BLACK N WHITE, NO, IT'S A CONTINNUUM O REALITY, WHAT WE WERE SAYIN IS, I THINK, IS THAT IT IS MORE ADVANCED N MORE BEAUTIFUL TO DO JUST THINGS SPONTANEOUSLY FOLLOWIN ONE'S INNER NATURE N WILL, RATHER THAN DOIN THINKS IN A CALULLATIN WAY JUST BECAUSE O DA SUPPOSED RESULTS THAT SUPPOSEDLY WILL FOLLOW THAT ACTION.

 

FOR EXAMPLE, THIS IDEA APPLIES TO PRACTICE AS WELL, IF YA DO A PRACTICE JUST THINKIN ABOUT WHAT WILL FOLLOW IN TERMS O BENEFITS OR MERITS, DA PRACTICE WILL BECOME UNBEARABLE. LIKE EG SEMEN RETTENTION.

BUT IF YA DO A PRACTICE LOVIN DA PRACTICE ITSELF, JUST FOR ITS OWN SAKE, THEN YA WONT BE CRAVIN ABOUT WHAT COMES NEXT, BUT YALL BE SATTISFIED WITHIN DA PRACTICE, N YER MIND WILL BE AT PEACE.

 

BUT WHAT YA SAY IS RIGHT TOO, I DONT SEE ANY REAL CONTRADICTION JUST A MATTER O DEGREES OR SHADES HERE. SO LETS EAT SUM PUSY NOW OK??

 

BYE NOW

 

RJ

[Yoda]

Max,

 

At least in the Tibetan tradition just practicing, meditating and aspiring to greater love and insight is considered meritorious, especially if one dedicates the merit generated to go towards the enlightenment of all sentient beings.

 

The nice thing about that is that it acknowledges the power and reality of energy practices.

 

Many masters say that this is much more powerful way of benefiting others than operating a soup kitchen or doing something just on the physical plane.

 

Is that the case in Zen?

 

-Yoda

[Max]

Ron, I agree with you absolutely. My only concern is we don't have much time left. Being spontanios is great but, when it comes to merit, this method is too slow. That's why they say DISCIPLINE is the major part of successful cultivation. It makes you understand what is really important and follow through with it, like meditation and good deeds.

[Max]

You are right saying that your cultivation is benefiting others but doing good deed will greatly imrove the chances you will actually succeed in it, and thus all the other people around you will benefit as well.

 

Many masters say that this is much more powerful way of benefiting others than operating a soup kitchen or doing something just on the physical plane.

 

There are many Masters and too few that actually accomplished something.

[Max]

Is it possible to burn off karma by suffering or experiencing hardship you think? I think there is a real possibility of "opening" myself spontaneously when in the midst of something difficult, or after a period of emotional turmoil. what do you think?

 

Yes, of course. And hardship is the best time when breakthroughs in spiritual cultivation happen, if you don't take the whole thing serously and keep practicing.

 

As to merit, I think real selfless actions is done by both humans and animals all the time. No high level needed.

Can you explain this more, please?

[hagar]

ed

Edited May 25, 2009 by hagar

[RON JEREMY]

 

As for animals, they do selfless things all the time. Because they don't have a sense of self. My dog once rescued a sheep that broke its foot. Brahms (yes that's his name) ran and barked for help and dragged my dad for about a mile by his arm, and showed him where the sheep was lying and started licking the leg that was broken. Just a stand up dog!

 

HAD PIETRO BANGED YER SHEEP??? SAUEKNULLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

RJ

[hagar]

ed

Edited May 25, 2009 by hagar

[sean]

Hagar, how difficult do you think it is for a native English speaker to learn Norwegian? I know that's a difficult question, but just ball-park estimate. Most English speakers consider Spanish easy and Chinese inpenetrable. So on the Spanish to Chinese scale, what do think? I dated this girl from Norway a couple year back, gorgeous, tall blonde. She spoke Englsh fine and sometimes I would ask her to speak Norwegian and it was like what the fuck? I couldn't even mimic back the syllables she was saying, it sounded so esoteric to me. Anyway, I would love to live in Norway ... I'm actually going on vacation there with my girlfriend this summer.

 

8)

[hagar]

h

Edited May 25, 2009 by hagar

[RON JEREMY]

[hagar]

ed

Edited January 7, 2009 by hagar

[RON JEREMY]