The Equation of Demerit and Merit

That evening, in the cold office of the engineering company, the ceiling fans kept turning steadily. Lan sat at her desk, her tired eyes moving across technical drawings. She had graduated with honors, her backpack heavy with a mechanical engineering degree, yet for six months her work had consisted only of repetitive drawings, and her monthly salary was not enough to cover her rent.

Then one Monday morning, the supervisor called her into his private office. The door closed, and the noise of the office suddenly seemed far away.

"Lan, the company is facing difficulties, and our engineering department has to be cut back," the supervisor said, his voice showing no remorse. "But the sanitation team is seriously short-staffed. Would you be willing to transfer over and head the sanitation team?"

Lan's heart tightened. Her eyes stung with tears. She wanted to shout: I studied engineering, not to clean restrooms! But before the words could leave her mouth, the supervisor continued:

"The company is in a bind, so you'll transfer over to head sanitation. Each day, please come in and clean the restrooms for me. Their purpose in pushing you out is to make you discouraged so you'll quit."

Lan walked out of the room, her legs feeling like lead. She sat down in a chair, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her colleagues looked at her with sympathy, but no one dared say anything. That evening, she returned to her rented room and sat numbly on her bed, her mind spinning.

"I studied twelve years of school, four years of university, and now I'm going to clean restrooms?" she whispered, clutching her pillow tightly. She thought of her family, of her poor parents who had sold their garden plot so she could study. If her mother knew her daughter had graduated as an engineer only to clean restrooms, she would weep.

That night, Lan lay awake. She remembered what a teacher had explained in a dharma talk at the temple: "Life is an equation of calculating merit and demerit hour by hour. When you are pushed down, that is the moment you are repaying your karma and showing your goodwill to contribute to life, no matter what position you hold."

The next morning, Lan arrived at the company early. She wore her brand-new sanitation uniform, carrying a broom and cleaning cloths. Her former colleagues looked at her strangely. One whispered, "An engineer cleaning restrooms—how pitiful."

But Lan paid no attention. She walked into the men's restroom, and a pungent odor rushed into her nose. She took a deep breath, smiled, and began to work. She wiped every tile, scrubbed every toilet, polished every mirror until it gleamed. She worked with the energy of ten people, quick, tidy, and thorough.

A week passed, and the change became obvious. The company restrooms were always clean and fresh. Employees from every department began coming to the men's restroom just to "admire" its unusual cleanliness. Even the supervisor had to admit: "Since Lan transferred over, the restrooms are cleaner than the living room."

But what mattered most happened within Lan's heart. Each morning when she woke, she no longer felt weighed down. She came to work with a smile on her lips, completing her tasks with complete joy. She thought: I am serving, I am contributing. Wherever I am, I can create merit.

At noon on Friday, as Lan was mopping the hallway, a former colleague from the engineering department came close and said softly, "Lan, I see you're so happy working here. Don't tell me you're not sad?"

Lan wiped her hands and smiled. "Only sad on the first day. But now I understand. Everything I do has meaning. I am repaying the debts of the past and creating merit for the future."

Her colleague was surprised. "Do you believe in cause and effect (karmic law)?"

"I do. Life is an equation of merit and demerit. If I calculate it correctly, my life will be protected," Lan said, her eyes brightening.

Two years later, the company restructured. The sanitation department was privatized, but Lan was promoted to deputy director of administration thanks to her dedication and spirit of service. Her former colleagues looked at her with admiration. One said, "Lan is truly talented—from sanitation to deputy director."

But Lan knew it was not "talent." It was the result of understanding and correctly practicing the equation of merit and demerit.

The Meaning of the Story

This story reminds us that every circumstance in life is an opportunity to create merit, even when we are pushed down or must do work considered "lowly." When we understand that life is an equation of calculating merit and demerit hour by hour, we know how to turn hardship into an opportunity to accumulate merit. Sincerity, a spirit of service, and faith in cause and effect (karmic law) will help us overcome every obstacle, and that merit will protect our lives.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang