The Path to Great Blessings

Late in the afternoon, pale golden sunlight fell across the courtyard of Quan Am Pagoda, covering the bodhi tree leaves swaying gently in the breeze. In the quiet space, a group of Buddhists sat gathered together, their eyes turned toward the teacher giving a dharma talk. His voice was deep and warm, slow like water flowing over stones, yet each word carried a weight that settled the heart.

"Is there anyone here from this village?" the teacher asked, his kind eyes looking around. Many hands went up. The teacher nodded and smiled:

"Keep trying. Our village has a pagoda like this, so we must come here to practice, and invite others to come along. Don't let our village go on without knowing how to visit the pagoda. That is our responsibility."

In the hearts of those sitting there, everyone understood that the teacher was speaking about the most basic duty of a Buddhist: once you know the way, you must help others know it too. But the teacher did not stop there.

"Why shouldn't we know the way alone?" the teacher asked, then answered himself: "If we know the way alone, then for example, if our practice does not advance, in a future life we will come to the way slowly, and our spiritual aspiration will be weak. But when we invite many people to come to the way, naturally, by cause and effect (karmic law), our spiritual aspiration becomes strong and steady for many lifetimes. And that is also a cause for becoming a teacher."

A Buddhist woman sitting near the door suddenly felt her heart tighten. She had practiced for many years, yet sometimes still felt she was only "knowing the way alone." She did not dare think of inviting others, fearing rejection, fearing that people would see her as superstitious.

"But the first thing when coming to the Buddha's teachings (Dharma)," the teacher continued, "is to understand the law of cause and effect (karmic law). Know what is wrong, know what is good, know which causes produce which results. That is the foundation. Only by knowing wrong and good do we find the inspiration to study the Buddha's teachings (Dharma) more and more deeply."

The teacher paused for a moment, then told of his own journey: "Before I ever put pen to paper to write the first treatise on cause and effect (karmic law) of my life, I had to contemplate cause and effect (karmic law) for more than ten years. From childhood, at fourteen, fifteen years old, I began thinking about cause and effect (karmic law). Only after I ordained, received full bhikkhu ordination, and then in nineteen eighty-five did I begin writing that treatise. And even that was never enough."

His voice grew lower: "The more we understand cause and effect (karmic law), the more fascinating it becomes. Life opens up and everything becomes clear. We suffer less when we take responsibility for ourselves. For example, if we fall into suffering (dukkha), we think perhaps we made mistakes in a past life, and that is why we suffer now. Thinking this way, our sadness suddenly lessens. Naturally, when we accept our own fault, the sadness goes away."

A young man sitting in the back suddenly felt his heart grow lighter. He had just been through a great family crisis, and all his efforts had come to nothing. But hearing the teacher speak, he began to think: "Perhaps I created some cause in a past life, and that is why I face this situation now." He no longer felt like blaming heaven and earth.

"When we understand cause and effect (karmic law)," the teacher said, "we are not arrogant in times of happiness. We do not think we are so capable, but rather that it comes from cause and effect (karmic law) of past lives, from blessings from merit we created before. Thinking this way, we are not arrogant. Our mind/heart becomes what is called stable and at peace."

But then the teacher changed the subject: "Today I raise a different question. We already understand cause and effect (karmic law), believe in wrong and good, know how to do good, know how to avoid wrong. But is that enough? No! For two reasons. First, to attain liberation and enlightenment, or to be reborn in higher realms, we need very great blessings from merit, not small ones. Second, looking at this world, there are people whose blessings from merit are layered upon layered — kings, the richest people on earth — their blessings from merit are astonishingly great. What causes did they sow? We must think about this."

The whole group fell silent. Before, everyone had thought that practicing was simply to have a slightly better next life — a car, a house, a more beautiful face. But the teacher was speaking of a different level altogether.

"We do not demand to be kings, nor to attain liberation quickly," the teacher emphasized, "but we must demand of ourselves great blessings from merit in future lives. This is a duty, not a glory. Once we have understood the way, we no longer have the right to be just an average person in future lives."

An elderly woman raised her hand trembling and asked: "Venerable teacher, what must we do to have great blessings from merit?"

The teacher replied: "Accomplish great merit. And to accomplish great merit, we must have a great mind/heart and the opportunity. A small mind/heart cannot do great things."

Then the teacher gave an example: "Suppose we see the pagoda in our village, several hundred years old, falling into disrepair. We know the villagers are devoted but do not understand clearly. We wish to rebuild the pagoda grandly, with many monastics living, practicing, and teaching there. If that is our wish, is our mind/heart small or large? Large. But can we do it yet? We have no money, we do not know where to invite monastics. That belongs to opportunity."

The Buddhist woman from earlier suddenly remembered the small pagoda in her hometown. It had long been deteriorating, the tile roof crumbling, the altar eaten by termites. But she had never dared think of restoring it, believing that was the work of someone greater, someone wealthier. Now, she felt a pang in her heart.

"Or," the teacher continued, "we see so many poor and suffering people, with no house to live in, not enough rice to eat. Our heart keeps aching, wanting to help. But alone, we cannot do it. We think of a way to mobilize many people to do it together. Open an online charity page, with donations and spending made public. Everyone can follow every single coin. With a great heart, applying technique, ethics, methods, and transparency — we can save many lives."

A middle-aged man nodded: "But teacher, what if we only call on others to give without putting in our own money?"

The teacher smiled: "Exactly right. For example, on this trip to Hanoi, I performed the release of five tons of fish. Everyone had contributed enough, and my own money was also donation money entrusted for making offerings. All I had left was the dedication of the vow. Sitting and thinking it over, I said to myself, truly I only had my mouth to offer. So in the future, the blessings from merit will be enjoyed by the Buddhists, and I will enjoy nothing."

The whole group burst out laughing, but then reflected more deeply. The teacher said: "When we invite everyone to do great merit, we must also put in a portion of our own money, so that the blessings from merit will be complete. Only then will we enjoy them fully in future lives."

Then he told of an old memory: "Before I ordained, I often helped repair roads. There was a broken road where people kept falling as they passed. I could not manage it alone, so I went to the pagoda and composed a few songs, enticing the young men to sing. They loved it, and I invited them to repair the road. They listened, and together they carried earth, carried stones, brought ox carts, and fixed up the whole road."

The teacher paused, his voice growing low: "When the repairs were done, that evening, people could come and go with ease. I quietly stood in a corner, looked up at the sky, and made this dedication: 'Today we have accomplished a small merit by repairing this road. I vow that anyone who sets foot on this road from now on shall follow the Buddha's teachings (Dharma).' That is the secret I have kept for more than thirty years. Only today do I reveal it."

The Buddhists sitting there felt their hearts tighten. They suddenly understood: merit as small as filling a pothole in front of the house, repairing a village road, becomes a cause for extraordinary things when joined with a great vow.

"When we first come to the way," the teacher said, "we often dream of worldly blessings from merit: wealth, beauty, intelligence, status. That is normal. But when we understand the way deeply, we turn toward the spiritual, practicing to attain the noble fruit of liberation. Cause and effect (karmic law) follows its order: in future lives we are wealthy and honored at first, then suddenly we grow to love the spiritual life and follow that path. There are those with such great blessings from merit that they attain both at once — like Kings Tran Thai Tong, Tran Thanh Tong, and Tran Nhan Tong — kings in worldly life, and enlightened Zen masters in the spiritual."

The teacher looked around, his voice warm: "Seeing these things, we feel ashamed. In the time of the Buddha, we were also present in this world, but while others came to know him, met the Buddha, bowed and made offerings, where were we, wandering about? So now we must strive."

The evening had grown late, and the pagoda's lights glowed softly. The Buddhists went home, but their hearts were no longer small as before. They had begun to think of greater things — not out of arrogance, but because they understood: small blessings from merit only sustain an average life, while great blessings from merit open the path to enlightenment.

## The Meaning of the Story

Understanding cause and effect (karmic law) is the first step, but it is not enough. Buddhists must cultivate a great heart and seek opportunities to accomplish great merit — such as restoring pagodas, founding online charities, or repairing village roads — not only for wealth and honor in future lives, but to attain blessings from merit great enough for liberation and enlightenment. Small blessings from merit serve a temporary life; great blessings from merit open the lofty spiritual path. Begin with small deeds, but bind them to a great vow.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang