A Day Without Creating Merit

In the morning, the teacher sat in his room, gazing out the window. The first rays of sunlight fell upon the garden. He suddenly wondered: I know the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), I know cause and effect (karmic law), I know wrongdoing and merit—but how does my own day pass by? The teacher began to observe.

He watched a disciple who rose in the morning to bow before the Buddha, chant sutras, and sit in meditation. Then came breakfast, coffee, and the newspaper. At noon, lunch and a rest. In the afternoon, a walk and conversation with friends. In the evening, television, and then sleep. All day long, that person did nothing to help the world or help others. The teacher was startled. That person certainly enjoyed life: eating well, dressing beautifully, living in a grand home—but there was no contribution. That day was a day of debt, a day owed to heaven and earth.

The teacher kept observing and saw that many people lived the same way. Even his own disciples, reminded year after year, still lived like this. They understood wrongdoing and merit, and they loved doing good deeds, yet in an entire day, not one meritorious act could be seen. They still knelt before the Buddha, chanted sutras, and sat in meditation, but when it came to doing good for the world, nothing appeared. The teacher grew worried. He thought, if we were to grade that day, it would be marked entirely with a minus sign. Only with one good deed could we subtract and add—and even then, who knows whether it would be enough to pay for a single meal.

The teacher looked out at society. It was filled with advertisements for luxurious resorts, happy holiday tours, places of pleasure and enjoyment. There were no advertisements for places to create merit—to feed rice to the elderly, care for orphaned children, or clear brush from the forests to prevent fires. Society beckons us to enjoy, to consume all the merit accumulated from past lives. And when that merit is exhausted, where will we go when we die? The teacher remembered a song by Trịnh Công Sơn: "Where will you go, my dear, when there is not a trace of merit left in your heart?"

The teacher made a resolution. From that day forward, every day he would do something beneficial for sentient beings. If a day passed without any beneficial act, he would not dare to eat his rice, for it would mean enjoying without contributing. He saw that this was not tension or strain, but happiness. To live for everyone, for the Buddha's teachings (Dharma), for sentient beings—that is true happiness. But to live only for oneself, even for a fleeting moment, conceals suffering (dukkha) that will come later.

The Meaning of the Story

Each day, we receive enjoyment from life, but if there is no contribution, that day becomes a day of debt. Be mindful of creating merit every day. Live for others, for sentient beings—that alone is genuine, meaningful happiness.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang