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of those who immediately rush to 
assist others 
who they see doing good deeds. 
For example, if 
they find out that their neighbour is 
preparing a 
meal to offer the monks, they will 
prepare all the 
seasoning needed for the meal and 
and give that 
to the neighbour making the meal. 
4. Transfer of Merit: Merit 
generated through the 
transfer of merit to others 
[pattidAnamaya]. 
Blessing Five: Having Done Good 
Deeds in One's Past 81 
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Whenever someone does a good 
deed and his 
mind is full of merit as the result of 
his goodness, 
and he transfers some part of his 
merit to 
another person, or to his deceased 
relatives, these 
are all counted as ways of 
generating merit 
through the transfer of merit. 
5. Rejoicing in the Merit of 
others: Merit generated 
through rejoicing in the merit of 
others 
[pattAnumodanAmaya]. This sort 
of merit is accrued 
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by those who, whenever they see 
that 
someone else has done a good 
deed, is pleased 
for them and rejoices with them in 
the merit that 
they have made. Even if they are 
unable to contribute 
anything more to that person's 
merit 
making, by rejoicing with them or 
congratulating 
them on doing their good deed, 
they will earn 
a part of the merit for themselves 
too. It is in this 
connection that you often hear the 
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word ' Sadhu!' 
in Buddhist circles. 
6. Keeping the Precepts: Merit 
generated through 
keeping the Precepts [sEla]. 
Keeping the Precepts 
ensures that we never take 
advantage of others 
through our physical or verbal 
actions — and at 
the same time we bring no harm to 
ourselves. 
You might wonder how keeping 
the Precepts can 
possibly give rise to merit. When 
we abandon 
all thoughts of taking advantage of 
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others, in 
their place arises the radiance of 
merit that has 
accrued in the mind. This will have 
the effect of 
quenching heart-felt troubles. 
7. Meditation: This means merit 
generated through 
meditation [bhAvanAmaya]. 
Meditation is a way 
of training the mind to become 
wiser. There are 
many different subdivisions to 
what can be considered 
as mind training and these include 
reading 
books on Dhamma, chanting and 
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meditation 
itself. Meditation has the effect on 
the mind of 
causing the arising of radiance and 
distancing 
the mind from disturbance by 
anxiety, limiting 
its habitual wandering, bringing 
peace. Whenever 
the covering of defilements is 
banished from 
the mind, especially the defilement 
of ignorance 
which usually imprisons the mind 
in darkness 
and undermines its true potential, 
wisdom will 
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arise in the mind as the brightness 
of merit. 
8. Listening to Dhamma 
Sermons: This means 
merit generated through listening 
to Dhamma 
sermons [dhammassavanamaya]. 
Listening to 
Dhamma lectures or sermons on 
the Dhamma 
will enhance our wisdom. Before, 
we might have 
had only a rudimentary 
understanding of the 
real nature of the world, but now 
as a result of 
hearing Dhamma Teachings, we 
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know how to 
tell the difference between good 
and evil. Such 
an improvement in the level of our 
wisdom will 
result in our accruing merit for 
ourselves. 
9. Giving a discourse on the 
Dhamma: This means 
merit generated through giving a 
Discourse on 
the Dhamma 
[dhammadesanArnaya] Teaching 
the Dhamma by giving a sermon 
will bring merit 
to the preacher in the following 
ways: 
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are able to 
revise the different groups of 
dhammas, increasing 
your mastery of them. As you 
recollect 
those dhammas, you will be 
inspired by 
them and this will bring radiance 
to the mind. 
Mastery also comes through the 
necessity to 
revise from the Dhamma texts, 
sometimes two 
to three weeks in advance of 
actually giving 
the sermon, in order to obtain a 
profound 
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understanding of the Dhamma 
topic in hand 
before having to teach it to others. 
10. Straightening One's Views: 
This means merit 
generated through Straightening 
out one's A A
views: [diEEhujukammamaya]. As 
the result of 
listening to a good sermon, the 
listener will have 
the discretion to tell good from 
evil, right from 
wrong. They will no longer doubt 
that doing 
good deeds gives good results or 
that doing evil 
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will bring bad results. Before long 
the mind is 
steadfast in the pursuit of good 
deeds and in the 
avoidance of evil. This process is 
what we mean 
82 A Manual of Peace: 38 Steps 
towards Enlightened Living 
by correcting our understanding of 
the world. 
Once our understanding is proper, 
then the 
deeds of mind, speech and body 
will be good 
and proper too. The determination 
will arise in 
the mind that you will pursue good 
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deeds for 
evermore — no longer being 
sidetracked into evil 
or unproductive ways. 
Thus if you it hard to remember all 
ten categories 
of meritorious deeds, you can 
summarize them 
down to three major categories: 
generosity, keeping 
the Precepts and meditation. 
D. FUNCTIONS OF MERIT 
Dl. Level of mind 
The first benefits that merit will 
bring when it arises 
are benefits at the level of the 
mind. This is one of 
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the most important benefits 
because there is no need 
for one to wait for the after-life in 
order to see the 
results. Whenever we perform a 
good or meritorious 
deed, merit will arise immediately. 
If you do a 
good deed at night, merit will arise 
at night. If you 
do a good deed by day, merit will 
arise by day. If 
you do a good deed on an aircraft 
in mid-air, then 
the merit will arise in our mind 
there in mid-air. 
Wherever you are, if you perform 
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a meritorious 
deed, the effect will arise in the 
mind instantaneously 
— it doesn't need much 
expenditure of energy 
for such merit to arise — even just 
thinking to 
do a meritorious deed will cause 
merit to arise and 
will put the mind at ease. There is 
no need to wait a 
long time in order to see the results 
at the level of 
the mind of your meritorious 
deeds. You don't even 
need to wait for someone to admire 
you for doing 
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such a good deed. The results of 
merit will arise 
automatically in the mind without 
you having to 
do anything more than good deeds 
— and the benefits 
that arise are as follows: 
1. Merit cleanses the mind: When 
the mind is clean 
it is ready to pursue even greater 
degrees of good 
deeds. In the days before we 
started accruing 
merit, we considered that our mind 
was already 
pure. However, as soon as we start 
doing meritorious 
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deeds, we realize that our mind has 
become 
purer than we ever expected. 
Before our 
mind was as bright as the morning 
star 
but 
now our mind is even brighter, 
with the radiance 
of the full moon. No matter how 
clouded 
and dull the mind might be 
beforehand, when 
merit arises in the mind will clarify 
the mind just 
like soap or detergent cleans the 
dirt out of a cloth 
leaving it pristine and white. 
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2. Merit raises the quality of the 
mind: Merit that 
arises in the mind helps to filter 
out defilements 
which might otherwise operate in 
the mind. 
Merit will neutralize such 
negativity in the mind, 
not allowing them to affect the 
spaciousness and 
lightness or to slow down the 
operation of the 
mind — and having filtered the 
mind in this way, 
the mind is left ready to serve us in 
all types of 
task. The meritorious deeds we do 
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therefore 
upgrade the quality of our minds. 
3. Merit brings us happiness: 
When the mind is 
purified and filtered by the arising 
of merit, it 
gives rise to radiance and 
refreshedness of mind 
which is the precursor of 
happiness. Such happiness 
is not fleeting, superficial 
happiness. It is 
an overflowing of happiness like 
on the days we 
make an offering or a donation at 
the temple and 
we feel refreshed by the goodness 
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of our action, 
as if our heart was so big that it 
filled the whole 
of our being. 
4. Merit will make the mind more 
stable: Merit will 
make our mind more stable in the 
face of the 
worldly vicissitudes such as being 
praised or 
insulted. 
5. Merit will make the mind more 
flexible: The 
mind will have increased potential 
for success 
with the task in hand, whether the 
task be large 
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