Wishing and
merit
Dr Upul Wijayawardhana
February 3, 2017, The Island.lk
Wishing for more seems to
be an ingrained human characteristic but at other times it may
simply be an expression of dire need, like Charles Dickens’
character Oliver Twist asking for more; for a bit more of the thin
gruel that kept hunger pangs away but slowly starved to death young
boys in 19th century workhouses in Britain. Oliver was chosen to
plead on behalf of all but ended up with a knock on the head with
the ladle and was put up for sale!
Unfortunately, wishing is notorious for
continuing incrementally. One who walks wishes to have a cycle, the
one riding a bicycle wishes for the convenience of a motorcycle and
the one with the motorcycle wishes for the luxury of a car. When
you get a car you want more than one; basic one for driving to
work, another more flashy for leisure and, perhaps, yet another
extravagant one to demonstrate your wealth, accrued legally or
otherwise. This invariably leads to greed which, in turn, leads to
attachment. Some of us believe in doing good to accrue merit, so
that what we wish for, will be ours, if not in this birth but in a
subsequent one at least. This cannot be bad, some may argue, as it
gives hope and is certainly better than for fear of eternal
damnation.
Acquiring merit is purported by many to be a
Buddhist concept. If merit is acquired wishing for better
prospects, surely, it leads to attachment. The first Noble Truth,
the Buddha preached, is ‘Dukka’, a lack of satisfaction due to
clinging to impermanent states and things which makes acquiring
merit rather paradoxical. In fact, the complete misunderstanding of
the concept of ‘Karma’ has led many in the West to believe that
Buddhism is a ‘Religion of Insurance’. To clear my doubts, I turned
to my favourite booklet ‘Satyodaya’ (Dawn of Truth) by Venerable
Walpola Rahula, one of the most erudite Buddhist scholars of our
time whose words of wisdom, giving true interpretation to the
teachings of the Buddha, have been disregarded for over
three-quarters of a century.
In a chapter titled ‘Meritorious deeds and
Wishing’ (C5, P37-51) he explains these concepts lucidly which
makes interesting reading for Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. It
is a great shame that an English translation of this little gem is
not available. Doing anything with the hope of collecting merit is
unwholesome and even ‘wishing’ to attain Nibbana is not compatible
with the teachings of the Buddha, he contends. I will make an
attempt to summarise his arguments, to the best of my limited
ability.
To seek truth, one has to be unattached, discuss
openly and analyse facts intelligently. To assume that what you
read in books or what your teachers taught is the whole truth is a
misconception which limits your own thinking, thus preventing the
realisation of the truth. Free thinking is the most important thing
and the Buddha is the first, perhaps the only, religious leader
that encouraged freedom of thought.The Buddha went to the extent of
insisting that His words be accepted only after due consideration
and verification.
People do trade in goods & services and
offer it to all irrespective of nationality, caste, creed or race,
as long as there is a profit. This is not considered a meritorious
deed as it is done for personal gain. Similarly, if one helps the
poor with the intention of getting fame and praise in this life,
then that too becomes a business as it is done for gain. Even if
your are not interested in the present but do so with the hope of
acquiring merit, which could be used as currency for a good next
life, there is no significant difference as the good action gets
tainted with a selfish motive. Whether you expect benefits now or
in a future life amounts to postponement of profit. There is no
difference between depositing money in a bank to get interest and
doing meritorious deeds with the hope of reaping benefits in a
future life.
‘Karma’ is a much misunderstood concept. It
simply means that every action has an effect and the Buddha
enunciated this long before Isaac Newton came up with his third
‘Law of motion’. Doing something wishing and hoping for a benefit
is an attachment. It is a business venture. Though helping the poor
is a good deed, if it is done with the intention of reaping
benefits, it becomes unwholesome. It should not be made a path to
heaven. It should be done with the sole intention of helping a less
fortunate, even at the expense of your losing out; that then
becomes a noble deed.
Even observing the five precepts should be like
that. You should not kill an animal not because you are scared of
the karmic backlash but because you have kindness and compassion
for that animal. Avoiding doing nasty things because you are scared
of ill effects is better than doing the nasty thing but the best is
not to do it because you realise it is bad. The real noble action
is doing it with no expectations. What matters is the proper
understanding.
It is a fact that many ordinary people may not
understand this in the correct perspective. In fact, the Buddha
stated that his Dhamma is not for those lacking knowledge. Truth
cannot be changed so that ordinary people may understand. Truth is
truth and it cannot be simplified though some attempt to do so
resulting in false-truths. What should be done is to educate people
so that they reach a standard where they can understand the
truth.
Though the ultimate liberation is Nirvana,
craving to achieve that,itself, is an attachment. You can achieve
Nirvana only by giving up all attachments. Priests often mislead by
stating that Nirvana could be achieved only by attaining Buddhahood
or by becoming a Pase-Budu or an Arahant or that you should wait
for Maitriya Buddha’s time. Though there are numerous stories as to
how various individuals attained enlightenment, they are simply
stories told by story tellers and these should not defy the truth.
Greatest of all the difficulties is putting into words the truths
enunciated by the Buddha and quite a lot of misunderstandings arise
as a result of this.
I was humbled and gratified to note,what
Venerable Rahula states keeps in with what I have stated in the
past; that though ‘Folk Buddhism’ served a purpose in the past and
preserved Buddhism for us, in a world with an explosion of
knowledge with easy accessibility, it is only the truths of
Buddhism that will stand the test of science which, I am sure, it
will do, considering the increasing world-wide interest in Buddha’s
concepts like mindfulness.