SHARING OF
MERITS
Buddhist Hermitage –
Lunas
Contents
Preface
Biography of Ven. Sayadaw U. Sumana
Sharing of Merits. Part
One
Sharing of Merits. Part
Two
Sharing of Merits. Part
Three
Sharing of Merits. Part
Four
Generosity
The Teachings of Buddha Publishing
Group constitutes private individuals dedicated to the propagation
of the Dhamma as expounded by The Lord Buddha in the Theravada
tradition.
Its aims are:
Publication and dissemination of
Dhamma materials.
Services in various ways and means
for the welfare of
the Sangha.
Adhere to the principles of
abstaining from evil, do good and purification of the
mind.
Public funds are not solicited,
however private donors are welcomed to do dana in services or
defrayment of costs in the course of our work.
All enquiries are
welcome.
Preface
These
five Dhamma talks
on dana and the sharing of
merits were delivered to devotees in Buddhist Hermitage, Lunas by
Sayadaw U. Sumana.
Devotees have benefited greatly from
his Dhamma talks every Sunday
morning. This is evident from the increasing number of devotees who
perform dana every
day.
However, Sayadaw’s greatest
contribution to Buddhist Hermitage, Lunas, is his constant
encouragement to devotees to meditate. Today we see a steady stream
of yogis (local and foreign)
practicing Vipassana Meditation
under his guidance in the center.
May he be able to stay for as long as
possible and continue with his good work in propagation the Buddha
Sasana.
Kla
Buddhist Hermitage,
Lunas.
Lot 297, Kampung Seberang
Sungai, 09600 Lunas,
Kedah, Malaysia. (Tel/Fax:
604-4 844 027)
SPECIAL
THANKS
To the following my “Special Thanks”
for the support and encouragement they have rendered in the
publication of this book ‘Sharing of Merits’. My deepest
arrreaciation for proof reading and editing to U Han Htay (Research
Officer); Daw Mya Tin (MA); Miss Khaw Lek Ai (Bukit Mertajam,
Malaysia); Bhikkhu Pesala (UK); Daw Khin New Yi (Shwepuzon); Ko Soe
Naing-Ma Khin Htay Yi (Japan); The Teachings of Buddha Publishing
Group, Johor and especially the devotees of Buddhist Hermitage,
Lunas, for their unstinting support. Hopefully, all devotees may
find value in reading these essays and take note of the ways to
prolong the present Buddhasasana to some extent. Sadhu! Sadhu!
Sadhu!
May you all enjoy the
bliss of Metta.
Biography of Ven. Sayadaw U.
Sumana
Sayadaw U. Sumnan
was born in 1951 to a religious family in Yee U Township, in upper
Myanmar. He was the youngest of five brothers, all
monks.
On completing his primary education
at the age of eleven, he proceeded to learn Monastic education. At
twenty three, he graduated with
a “Dhammacariya” degree.
Subsequently, Ven. Sayadaw U. Sumana
taught Buddhism to junior monks at various temples in Myanmar for
several years. During this time, he commenced studies in the
English language.
In 1980, he devoted much time to the
practice of insight meditation under the guidance of famous
teachers in Mahasi Meditation Centre. Having acquired these skills,
Ven. Sayaaw U. Sumana accepted an assignment as assistant
meditation teacher in Plivijja Centre in Ye U Township. A few years
later, he was relocated to Mahasi Meditation Centre where he took
up further studies in English in preparation for foreign
missions.
As a member of
the Dhamma preacher society,
Ven. Sayadaw U. Sumana, as part of his commitment, participated in
taking Dhamma tours all over
Myanmar each year. Occassionally, he attended short retreats in
many places to teach meditation.
Part of 1993 was spent in Sweden,
where Sayadaw was engaged in missionary work for four months. Then,
followed a commitment to study Buddhism in English with Sayadaw
acquiring an M.A. degree at the Buddhist and Pali University in
Colombo.
At present, Ven. Sadayaw U. Sumana is
engaged in teaching meditation at the Buddhist Hermitage in Lunas,
Malaysia.
SHARING OF MERITS PATTIDANA
CEREMONY
(Part
One)
Today is a special
day which is dedicated to our departed ones. We are performing
the Pattidana Ceremony. From
the time of the Buddha, Buddhists have practiced this tradition.
Buddhist countries like Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand observe this
custom. In Malaysia, especially the northern parts the Chinese
practise a similar ceremony known as Pai Kong
Mah or Ching
Beng dedicated in memory of their departed
ones.
Pattidana means sharing merits with
our departed relatives of this life and of the past lives as well
as all living beings.
Today all of you are here to offer
various requisites to the Sangha,
such as delicious food, robes, rice, and other necessities for the
monks, etc. This will give rise to
wholesome kamma. From the moment you
have the intention to make an offering, until the very moment when
you actually make the offering, you have developed the preceding
volition called pubba cetana. At the
moment when you are offering something to the recipient, it is
called munca cetana (volition
during the act of charity). In future, when you remember what you
have given today, it is called apara
cetana (volition after the act of charity).
Throughout the whole process, as the three kinds of volition arise,
you will have joy and loving kindness and you will develop faith in
the
Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
These are wholesome states of mind which will promote a lot of
merits which in turn will produce good results such as long life,
beauty, good health, strength and ultimately the realization
of Nibbana. From these merits, our departed
relatives will have a chance to
say “Sadhu”, will
done (patta-numodhana)because their
families are performing charities and sharing the merits with them,
as you are doing today.
Then if the departed ones need
merits, they can then receive them, enabling them to be transcended
to a higher level of existence. This is the result
of Pattidana kusala.
As long as Buddha’s Teachings exist
in this world, this tradition will be practiced by generations to
come. The Buddha Himself has constantly reminded His followers to
do good and refrain from doing any evil deeds.
We human beings are always occupied
with living our present life to the fullest. Many of us hardly
prepare, or even think of our next life. While we are struggling
for convenience of present life, we are driven to death. For many
of us, future life is but an uncertainty. Maybe we will be reborn
as human beings or even as gods. That will be wonderful. Nothing to
worry about. However, we may also end up in the dreadful and most
regrettable planes of existences. Being of the four woeful states,
the peta, the hungry ghosts, have the opportunities to free
themselves from these dreadful existences if their families perform
meritorious deeds and share the merits with them, as we are doing
today. For the animals and the beings in hell, there is no hope at
all.
From the Buddhists’ point of view, as
long as we have not yet
attained Sotapatti stage, i.e.,
the noble ones, we are liable to land in the four woeful states. We
cannot escape form there. So, ordinary people, like you and me, are
always in danger. There will be no escape, if we do not have anyone
to help us by sharing his or her merits with us.
I am sure all of you have watched a
horror movie before. At one time or other, we have heard stories
about ghosts and spirits. There are plenty of books on the subject
of ghosts. Besides the fictional ones, there are books written on
real cases and occurrences which are studied and investigated by
authorities in this field. Most of the time it is shown that
spirits or hungry ghosts still linger around their houses, as these
hungry ghosts still had attachments to their families. They cannot
part with their loved ones.
I would like to tell you a true story
of my own personal experience. By listening to this story, I hope
you will understand that we should prepare ourselves well in our
present life, so as to overcome any hardships in the future
life.
Once I was staying in a small town
named Mawgoun in the Eravati province of Burma. I stayed in a
Buddhist temple with a fellow monk. This monk’s mother had two sons
but she was especially fond of my fellow monk. One day she fell
seriously ill. Unfortunately, my fellow monk was on a trip far from
home at that time. She was dying. Although words got to my fellow
monk about his mother’s condition and that he should return
immediately, he did not make it back on time. She passed away while
waiting for him.
Because of her attachment to him, she
was reborn as a spirit and returned to their house. Very often, she
would manifest herself through her daughter-in-law, the second
son’s wife. She stayed with the family for three years after which
she asked that her family
perform Pattidana on her behalf
on a special day, by offering food, robes, slippers and etc., to
the Sangha and to share the
merits with her. They did as told. After that, she never appeared
again. It was hoped that she had freed herself from the spirit
world and transcended into a higher existence. I was there
participation in
the Pattidana ceremony and was
shocked to hear the story. I did not know how to react to the
situation. From this story, the best thing we can do for ourselves
to overcome such dangers is to achieve insight knowledge by
practicing Vipassana Meditation. If that is not possible, we should
at least do dana or charity and observe the five precepts as much
as we can as this will help to protect us from dangers in the
rounds of rebirth and also help us to prepare for a happier future
existence.
Sharing of Merits Pattidana
Ceremony
(Part
Two)
Once a year, we
dedicate a special day in memory of our departed ones. Here in the
temple, we perform
the Pattidana Ceremony. Today
all of us come before the Buddha image and listen
to paritta chantings. According
to their traditions, Chinese all over the country during this time
visit their ancestral graveyards and bow down to pay respects to
their ancestors. This is a Buddhist tradition that is good to
preserve.
In my country, Burma, we observe this
tradition in October. On such occasions, we, young children, would
visit our relatives’ houses to pay respects to our elders. The
elders in return would give presents to us. After that we would go
to the graveyards to offer joss sticks, flowers, candles, etc., to
our departed relatives. We were happy to have performed
the Pattidana Ceremony. We have
never forgotten this tradition. In the process of performing this
ceremony, we developed loving kindness towards one
another.
Here in Lunas, all of you are
following this tradition. During the ceremony, in memory of our
departed ones, we offer delicious food, rice, robes, and all kinds
of requisites to the monks. We take the five precepts, listen
toDhamma talks and participate
in paritta chantings. Later on
you will go to your ancestors’ graves and bow down to pay your
respects. All these are wholesome deeds that will give rise to
beneficial results.
At the last part of the ceremony, we
are going to share our merits with the departed ones. This is the
most important part of the ceremony. We should understand the
purpose of sharing merits in accordance with the Teachings of the
Buddha. There are three requirements to fulfill. If we can
understand and fulfill these three requirements, then we can say
that this Pattidana Ceremony
has indeed been successful.
What are these
requirements?
First, we must remember our departed
ones respectfully and have the intention to share our merits with
them wholeheartedly. On the day before or on the day of performance
of the offering, we should say, “Dear departed ones, tomorrow or
today, we are going to the temple to
do dana and keep precepts in
memory of you. Please join us in this wholesome activity so that we
can transfer our merits to you”. This invitation is important as
our departed ones may not know of our intentions and therefore not
be present during the ceremony.
Secondly, our departed ones must be
available to share the merits of the wholesome deeds done by us. If
they have been reborn as human beings or gods, then they do not
require these merits. However, the result is still beneficial to
us.
The last requirement is that we
should make our offerings to a virtuous monk. By this, we mean a
noble one, for example, an Arahant,
an Anagami,
a Sakadagami or
a Sotapanna. However, if this is not
possible, it is better to make the offerings to the community of
monks or Sangha (to-day it is
called Sanghikadana), and not to any
individual monk.
I hope today, we have fulfilled all
these three requirements.
I would like to ask all of you a
question, “Why do we need to share merits with our departed ones?”
Buddha once gave a short answer to this, “because none of us know
our destiny”. Let me explain further.
There are five things unknown to
everybody: namely:- Life, Disease, Time, Place and
Destiny.
Life is an uncertainty, for none of
us can determine how long we should live. Life may fail at any
point; at conception, during the first week of the embryonic stage,
the first month, at the time of birth, or any time after
that.
We cannot avoid sickness nor can we
decide when we will fall ill. It is said, “Of this sickness beings
die, not of another”. For man is vulnerable to all kinds of
diseases and we cannot determine when or where we will die as well.
One may die at night, in the morning or in the evening. Some are
killed by floods, some in the sky because of plane crash, some on
the road side in a car accident. It is not up to us to decide. All
these are unknown to all of us.
Our final destiny is unknown to us as
well, for we cannot say, “one who passes away from here will be
reborn in this place”. There are five places where human beings
find rebirth. These are:
deva world,
human
world,
animal
world,
peta world
and
hell.
On passing away in
the deva world, beings may be
reborn in the human world; on passing away in the human
world, beings may be reborn in the deva world or other worlds.
Mostly beings are born in the woeful states. During our rounds of
rebirth, we can end up anywhere.
That is why we need to
perform Pattidana Ceremony,
that is the sharing of merits with our departed ones in
consideration of the five uncertainties mentioned above.
What are the results we can expect
from performing the sharing of merits?
Firstly, our departed ones will
rejoice at our act of
doing dana and of
keeping sila in memory of them.
They will enjoy the bliss of the merits and be able to transcend to
a higher level of existence.
In return, when we perform sharing of
merits we will also have four kinds of blessings: long life,
beauty, good health and strength. All this bliss can be
experienced, as it is said in the Dhammapada,
“Cattaro dhamma vaddhanti, ayuvanno sukham balam”.
For the one who is in the habit of constantly honouring and
respecting the elders, he or she will surely enjoy these four
blessings. They would not have to pray and ask for them.
According to the Texts if the sharing
of merits is after making donation of alms-food, the departed one
will be instantly appeased from hunger by saying, ‘Sadhu!’, if the
donation is garments and robes, the deceased will become
well-clothed upon saying, ‘Sadhu!’
Sharing Merits
with Departed Ones
(Part
Three)
Today, I would like
to talk about sharing of merits. “Our ancestors hope for five
things from their sons and daughters”. The Buddha said so in
the Pali text of
the Anguttara Nikaya. What are the
five?
1. Their sons and daughters will help
them in every aspect.
2. They will carry out what must be
done on behalf of their elders.
3. They will preserve the traditions
practiced by their elders.
4. They will protect the inheritances
left to them by their elders.
5. They will make offerings to
the petas after their elders
pass away.
(from the
book “Dhammaratana”)
When we think about these five things
taught by the Buddha, we find that they are true. Our ancestors
hoped for all these things when their sons and daughters were born.
Now that you are a parent yourself, I am sure that you are hoping
for the same from your children.
Firstly, they hope that their sons
and daughters will help them in every aspect. When parents get old
and are not able to work anymore, it is the duty of their sons and
daughters to provide them with shelter, food, clothing, medicine,
etc. This custom is very common in our Buddhist communities. For
Buddhist devotees, this practice is very beneficial to both the
parents and the children. However, in the West, it is very common
that the elderly rely on themselves or on homes for the aged or
being supported by the government.
Secondly, they will carry out what
must be done on behalf of their elders. In this world, social
relationships are essential. “No man is an island”. In our society,
we must depend on one another in all aspects of our lives, such as
weddings, funerals etc. These should be done on behalf of the
elders.
Thirdly, they will preserve the
traditions practiced by their elders. They will protect the lineage
of the family and not let it deteriorate.
The lineage of the families are of
two kinds:-
- the economies and businesses of the
mundane world.
- The religion and teachings which
the parents believed in and worshipped.
If the parents are merchants, their
businesses must be preserved and improved on and prevented from
failing in their hands. If the parents are government servants,
their status must be maintained and not bring shame to the
family.
Children of good parentage must keep
up good work of their parents, such as continue to make offerings
to temples, Buddha images and pagodas which their parents have
built. They must see to the maintenance of these in terms of effort
and money so as to preserve them for as long as possible. In
Myanmar, wealthy families that can afford to, usually carry out
such great dana as building of
temples on their own. In other places devotees usually collect
funds for offerings.
Fourthly, the parents would expect
their children, whom they have brought up since infancy and whom
they have educated and taught to stand on their own two feet as
adults, to have good virtues and protect their inheritances, such
as wealth, properties, etc., which they have accumulated during
their life time.
Lastly, if the parents themselves
cannot practise meditation while living in this mundane world and
if they cannot be mindful on their deathbed, they might be reborn
in the lower planes of existence. It is hoped that their children
will do meritorious deeds and share merits with them.
What I would like to emphasise today
is the fifth one which our ancestors are hoping for. When we are in
need, we hope that others will help us. We can be reborn anywhere
after this life, be it in the human world or in heaven. There is
nothing to worry about if we are reborn as a human being or god.
However, it is a different matter if we are reborn
as petas, animals or beings in hell.
Of these, certain petas known
as Paradattupajivika, are able to
free themselves from the peta life if they receive merits from
living relatives. For this reason, we should practise sharing
merits.
The Buddha said, “There is no one who
has not been another’s husband, wife, father, mother, brother,
sister, grandfather or grandmother in the rounds of rebirths”. So
our ancestors in this very life, or from the past, might need our
help to free themselves from the lower planes. It is our duty to
help them. When they are alive in this world, we support and
provide for them. When they leave this life, we can help them by
performing meritorious deeds and sharing the merits with them like
what you are doing today. This is what we can do for them. In this
way, we fulfill our responsibilities to the expectations of our
ancestors.
Let us consider our own life. We are
always faced with the difficulties and hardships of life. On a
bigger scale, we have problems in politics, economies, social
relationships, health care, etc. On a personal basis, we have to
face up to old age, sickness and death. We can never escape from
all these sufferings. If we are not able to free ourselves from
these sufferings, we hope that our off-springs will help us when we
die. The road to liberation, to freedom from all sufferings, is
nothing but the practice of
meditation, Vipassana Meditation.
I am always ready to teach, if you put in the effort and join the
meditation course.
The Buddha has instructed on the five
expectations mentioned above. Sons and daughters who fulfill these
expectations will gain much benefits in both the mundane and
supramundane world in this very life. In their future existences,
they will meet with good parents and have the opportunities to
increase their merits, till they
reach Nibbana.
Sharing Merits with Departed
Ones
(Part
Four)
In the Buddha’s
Teachings, there are a lot of stories
about peta beings (a sort of
ghost) mentioned in
the Peavatthutu text. Just as
animals and creatures are countless, so is the same
with petas. This shows that being
apeta is common. Anybody is liable
to be reborn as a peta. In one of
the Vinaya books, Parajika
Pali text, mention is made of different types
of petas with dreadful, fearful
and disgusting shapes. They first land in hell for many years,
after which, the rest of the evil deeds that they have committed
caused them to be reborned
as petas.
Which of them can obtain the results
of merits performed and shared by relatives? In
the Milinda Pannha, it is mentioned
that those who feed on vomit, those who are tormented by hunger and
thirst and those who are consumed by cravings do not benefit. The
fourth category that live on the gifts of others do derive benefits
and so do those who remember them.
If the departed ones do not receive
the benefits of the dana then
the givers themselves derive profit from them. Suppose some people
after preparing fish, meat strong drinks, rice and other kinds of
food were to go to their relations’ houses and if those relations
were not available to accept their presents, then the givers
themselves would profit.
There are instances in
which peta beings achieve the
benefits of merits. The following is an extract from the book
‘Hemevata’ by Mahasi Sayadaw.
Once, while the Buddha stayed in
Rajagaha city at the nearby Veluvana Monastery, King Bimbisara
returned to his palace after he had offered alms food to the Buddha
and the Sangha. On that
night peta beings haunted the
royal chamber in the palace and tried to frighten the King. These
beings had heard from Kassapa Buddha (a previous Buddha) that they
would obtain things to eat after they had
said sadhu (Pali for well done)
when the King shared his merits gained from the good deed of alms
and food offerings. So they gathered at the Buddha’s monastery and
waited to say sadhu. Unfortunately
the King forgot to share his merits and returned to his palace. He
did not know about this matter.
So peta beings entered his
chamber to frighten him so as to remind him.
When the King reported to the Buddha
about this, the Buddha told the King that
these peta beings had been the
King’s relatives ninety-two kappas ago and that these beings
haunted the royal chamber to frighten him to remind him of his
failure to share his merits with all beings. So the King offered
alms food to the Buddha
and Sangha again on the
following day and shared his merits with all beings.
The peta beings
said sadhu and thus obtained
celestial food. The human eyes cannot see these beings but the
divine eyes (psychic power) can.
In view of such a story, we are
keeping on the practice of sharing merits. These days similar
stories still happen here and there.
Moreover the Lord Buddha emphasized
that children develop a sense of gratitude towards their parents
because parents are by nature imbued with the four
sublime dhammas of loving
kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity where their
children are concerned. They are similar to Brahmas in the
celestial world. Those Brahmas are always absorbed
in Jhana by practicing the
above four
sublime dhammas.
In the same way parents keep their
eyes on their sons and daughters to protect them from dangers,
providing them with food, clothing, education, money and so on.
Their loving kindness conquers all difficulties. Even though some
of their off-springs are disobedient to them, they are patiently
tolerant. This tolerance is also accorded to their disabled ones.
We cannot measure the depth of their loving kindness. It is
comparable to the highest mountain, the Buddha said. It is clear
that we are indebted to our parents. It is up to us to repay our
debts of gratitude to them. If they are alive, it is our
responsibility to care for them by supplying their needs. If they
have passed away, then we should share merits with them. Expressing
deep sorrow or mourning does not make any sense nor will it give
rise to wholesome effects. Whosoever has a sense of gratitude
should repay their debts to their parents by making offerings to
monks who are endowed with high morality and sharing the merits of
such deeds with their parents.
The sharing of merits is beneficial
not only to peta beings, but
also to celestial beings. They take delight in
saying sadhu. In
the Mahaparinibbana sutta of
the Digha Nikaya, the Buddha said
that devotees should invite monks endowed with morality to their
new houses. Then they should
do dana and share merits with
celestial beings (devas).
Those devas will in return look
after the devotees with loving kindness just as a mother protects
her own children from danger. Such devotees protected by them will
achieve success in their worldly life.
So the teaching concerning the
sharing of merits with all living beings including departed ones,
human beings and celestial beings is of great significance as well
as the best way to support one another from the spiritual point of
view.
Generosity
Buddhist devotees
usually do good deeds by making offerings to the needy in our
society. The belief
in kamma enables us to
appreciate the need to give offerings. To
perform dana properly, certain
teachings of the Buddha are necessary for devotees to understand,
resulting in the achievement of results which commensurate with the
nobility of
the dana offerings.
According to the theory
of kamma in Buddhism,
basically, if we plant sweet seeds, these will bear sweet fruits.
While if we plant bitter seeds these will bear bitter fruits. In
the same way, one who performs wholesome deeds will surely enjoy
benefits such as well-being, happiness and good health; while if
one commits unwholesome deeds one will suffer. This is the
principle of kamma in Buddhism.
To distinguish between good and bad, we need to study the Pali text
in great depth.
Performing dana or
giving is like eating a balanced meal. One takes meat, fish and
vegetables for the protein, fat and energy to sustain one’s body
while taking different types of fruits for Vitamins A, B, C and
minerals. In these way one receives all the nutrients necessary to
sustain one.
In the same way, when we
give (dana) there are different
types of offerings: delicious food, robes, rice, books, building
temples, raising funds, giving during special occasions and
providing other requisites useful to the monks. Different types of
offerings result in different effects.
For example, a devotee offers good
food to the Sangha. Just as the monk
who receives the food can have long life, beauty, happiness,
strength and knowledge due to eating the good food, so will the
devotee in return experience the similar five benefits. Because
offering good food produces good results. There will be no need to
pray for them. In the Pali text, the Buddha expounded the results
of many kinds of dana. If you would
like to know them, you can learn them from Lunas.
The Buddha said that His dispensation
is like the grocery store in which everything is
available.
Does anyone want to be wealthy?
Does anyone want to be educated?
Does anyone want to be healthy?
Does anyone want to be free from sufferings?
All these are attainable through
practicing the Buddha’s Teachings according to its
effect.
As I have just mentioned, giving is
like planting. There must be fertile land and good seeds. In this
case, the one who plants is like the donor. The recipient who is
practicing morality, concentration and wisdom is like the fertile
land. The offering is like the good seeds. Here in Lunas, monks and
meditators are always practicing sila,
samadhi and panna.
So you can definitely achieve the good results
of dana, which is similar to the
sweet fruits planted in the fertile land.
What is most important is to make
yourself happy or joyful, knowing that you have done offerings.
Having benefited from your offerings, the monks and meditators will
be able to practise virtues and to understand the Buddha’s
Teachings. In this way you will have the opportunity to sustain the
Buddha sasana. May
Buddha’s dhamma and hence be
free from sufferings. Then devotees will develop faith, volition
and loving kindness. They will also have peace of mind and physical
well-being. The more you develop this beautiful mind, the more you
can acquire the beneficial results of
your dana.
Lastly, the Buddha taught us how to
wish whenever we perform giving. All beings in this world, whether
Brahma, god or man are subject to aging, sickness and death. This
worldly life is related to the four woeful states which we would
not wish for. We should direct our minds to freedom from all
sufferings which is nibbana, by
performing wholesome deeds such as dana, sila,
bhavana as they are practiced by you
today.
So everyday, after taking precepts,
we end by saying:
“Idam me pannam
nibbanassa paccaya hotu.”
(May these merits of mine
be conducive to my attainment of Nibbana)
