Want to comment on part about accumulating merits.
Accumulating merits per se does not lead to insight of
emptiness. But accumulating merits and dedication for Buddhahood
for all beings creates the conditions for such realisation to
arise in a perfect manner. Because the dedication
directs the effect of the merit towards realisation and liberation,
so it leads to liberation. Tsoknyi Rinpoche said once that if
you have sufficient merit, even if you don't want realisation,
realisation will arise on its own.
On the Bodhisattva path, accumulation of both merit and wisdom
is needed. Buddhahood can only be attained with the completion of
both accumulations of merit and wisdom. And the merit and
aspirations one makes on the path determines the benefit one
will have for others upon reaching realisation or Buddhahood.
For the case of the cat, it is not a clear case that it was a
practitioner in the past. That is just conjecture. And also, if it
had truly accumulated great merit, not likely to become a cat (this
also my conjecture). I think in the accumulation of merit,
one should also have a pure motivation, not linked to worldly or
spiritual greed. An altruistic motivation, though
conditioned, coupled with merit and aspiration prayers, can lead to
the culmination of the path.
This has been the experience of countless practitioners.
I believe what you said. In the past, I used to dedicate merits
only to my family members and I only think of myself going to
Pureland. It was after a master told me it would be better that I
dedicate the merits for Buddhahood for all beings that I start to
dedicate to all sentiment beings. After doing so, I begin to
realise and understand a lot of things which I don't understand in
the past. What your master said was correct.
