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| #Post#: 2297-------------------------------------------------- | |
| An interesting subject of thinking topic | |
| By: Syzthesis Date: April 24, 2023, 8:28 am | |
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| Recently, a topic in a group chat caught my interest and I | |
| personally felt it is a good topic to share. | |
| I shall name both persons as good friend A and B. | |
| Good friend A: | |
| If give up wearing amulets, how ar? | |
| Good friend B: | |
| Just continue to do dana. | |
| Good friend B further emphasised: | |
| Its only during we are in human realm we can make merit. | |
| I personally like the sharing of perspectives between friends, | |
| this is a good topic. But likewise, good friend B's perspective | |
| is a very good point. | |
| I just wanna share that being in human realm itself, truly allow | |
| us to do more merit deeds. If in animal realm, sometimes you | |
| will notice the animals in the wildlife also have compassion for | |
| other animals, that itself also garners merit. | |
| All in all, it is a good topic that I have learnt from this | |
| conversation talk. | |
| #Post#: 2378-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: An interesting subject of thinking topic | |
| By: Upasakabeliever Date: July 16, 2023, 3:38 am | |
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| Amulets are just token of remembrance that may offer assistance | |
| in both mystic and psychological ways. | |
| Merits are demerits are the main players here in our lives. | |
| #Post#: 2426-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: An interesting subject of thinking topic | |
| By: Ruesi Sam Date: October 3, 2023, 3:33 am | |
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| What is Merit? Virtue and Sin? Can you put merit in a sack and | |
| take it with you? Does merit get weighed by a judge in a post | |
| death court case where your good deeds and bad deeds are | |
| counted? Why did the universe create a cosmic court with yama as | |
| judge, which is designed like the courts humans on earth created | |
| billions of trillions of years after the Universe came into | |
| existence? Why do the hell worlds have giant frying pans when | |
| the frying pan is a human invention maximum 100,000 years old, | |
| bvut the universe had some in hell since beginningless time? | |
| Because none of that is true, it is imaginary, and the Buddha | |
| never taught these things, other humans did after he was gone | |
| and unable to stand up and say 'i never said that!' | |
| Yama and the court of death that judges you is a Brahman belief | |
| incorporated into Buddhism by unenlightened post Buddha's | |
| Lifetime humans. The Buddha did say something about causes of | |
| auspicious and inauspicious effects (what most people think of | |
| as 'Karma'... merit or sin, auspicious inauspicious, or | |
| skilful/unskilful. good and bad, evil or angelic). | |
| Karma is not a punishment for something you deserve. it is just | |
| cause and effect/Causality, like a running stream, the water is | |
| forced around the stone in the stream, but it takes the path of | |
| least resistance, and goes around it not through it, and the | |
| stone, remains steadfast and is not disturbed by the whirling | |
| events around it (the water), but is also forced to erode over | |
| millions of years, and its square shape will become a smaller | |
| rounded pebble at some point, and eventually dissolve into | |
| grains of sand, or perhaps be hit by a meteor and be turned into | |
| vitrified glass.. | |
| Is it the karma of the sand to be vitrified by a meteor? What | |
| did the sand to wrong or right to become vitrified? Or is | |
| vitrification of sand a punishment or a blessing? You decide! | |
| Did the bad things that happened to you throughout your life | |
| become lessons that led you to where you are now? | |
| Who is your greatest teacher? Your friend? or your enemy? | |
| The Buddha said it doesn't matter how much 'merit' you make | |
| (perform acts of kindness and generosity and compassion and | |
| avoid acts of thievery dishonesty and harmful unskilful deeds), | |
| you will never equal out the unskilful acts, for they will | |
| always outweigh our skilful ones. So making merit is good (tam | |
| bun) but in truth, only the path to enlightenment and attainment | |
| of stream entry and above/onwards is the safe haven. | |
| The belief in the transfer of merit after death is a concept | |
| found in various religious and cultural traditions, particularly | |
| in Buddhism and Hinduism, among others. However, it's important | |
| to note that the understanding and interpretation of this | |
| concept can vary widely among different belief systems. | |
| In Thai Buddhism, for example, there is a practice known as | |
| "transference of merit" or "dedication of merit." It involves | |
| individuals dedicating the positive karma or merit they have | |
| accumulated through virtuous actions, such as acts of generosity | |
| or meditation, to benefit others, including deceased loved ones. | |
| The idea is that by dedicating one's merit to others, especially | |
| those who have passed away, it may help alleviate their | |
| suffering in the afterlife or support their journey to a | |
| favorable rebirth. This assumed 'transfer of merit', is not | |
| necessarily viewed as a tangible or physical asset that is | |
| carried with an individual after death. Instead, it is a | |
| symbolic and spiritual gesture of goodwill and compassion. The | |
| belief is that the positive energy generated by virtuous actions | |
| can have a positive influence on the well-being of others, both | |
| in this life and in potential future existences. | |
| It would be wise in my belief, to recognize that beliefs about | |
| the afterlife, karma, and the transfer of merit are matters of | |
| faith and spirituality. They can vary widely among individuals | |
| and religious traditions. Some people find comfort and meaning | |
| in these beliefs, while others may have different perspectives | |
| on the nature of the afterlife and the role of merit. Anyway, in | |
| the end, whether one believes in the transfer of merit or not, | |
| the practice of engaging in virtuous actions and cultivating | |
| positive qualities like compassion and generosity is valued in | |
| many spiritual and ethical traditions as a means to lead a more | |
| meaningful and harmonious life, regardless of what may or may | |
| not happen after death. | |
| #Post#: 2733-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: An interesting subject of thinking topic | |
| By: DarkMind Date: February 17, 2025, 11:15 am | |
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| Interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. | |
| My understanding of merit is that those beings (seen and unseen) | |
| hearing that you have done good deeds on their behalf will | |
| rejoice. This creates a positive mind state that can help | |
| increase their chances of a good future rebirth. | |
| #Post#: 2734-------------------------------------------------- | |
| Re: An interesting subject of thinking topic | |
| By: Syzthesis Date: February 17, 2025, 11:42 am | |
| --------------------------------------------------------- | |
| [quote author=DarkMind link=topic=307.msg2733#msg2733 | |
| date=1739812514] | |
| Interesting. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. | |
| My understanding of merit is that those beings (seen and unseen) | |
| hearing that you have done good deeds on their behalf will | |
| rejoice. This creates a positive mind state that can help | |
| increase their chances of a good future rebirth. | |
| [/quote] | |
| Just think it in the 4 values - Metta, Karuna, Mudita, Upekha. | |
| Such act also constitutes a way of developing sympathetic joy | |
| (mudita) which - along with compassion, metta and equanimity. | |
| How they receive? They receive by being aware. For example; You | |
| remember them, You do dhana on their behalf, you help them to do | |
| dhana on their behalf, since they are no longer able to dhana in | |
| their form as they do not have a human form body. It's akin to | |
| you pour water on the soil where it got a seedling of a plant, | |
| then it grows. Yet if you pour the water on concrete, not the | |
| same thing result also not same, right? Use simple analogy to | |
| start finding out and understand it. | |
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