Useful Tips - Ten Ways Of Making Merit

MUST DO !!! DO NOT GIVE UP AND/OR BLAME OTHERS WHEN LIFE IS NOT IMPROVING OR WHEN YOU FACING OBSTACLES !!

MUST KNOW FOR ALL MEMBERS WORLDWIDE !!! One Merit A Day For Everyday !!! Start From Today Doing Simple Donations, Eating Less Meat Or Full Vegetables Meal.

Helping Or Guiding Others Through Their Bad Times and many many more way... 



" I would like to share with you this useful article about Making Merits?

Many of us have the wrong approach or misled by others regarding the meaning of Making Merits. Making Merits can be very straightforward & simple, to anywhere, anyone and the form is not important but heart is the most crucial factor.

Recently, I seen many online forums or Facebook posts are starting their own fund* raising for building temples or for other usages. Please think carefully before donating to these people* , they are now fighting for donations by using paid advertisements...."


Monk Robe Offering Donation (Singapore Buddhist Temple)

(You can let me know if you wish to donate and do not have time to go temples)


Read more info @ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathina

Kathina is a Buddhist festival which comes at the end of Vassa, the three-month rainy season retreat for Theravada Buddhists in Bangladesh (known as Kaṭhina Cībar Dān), Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.[2] The season during which a monastery may hold Kathina is one month long, beginning after the full moon of the eleventh month in the Lunar calendar (usually October).


It is a time of giving, for the laity to express gratitude to bhikkhus (Buddhist monks).[3][4] Lay Buddhists bring donations to temples, especially new robes for the monks. Also the gift of the attha parikara (in Sri Lanka adapted to singalese to Atapirikara අටපිරිකර ) - the Eight Requisites - is part of the offerings.[2][3][4]

Offering robes to the Sangha was a practice initiated and established by the Buddha more than 2,500 years ago. During the Buddha’s time, a layperson had offered some new cotton material. Out of compassion, the Buddha gave the fabric to the monks to make new robes, after their three-month rains retreat.

The Buddha himself stated the significance of offering Kathina robes in the Vinaya Pitaka. Offering robes is the highest offering and the most meritorious of skilful deeds.

The immeasurable merits of robe offering are:
One will be free from obstacles, be in good health and have perfect bodily form in this life. One will experience good fortune with abundant possessions and be successful in business.

One will be liberated from the suffering of the hot and cold hell realms.

One will be free from the suffering of hungry ghost realm.

One will take rebirth in the human realm with complete perfect physical form; be attractive, conceivably pleasant and beautiful.

and many more...



Donating Of Coffin For Needy - Singapore Buddhist Lodge (Singapore Buddhist Temple)


You can donate any amount or SGD$800 per set.

Bank - OCBC 630-420107-001
Paynow - S61SS0026B001

Website @ http://www.sbl.org.sg/chn/donation.aspx



Donating Of Coffin In Bangkok, Thailand - Ruamkatanyu Foundation


Located above " San Yan Station (Underground subway) next to Wat Lampong Temple"

Online Donation Via Credit Card To Bangkok:

http://www.donationpohtecktung.com/index.php

Sample Of Donation EInvoice -






Donate To Singapore Charities Organisations Online Or to any needy organisations



Sang Kha Than (Offerings To Monk)

Sang Kha Than is an offering, gifts or food to the Buddhist monks. You can head down to any nearest Thai Temples to do it. Please Follow the Monk to chant along to transfer merits.






The Ten Type Of Meritorious Action
  • Giving
  • Morality
  • Development
  • Respect reverence
  • Service
  • Giving away (or transferring) the merit
  • Rejoicing in the meritorious deeds of others
  • Preaching (and teaching) the Dhamma
  • Hearing (and teaching) the Dhamma
  • Straightening out one’s views

1. Giving, or dana in Pali, is something so basic to the practice of Dhamma that, although manifest everywhere in Buddhist countries, requires a little explanation. Worldliness is concerned with getting, with piling up so-called possessions and with increasing the sense of “I am” by proclaiming “I have.” That a person gives, shows that he has some concern for others’ welfare, and that he knows where his own true welfare lies. One possesses the worthwhile by giving things away, while things possessed are not possessed at all ultimately—for when one dies, to whom do all one’s precious possessions ’belong’? What then is covered by the Buddhist teaching of giving? Material gifts include medicines for the sick, food for the hungry, money for the poor and so on. Bhikkhus are given four kinds of material gifts by the lay people so that they may continue with their work. These are robes, almsfood, shelter and medicines. Whatever is a necessity of life to one who lacks it and whoever should supply that lack, is said to give material gifts. Since the giving of a gift must be connected with skill to be accounted merit, naturally the giving of the wrong sort of thing, such as a weapon, could never become meritorious. No less valuable is the gift of education or training, which is a gift highly esteemed in Buddhist tradition. The first universities in the world were the enormous Buddhist viharas of Northern India at the height of their success over a thousand years ago. Since the dhamma is not a system of dogmas to be believed by the blind masses, but a Way requiring understanding, it is not surprising that the Buddhist religion and education have always been connected. A kind of giving which involves friendliness and gentleness, the giving to other beings of fearlessness, is a gift which may be given by even the poorest man. All beings fear death and one should try not to be the agent of death for them. Lord Buddha also gave the greatest gift of fearlessness, when he gave all beings who could understand the Dhamma discovered by Him—for the Dhamma leads one, although surrounded by what is fearful, to dwell in the world fearless. Finally; “All gifts the gift of Dhamma doth excel” but since one aspect of merit-making concerns “teaching Dhamma,” consideration of it will be postponed.


2. The next way of merit-making is through Moral Conduct (sila); that is, by way of observing the Precepts and thereby leading a life which is not harmful to others, while one sees that it is beneficial to oneself. This is obviously meritorious since it involves the growth in one’s character of compassion and wisdom. No Buddhist observes the Precepts either from fear of, nor from love or reverence towards some power outside himself. It is quite an obvious fact to him that the man of upright moral conduct has many advantages over another who leads a life crooked in some way. There is no need to wait for a future life in order to benefit from virtue, just here and now this can be found in one’s own life. One does not have to take Buddhist teachings on the subject of moral conduct on faith, since advantages are found in the present. The present indeed is the time in which we actually live, for the past has gone like a dream and to regret past misconduct is not only foolish, it is unskilful; while the future, like a mirage, is uncertain and to resolve that one will begin to train oneself sometime later is equally foolish. Only now can one practise virtue, only now be wise, only now have compassion. The various precepts established by Lord Buddha are for training the heart in the right direction, towards wisdom and away from ignorance; towards friendliness and compassion, away from enmity and callous indifference. Basically, all the precepts may be classified into actions of body, speech and mind, and a useful list of ten Paths of Actions (kammapatha) summarises them. Abstinence from the three Precepts of taking life, taking what is not given, and wrong conduct in sexual desires, make up the first three paths by way of bodily action. Verbal action is the fourth precept split into four: abstinence from lying, harsh speech, malicious tale-telling and nonsensical chit-chat. Mental action is abstinence from covetousness, ill will and wrong views. So much for moral conduct as a way of making merit.

3. Next comes mind-development or bhavana often called by the inadequate word “meditation.” This is basically of two kinds where one either develops calm first and then gains insight or else, using mindfulness one proceeds to develop calm out of which also grows insight. The difference is in the use of an object of meditation as with the first, or using the events of life for ones object, as in the second. Both kinds have as the result aimed at the experience of insight and the growth of wisdom. One meditates to calm the grosser mental defilements and develop the mind in such a way that it comes to know real wisdom, that which is beyond words and not the result of learning or thinking. It is this wisdom with which there is the realisation of Nirvana. But we have now to examine briefly other aspects of merit-making, which are also counted as developments of mind.

4. Reverence or respect is one of these. It is obvious that the reverent and respectful man develops his mind, for, by his attitude, he cuts down the defilement of pride and replaces it by the wise conduct of humility. The humble man also has a flexible and adaptable mind and can therefore learn, while the proud man is at a great disadvantage. Reverence runs through a Buddhist society in all ways. Children respect adults, especially elderly relations. People pay their respects to the King. They reverence bhikkhus by respectful salutation and offerings, while in the Sangha, novices pay respect to bhikkhus and the latter, if juniors, revere the seniors. All pay their respects to the Supreme Patriarch, while he together with the King and people all revere alike Lord Buddha as the Great Teacher.

5. Service in helping others is the next way of merit-making. If compassion were only the thinking of kind thoughts, it is obvious that it would be a rather insignificant exercise. The fact is that one shows, by willing and unprompted deeds, that one thinks of the comfort of other beings. Such a great range of action may be included in this way of merit-making that we have no time here to illustrate this at length.

6. Following service, and just to show that one’s good deeds are not egotistic, one gives away the merit from their performance. This is indeed intended to illustrate the paradoxical teaching that a man makes most merit when he is not thinking, “I am making merit.” The action which is done spontaneously and out of the goodness of the heart, is the most meritorious action of all. Merit should be relinquished for others’ benefit, because, like “my” body, it does not really belong to me at all. As Lord Buddha said, “That which does not belong to one, that give away.”

7. Besides giving away even merits, one should also rejoice in the merits of others. When others have some gain or other, material or immaterial, does one become envious? If so, one needs to arouse the spirit of gladness at others’ happiness. This is done by way of the third of the four Divine Abidings, called Mudita. One rejoices at the merit of others when for instance, a bell is struck near a shrine or holy plate, or when one sees merit being made or else hears about it. The traditional exclamation at such a time is ’Sadhu!’, meaning, “it is well.” This is a great merit indeed.

8–9, The following two ways of merit-making are a pair, since one is listening to while the other is teaching Dhamma. Listening means concentrating one’s whole attention so that there is only the voice of him who speaks Dhamma. One can go further until there is only Dhamma in one’s own heart—though this requires a well trained mind not liable to stray here and there. Teaching Dhamma is not just teaching rules and dogmas for people’s belief. It is dealing with the practical Way for this life here-and-now, the Way leading to the experience of the Ultimate Truth or Nirvana. It is truly said: “All gifts the gift of Dhamma doth excel.” Much merit attaches therefore both to Dhamma listening and to Dhamma teaching as they are concerned with the true nature of things.

10. Last comes setting upright or straightening out one’s views. This aspect of meritorious conduct counterbalances some of the other aspects described here. One should understand clearly and without self-delusion that one suffers from one’s own foolishness and not because of any outside power; likewise, that one will find the path to final peace and release from birth-and-death through one’s own efforts and not through those outside oneself. Wrong views are those which lead one away from Reality, away from Dhamma, while Right View is the seeing of things as they really are. Such is a supreme merit. For all these reasons and in all these ways one should make merit, for as Lord Buddha says in the last stanza of the Treasure-Store Discourse:
“So great indeed are its rewards,
Simply, this merit’s excellence;
For that the steadfast and the wise
Commend a score of merit made.”



Credits To The Original Sources. Thanks.