Spiritual Cultivation Requires More Than Meditative Merit

Whether in worldly life or in the cultivation of transcendental Dharma, relying solely on the merit derived from meditative concentration is far from sufficient. Non-Buddhist practitioners cultivate only meditative concentration, possessing merit from concentration but lacking merit from wisdom, merit from generating the great bodhicitta, and merit from generosity. Such merit can only be enjoyed within the state of concentration. No matter in which heavenly realm they dwell, they enjoy blessings within concentration; once they emerge from concentration, nothing remains. Śākyamuni Buddha's non-Buddhist teachers possessed only the merit of concentration, lacking merit from wisdom. They cultivated up to the highest state within the three realms—the state of neither perception nor non-perception. After emerging from concentration countless kalpas in the future, they will create unwholesome karma in accordance with the unwholesome vows they once made, and subsequently fall into hell realms to undergo retribution due to the conditions created by that unwholesome karma. Therefore, merit derived solely from concentration is still tainted and incomplete. It cannot guarantee liberation and freedom, nor can it ensure entry into Nirvāṇa or the attainment of Buddhahood. Buddhists should cultivate merit in multiple aspects. Only when merit is fully perfected will the path of cultivation become smoother and farther, free from limitations.

Even if one possesses the merit of concentration or substantial merit from other sources, one should not indulge in extravagance and waste in daily life. One should not exhaust it all in worldly life but reserve it for the cultivation of the Path. Once the Path is attained, worldly blessings become insignificant. The role of merit and virtue in cultivating the Path is immense. Even a slight deficiency in merit can prevent a practitioner from advancing to the next stage. Therefore, practitioners must possess lofty aspirations and grand goals, not covet low-grade, immediate pleasures, nor dismiss the phenomena of birth and extinction. Only then can they reach the eternal state beyond birth and extinction.