How to Maximise Good Results from Making Merit

How to Maximise Good Results from Making Merit

1. Preparing our minds before tamboon 

This means that before doing merit, one should have goodwill and good intentions and feel happy with the merit we are going to do. 

First, we have to prepare things for alms-giving. The alms should be found or bought in a morally clean way and with clean money. 

When we prepare or go to buy things for alms-giving, we should be happy and pleased with what we are doing no matter how much we spend for this. We should bear in mind that we are doing the right thing. This means the will and intention to do so is good and pure. 

2. Our minds during merit-making

After the things are prepared, now we are ready to do alms-giving. Suppose we want to offer the alms to a certain monk in a certain Wat. We will first come to see him, pay homage to the Buddha image and to the monk. 

We might formulate our intention to observe the 5 precepts, expressing them in a vow ("I undertake the 5 training rules: to refrain from taking life, from stealing, from sexual misconduct, from lying and from taking intoxicants".) 

This is to purify ourselves. The monk, as a receiver, has to be pure too which is completed with the monk's 227 precepts. 

If both the donor and the receiver are morally pure and ready, then we present the alms to the monk respectfully, and mindfully. 

3. Post merit-making 

When the monk receives the alms already, he will willingly bless us and we will wholeheartedly receive the blessing. We always feel happy whenever thinking of the good deed we have done. This is so-called Aparapara chetana or good feeling after doing merit.  

The most important thing in doing merit is one's will and intention. No matter how much the alms cost or how great in quality and quantity, the alms has to be morally pure, we must have good intentions, and the one who receives it has to be pure and have good intention too. If all the three components are united correctly, then we will receive a great deal of merit. 

That means we always feel happy whenever thinking or talking about the alms-giving we have done. 

After that we should extend our good feelings, which means dedicating our merit and wishing all beings to be well and happy like how we are feeling after that good experience [i.e. transference of merit].

Phra Ajaan Plien Panyapatipo

Wat Aranyawiwake, Mae Taeng District

Chiang Mai, Thailand

【🌷Fabush 🌷】

The Buddha once said: Of all the offerings, the offering of the Dhamma is the most auspicious offering❗

For better living conditions, one must create the right cause❗ The right cause is through giving.  Giving does not necessarily involve money.

Do three good deeds every day. Acts of kindness will generate the good results.  It is not difficult to do three good things every day- Being kind, seeing only goodness, harbouring good intention, bearing only good thoughts in every single moment, having good intentions arise, all actions done whether through body, speech and mind are for the benefits of others. 

With all these virtues, one can accumulate a lot of good merits in a day. 

Now the most convenient ways of sharing Dhamma are through Facebook, Weibo, WeChat, WhatsApp, LlNE, Viber, etc........ 

It doesn't cost a penny to share and forward the Dhamma to others. The sharing of Dhamma generates great and endless good deed and it is also an act of benefitting others as well as oneself.

❤️🌹🙏❤️🌹🙏❤️🌹🙏❤️🌹