Some people have asked me about why some people do so much merit or good deeds. They see that they don't seem to gain much at all from the goodness they seem to be doing. Because of that, they feel there is no need to do good, just do what you want.
I disagree with them completely. Merit or the goodness you make is always helping you. Merit is the power or pure energy that comes from the good deeds that you have done. At first it will just be a good feeling, feeling that you have helped someone or did something good for society. But it is actually much more vast than the little piece of goodness we think we are making.
For example, I had conducted a little experiment in my youth to see if "
doing good" actually makes "
good things" come to you. As we know this as the Law of Kamma. When I was a teenager, I just started to understand in a deeper level of what Buddhism is, especially in the topic of making merit or doing good deeds. I ordained a few times by then and had many Dhamma discourses that would touch upon this subject often so I felt that I understood this topic quite well. Only thing left to do was to practice it and see if the results were as they taught us. I started to become very helpful to all my friends, teachers, parents, elders, and even strangers if I felt it was safe to help. I never asked for anything in return but every time I see those people I helped, they always want to give me something. They would have a small snack or gift to give me for helping them. Sometimes I will feel like the gift they were giving me was worth much more than what I did to help them. But putting the little gifts aside, I noticed that even without the gifts, I personally had a happier life. I felt such a wonderful feeling from helping everyone that I ended up feeling the need to help if I could. My heart had expanded and felt that everyone deserved a space there.
My outlook on life became beautiful. This doesn't mean that I ignored the bad things that may happen, instead I
realize it, find a
solution, and then be
happy as it is being solved.
From my own experiment, I was lucky that I could see how making merit affected my siblings as well. We were all raised to be helpful so I could see that the same things that happened to me, also happened to my brother and sister. So this meant that it is not that I am lucky and gain these little things or that I am getting paid for my service, but we are all seeing the benefits of our good deeds.
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| Bean Sprouts |
I learned from the monks that merit is similar to farming. Whatever we plant, we can benefit from or eat later.
-If we plant bean sprouts, they can sprout and grow within a few weeks. We can eat them but the flavor is very plain.
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| Strawberries |
-If we plant strawberries, they will be ripe within a few months. When we eat them, they taste pretty good
(better than bean sprouts)
 |
| Mangoes |
-If we plant mangoes, it takes at least 5 years before you get the first fruit. But when we can eat them, the taste is so much better than strawberries.
With this analogy, we can see that the merit we gain will differ depending on how you make merit and how often. The bean sprouts are like the little things we do everyday for your family or people in general. The strawberries are like the larger favors or donations you do for family or friends. The mangoes are like the big donations or services you do for your church, temple, or charity.
Doing good deeds and making merit always has a benefit for you. It has changed my life for the better, and I encourage you to try it yourself. Believing your life will be better by reading is different than doing good to better both your life and others.
Sources:
-Quote image from pinterest.com
-Beansprouts image from turnericsaffron.blogspot.com
-Strawberries image from orschelnfarmhome.com
-Mangoes image from pinterest.com
