"ทำบุญแล้ว...ชีวิตท่านดีขึ้นอย่างไร"

Merit or Boon (in Thai) is something I did not know about until I came to Wat Phra Dhammakaya and began to attend the Inner Dreams Kindergarten taught by the Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya. It took me, I think, only a month or may be even less to learn much about merit or Boon. The Abbot teaches first of all that every life is governed by the Law of Kamma in that one reaps what one sows. Kamma means an intentional act or intentional acts. There are three main categories of Kamma, namely, good Kamma, evil Kamma and neutral Kamma. Good Kamma bear good fruits (merit) while evil Kamma bear evil fruits (demerit). Neutral Kamma bear neutral fruits which are neither good nor evil. Now, our current lifetime and its conditions are dictated by our overall Kamma performed in our previous lifetime which means that the Kamma we perform in our current lifetime will bear most of their fruits in our next lifetime. A human being is like a puppet being pulled by the strings of previous good and evil Kamma or merit and demerit. How do we know that? For one thing, each of us is born with unique looks, unique temperament, level of intelligence, etc. The vicissitudes faced by each of us are also unique. When life is going well, it means that our accumulated merit is bearing fruits. When life is going badly, it means that our accumulated demerit is bearing fruits. The Abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya teaches that every breath we take requires merit. It means that we spend our accumulated merit every second of everyday, and like all accumulated things, our merit can dwindle. Once much of our accumulated merit has been spent, problems will pour down on us like a heavy rain. They show up as a serious illness, job loss, financial problems, etc. However, if we make sure to accumulate merit regularly by performing such wholesome deeds as giving alms to the Buddhist monks who practice righteousness, observe the Five or the Eight Precepts and practice meditation, we will be replenishing our accumulated merit all the time. And we can be sure that when faced with the vicissitudes of life as we must, the trough will not be so low as to cause us sleepless nights. Chances are that we will be able to sail on quite smoothly through life.  The more merit we accumulate, the better our life will be. This fact has been witnessed by just about every one of the Abbot's followers and one of them is me. Another fact we have to bear in mind also is that merit and demerit are constantly vying with each other to send forth their fruits. Therefore, it is crucially important that we make sure that merit is always winning. We can do this, according to the Abbot, by keeping our mind still, bright and clear all the time. This feat can only be accomplished by the regular practice of meditation. But that is another topic altogether. Suffice it to say for now that the Law of Kamma operates in every person's life regardless of his race or creed because it is a universal law. Whatever religious persuasion you may subscribe to, it is always better to choose to think good thoughts, say good words and perform wholesome deeds.