Merit is a concept in Buddhism

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

. It is that which accumulates as a result of good deeds, acts or thoughts and that carries over to later in life or to a person's next life. Such merit contributes to a person's growth towards liberation. Merit can be gained in a number of ways. In addition, according to the Sutra of The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

Sutra of The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

The Sūtra of The Great Vows of Bodhisattva is one of the more popular Buddhist sutras in Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhism. The sutra tells basically of how became a bodhisattva by making great vows to rescue other sentient beings, and a description of how he followed filial piety in his past lifetimes....

, one can "transfer" 1/7 merit of an act they have performed to a deceased loved one such as in the Shitro practice in order to diminish the deceased's suffering in their new existence. Pariṇāmanā

Parinamana

Pariṇāmanā is a Sanskrit term which may be rendered in English as "merit transference" though in common parlance it is rendered as "dedication". The Pariṇāmanā or 'dedication' is a standard part of Buddhist spiritual discipline or practice where the practitioner's accumulation of merit Pariṇāmanā...

 (Sanskrit) may be rendered as 'transfer of merit' or 'dedication' and involves the transfer of merit as a cause to bring about an effect.

Three bases of merit

The Pali canon

Pāli Canon

The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...

 identifies three bases of merit (Pali: puññakiriyavatthu). In the ("Meritorious actions discourse," AN

Anguttara Nikaya

The Anguttara Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the fourth of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that comprise the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...

 8.36 or A 8.4.6), the Buddha identifies these three bases:

• giving
  Dana (Buddhism)
  Dāna is generosity or giving. In Hinduism and Buddhism, it is the practice of cultivating generosity. Ultimately, the practice culminates in one of the perfections : the perfection of giving - dāna-pāramitā...
  
   ()
• virtue
  Sila
  Śīla or sīla in Buddhism and its non-sectarian offshoots, is a code of conduct that embraces self-restraint with a value on non-harming. It has been variously described as virtue, good conduct, morality, moral discipline and precept. It is an action that is an intentional effort...
  
   ()
• mental development
  Bhavana
  Bhāvanā literally means "development" or "cultivating" or "producing" in the sense of "calling into existence." It is an important concept in Buddhist praxis...
  
   ()

In the "Sangiti Sutta" ("Chanting together discourse," DN

Digha Nikaya

The Digha Nikaya is a Buddhist scripture, the first of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka of Theravada Buddhism...

 33), verse 38, Ven. Sariputta

Sariputra

Śāriputra or Sāriputta was one of two chief male disciples of the Buddha along with Maudgalyayana , counterparts to the nuns Khema and Uppalavanna, named the two chief female disciples...

 identifies the same triad: dāna, sīla, bhāvanā.

In the Khuddaka Nikaya

Khuddaka Nikaya

The Khuddaka Nikaya is the last of the five nikayas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka, the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism...

's Itivuttaka (Iti. 1.22), the three bases are defined as: giving (dānassa), self mastery (damassa) and refraining (saññamassā). Later in this same sutta

Sutra

Sūtra is an aphorism or a collection of such aphorisms in the form of a manual. Literally it means a thread or line that holds things together and is derived from the verbal root siv-, meaning to sew , as does the medical term...

, the triad is restated as: giving (dāna), a life of mental calm (sama-cariya) and a mind of good-will (metta-citta).

Merit-making

Buddhist monks earn merit through mindfulness, meditation

Buddhist meditation

Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism.Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions. Buddhists pursue meditation as part of...

, chanting

Buddhist chant

A Buddhist chant is a form of musical verse or incantation, in some ways analogous to Hindu, Christian or Jewish religious recitations. They exist in just about every part of the Buddhist world, from the Wats in Thailand to the Tibetan Buddhist temples in India and Tibet...

 and other rituals.

A post-canonical commentary

Atthakatha

Atthakatha refers to Pali-language Theravadin Buddhist commentaries to the canonical Theravadin Tipitaka. These commentaries give the traditional interpretations of the scriptures. The major commentaries were based on earlier ones, now lost, in Old Sinhalese, which were written down at the same...

, elaborating on the canonically identified meritorious triad of dana-sila-bhavana (see D.III,218), states that lay devotees

Upasaka

Upāsaka or Upāsikā are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, and who undertake certain vows...

 can make merit by performing these seven more specific acts:

1. honoring others (apacayana-maya)
2. offering service (veyyavacca-maya)
3. involving others in good deeds (pattidana-maya)
4. being thankful for others' good deeds (pattanumodana-maya)
5. listening to Teachings (dhammassavana-maya)
6. instructing others in the Teachings (dhammadesana-maya)
7. straightening one's own views in accord with the Teachings (ditthujukamma)

Quantification

Merits are quantified in some merit ledgers (功過格) in China and are said to be able to offset bad karma, such as those in the Jade Record

Jade Record

The Jade Record or Yuli is an illustrated religious tract that circulated in various versions and editions in the 19th century in China...

 or the Liaofan's four lessons (了凡四訓).