予め積んだ功徳
Merit accumulated beforehand
2026-02-06
A practitioner of the Buddhist path who has accumulated merit in advance will gradually draw closer and closer to Nirvana.
Here, the merit accumulated beforehand is gathered unknowingly, while the merit accumulated begins from the point at which one becomes consciously directed toward approaching and reaching Nirvana.
What is important here is that, in practice aimed at awakening (＝liberation), no particular aptitude or talent is recognized; rather, previously accumulated merit alone serves as the foundation — and this refers to merit accumulated after one is born.
In short, a practitioner of the Buddhist path does not need to assume merit from a previous life; all merit is accumulated entirely within one’s present life after birth.
Furthermore, the merit that is accumulated unknowingly can be gathered even before one encounters Buddhism, and a person who has accomplished this is called “a well-brought-up person.”
Regarding this, the early Buddhist scriptures of Shakyamuni Buddha contain the following teaching.
532 One who cuts off all the fetters that are the roots of attachment—both inward and outward—and who has escaped from the bond that is the root of all clinging: such a person, precisely for this reason, is called a ‘well-bred person.’ (Words of the Buddha – Sutta-nipāta, Chapter 3: The Great Chapter, 6: Sabiya, translated by Hajime Nakamura, Iwanami-Bunko)
In other words, the true nature of merit accumulated beforehand is the steady strengthening of one’s own path by appropriately taking in only what is necessary for moving toward a state of happiness; and it can be said that the sincere and receptive mind cultivated in this way is the source that gives rise to noble seeking, clear knowing, and the conditions for awakening.
He gradually accumulates merit, and at last a crucial condition arises, wisdom is born, and he becomes a Buddha.
Accordingly, Huineng Buddha, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen, teaches as follows:
“Merit means being skillful in seeing one’s true nature; a sincere and straightforward mind is itself virtue.”
In this sense, awakening is a gift of merit from beginning to end.
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