ACCRUING MERITS FROM RECITATIONS
Master Jun Hong Lu: I would like to tell everyone that we can also derive merits from reciting Buddhist scriptures. Why do I say so? Many people may ask, “I’ve been doing nothing other than reciting Buddhist scriptures. How is it that I’m accumulating merits and virtues?” This is because when you are performing recitation, you are making vows that will accrue meritorious blessings. Am I right?
Think about it: Whose names are you reading when you are reciting the Heart Sutra, the Great Compassion Mantra and the Eighty-Eight Buddhas Great Repentance? They are all Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, am I right? Whatever you say in your prayer, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas will know. Don’t you think this is like making a vow?
When reciting the Heart Sutra, you will be thinking, “I vow to purify my mind and increase my wisdom”. When reciting the Great Compassion Mantra, you are making a vow to increase your spiritual power. These are your thoughts when you perform recitation.
That means when you are performing recitation, you are reciting with willpower. This explains why your recitation is efficacious. If you are merely performing ‘verbal recitation’ that lacks such willpower, you are just like the little monks in the temple who recite with their lips, not their heart. As a result, the effect of your recitation will not be obvious. By having the willpower “I wish to help sentient beings”, the effect of your recitation will be far greater.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Discourse, Guan Yin Hall, Sydney, Australia, 9 August 2011
