Merit is essential in meditation practice. Should one accumulate a great deal of merit before beginning meditation?

The path of meditation is infinitely deep and profound. Entering it requires a significant accumulation of merit, cultivated through countless acts of goodness and virtue.

If merit is accumulated without being directed toward meditation, liberation, and enlightenment, however, it can easily lead into a cycle of temporary worldly pleasures that will eventually be depleted. There is also no precise measure for determining when one has accumulated “enough” merit to begin meditating. Merit-making and meditation should therefore be pursued simultaneously: engage in virtuous deeds while practicing meditation diligently. We should also make a sincere vow that every virtuous act, whether great or small, will be dedicated to spiritual cultivation and enlightenment.

This process is like a farmer tending a tree, carefully watering and fertilizing it until it flourishes and bears fruit. Even after the first harvest, continuous care is needed to ensure future yields. Likewise, meditation practitioners must consistently generate merit to purify the mind and sustain practice over the long term. The meditation journey is not always smooth: there will be times of peace and clarity, as well as restlessness and struggle. On some days meditation feels effortless; on others, maintaining focus appears impossible. All of this is subtly influenced by one's accumulated merit.

No matter how much merit one cultivates, it is never truly “enough.” We must persist in even the smallest acts of goodness, refining every aspect of daily life and making those acts the foundation for a stable, unwavering, and enduring meditation practice.