There are two types of merit, one is called Yang virtue and the other is called Yin virtue.
As the name suggests, Yang virtue means speaking out and letting everyone know; Yin virtue means silently, telling no one and not being known by others.
Regardless of yang virtue or yin virtue, they are both worthy of promotion and worthy of our doing.
But be careful, those who always want to exchange money for merit, do good deeds and always think about rewards, and are not happy to donate some money without engraving a monument. Strictly speaking, this kind of thing is not even considered virtuous, because you have no kindness at all. None. The utilitarianism is too heavy. Doing good deeds is purely for rewards. This is not acceptable.
In fact, most people like Yangde, because Yangde is repaid quickly, usually in the present world. When you do good deeds, others will know about it, praise you, and give you a certificate, banner, or something like that.
Can Yang De be done? Of course you can do it, and most of the merits in this world are actually yang virtues, so there is no problem with this.
Because the praise and praise from the world is also a kind of power that will turn into blessings for you.
Our society and the world actually need this kind of power of virtue, as a role model and as a positive and positive energy.
If everyone does good deeds without saying anything, there will be no good people or good deeds in the society, which would be uncoordinated. Therefore, doing good deeds also needs to be promoted and appreciated by people, so that it can develop healthily and drive more people to do it. do good things.
It's just that the blessings of Yangde are obvious and reported quickly. For example, those who bravely save a child who fell into the water or catch a child who fell from a building regardless of their safety. If they are publicized by the media, the local government will reward them with cash and rewards. Houses and other things, this is the real world reward, it comes very quickly.
But the blessings of Yangde disappear quickly, and they will disappear after a while, unless you persist in doing good deeds for a long time.
Different from Yang virtue, Yin virtue is often unknown and no one rewards you. However, Yin virtue can be accumulated for a long time. In addition to bringing hidden blessings to yourself, it can also benefit future generations. This reward is given by God. your.
So generally speaking, Yin virtue brings greater blessings than Yang virtue.
But we can't ask everyone to do good deeds without leaving a name, so there is nothing wrong with both positive and negative virtues. As long as you have the intention to do it, and you are truly kind and have good relationships, then it is good.
Next, I will talk about the specific blessings of doing good deeds.
We have a saying that goes: Yang virtue governs glory, Yin virtue governs longevity.
It is easy to understand that Yin De governs longevity, it extends life span.
The glory of this virtue can be honor, glory, wealth, or help from noble people.
But some people have been doing good deeds without seeing any rewards, so they think these are all deceptive. I do good deeds every day, why hasn't God made me rich yet?
In fact, there is another kind of blessing that you can't see, or you don't pay attention to it.
For example: turning bad luck into good luck, disaster into good fortune, many children and grandchildren, peace and health.
For example, you have done good deeds for a long time, but you have not seen any reward. You are still living a normal life, and it has not made you rich. But suddenly one day, the car you are riding in has a car accident, everyone is dead, and you are the only one who survives. Came down.
So think about it, is this a blessing more important than getting rich?
Think about it from another angle, maybe God took away some of your wealth in exchange for your life.
Maybe, your cause and effect is like this. You are destined to live a miserable life, with no money and no power, and an early death. In the end, because you have done a lot of good things, you have lived ten years longer, but if you are If you want to get rich, sorry, your longevity will be gone in these ten years.
There is also a saying: Yang virtue subdues people, Yin virtue subdues ghosts.
That is to say, if you have virtuous character, the world will admire you and respect you. If you are virtuous, even ghosts will not dare to harm you and will have to avoid you if they see you.
But you have to pay attention, the yang virtue here does not mean how many good deeds you do or how many temples you build. It must also match your character and moral conduct.
In other words, if you usually do all kinds of evil and have a bad character, and then go around building roads and temples in an attempt to accumulate merit, then sorry, this kind of merit will be greatly reduced.
Because virtue is not only about doing good deeds, but also about your character, your behavior in life, and how others evaluate you.
I once knew a man who chanted Buddha's name every day, donated money everywhere, and told everyone he met that he was a good person and had done many good things. But everyone knew that he had evil intentions, bullied the poor, ran rampant in the neighborhood, and even took over his daughter-in-law...
So what kind of merit do you think this kind of person can have?
We have mentioned above that yang virtue is the retribution in this world. You don’t have to worry that this is not considered yin virtue. For example, if you do too many good deeds and the good retribution in this world is not fully repaid, the remaining part will be transferred to yin virtue. This benefit will be given to the next generation.
And if a person does a lot of great evil things and does not suffer all the consequences during his lifetime, it will also affect future generations.
As the saying goes: If the ancestors accumulate virtue and do good, they will benefit future generations; if the ancestors have negative virtues, their descendants will suffer.
Therefore, Sima Guang's "Family Instructions" says: If you accumulate money and leave it to your descendants, your descendants may not be able to keep it. If you accumulate books and leave them to your descendants, they may not be able to read them. It is better to accumulate negative virtues in the dark and think of it as a long-term plan for your descendants.
At this point, some people may ask, how should we accumulate yin virtue? Do we have to do good deeds, or spend money to make donations, or build roads and bridges, or worship monks and build temples?
In fact, there are many ways to accumulate Yin Virtue. Let’s talk about how to obtain Yin Virtue without spending money.
The first is filial piety, which is filial piety to living parents and sacrifices to deceased ancestors during festivals. Because parents are human gods and Buddhas, of course you will have great virtue if you are filial to your parents.
There are also sacrifices to ancestors. Taoism pays attention to responsibility and believes that a person's luck is closely related to Yin virtue. This Yin virtue is the virtue of the underworld. Your ancestors are all in the underworld. They have more descendants than just you. If you are not filial, why will they? Bless you?
I often see people saying that it is enough for me to be filial and worship my grandparents. My grandparents have several sons and there are many people visiting their graves, so there is no need for me to be filial.
I am always speechless when encountering this kind of situation. Grandpa and grandma are your mother’s parents. Without them, there would be no mother. Without mother, there would be no you. Do you dare to say that you don’t need to be filial?
Some people say that my grandfather was not good to me when he was alive. I have never met him a few times. Whoever loves to be filial should be filial. It has nothing to do with me anyway.
Some people say that when I was very young, my mother remarried and no longer wanted me. There were people over there who would visit her grave, so I just didn’t care.
Some people say that my father is like an enemy to me, without any love at all. He has hated me since the day I was born. I don’t want to come to this world at all, and I will not be grateful to him for giving birth to me. I will wait for him to die. That day, I will not even go back and look at him!
There are many, many of these situations, and from everyone’s perspective, they are both right and wrong.
