🤔 Question: During Dharma assemblies, why do we offer so many tablets and cultivate so merits? How much benefit do the deceased actually receive? And what do we ourselves gain？

💡 Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva has revealed this karmic truth to us 👇

📜 Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra – Chapter 7: Benefits for the Living and the Dead
> Kṣitigarbha said: “At the moment of death, if any being hears the name of a Buddha, a Bodhisattva, or a Pratyekabuddha, regardless of whether they have sinned or not, they can attain liberation.
> If a man or woman failed to cultivate goodness during life and instead committed many misdeeds, then after death, when their family performs virtuous deeds for them, the deceased receive only one-seventh of the merit—while the remaining six parts benefit the living.
> Therefore, good men and women of the present and future should cultivate diligently while still healthy, for only through one’s own practice can the full fruits of merit be realized.”

🙏 Essential Teaching by Guru Zhang Bu Sheng:

When we cultivate merit for other beings, they receive only about one-seventh, while the remaining six-sevenths return to us.

Hence, treasure your chance to practice while alive — The husband 👦 cultivates his own merit, the wife 👩cultivates her own merit; those who do not cultivate, receive none 😭.
Each person must walk their own path — no one can practice on your behalf.

Through your own offerings, prayers, and Dharma participation, you gain the greatest merit.
Remember: after death, when others cultivate merit for you, you’ll receive only one-seventh — so cultivate now, and don’t waste this precious life in vain! 🪷

📝 Key Summary: Merit primarily benefits ourselves!
* The departed receive 1️⃣ part: Ancestors and karmic creditors receive a share of blessing — easing their suffering and guiding them toward peace.
* The living receive 6️⃣ parts : Those who make offerings gain abundant blessings — planting the causes for Pure Land rebirth and present-life prosperity.
* Self-cultivation is the Key 🗝️: Joining Dharma assemblies and making offerings while alive not only liberates others, but also builds your own ocean of fortune and wisdom 🪷.