Q6: The terms “making vows” and “transfer of merit” are often used alongside each other in Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. What are the differences between them?

A：Although the concepts of merit-transferring and vow-making are distinct, they can complement each other, and are often discussed together.

Though the vows we make might not be fulfilled in a short period of time, they establish a clear direction for our lives, creating a kind of energy that allows us to keep returning to the right path. Two good examples of vow-making would be, "the vow to soon attain buddhahood and deliver innumerable sentient beings soon," as well as "the vow to become a disciple of the Buddha in all lifetimes." The purpose of merit transfer is to share merit with others, such as transferring the merit generated from the completion of our reception of precepts, chanting of sutras, and practicing of generosity with all sentient beings.

From this perspective, to transfer merit is to reach a specific idealistic goal by completing a virtuous act then contemplating on its merit. On the other hand, the act of making vows doesn't necessarily imply that the vow has been fulfilled or the merit has been attained. To give an analogy, the transfer of merit is like buying a present for a friend, while vow-making is like hoping one possesses the ability to buy a present for a friend.

"Without the act of making vows, the transfer of merit would be ineffective. Therefore, the acts of vow-making and merit-transferring are bound together." Master Sheng Yen explained in Making Vows and Transferring Merit with Gratitude: Merit-transferring doesn't mean to sacrifice or lose something; on the contrary, the more we share, the faster and stronger we will grow. During this process of self-cultivation, we must make vows which allow us to grow and benefit others. This is the true act of benefiting oneself through helping others." However, vow-making and merit-transferring are not merely speaking the words. We must put these acts into practice with our actions, self-cultivation, and behavior, to influence and share our merit with others, in order to truly exert the power of such virtuous acts.


Extended reading:

Transfer of Merit –The Practice of Generating a Great Mind

The Transfer of Merit: the Giving of Dharma that could be Practiced at any Time

What Buddhist Scriptures Reveal about the Evolution of Merit Transfer

Dedicating the merit for attainment of nirvana is superior to praying for karmic blessing in the human and heavenly realms

To practice the Buddhist teaching is to transfer merit in its true sense

Compassionately delivering sentient beings, dedicating the merit for supreme Bodhi

Dedication verses commonly seen in the Chinese Buddhist tradition

Tibetan Buddhism: The most sublime chapter on the Practices and Vows of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra

Q1: How is merit transfer different from the blessings we give to others in our everyday life?

Q2: Must we first accumulate merit before we can transfer it to others?

Q3: Would it matter if I don't transfer merits after chanting?

Q4: When we transfer the merit generated from self-cultivation to our family, friends, and deceased loved ones, can they really receive it?

Q5: Should we still transfer merit to specific people after we have already transferred it to all sentient beings in the Dharma realm?

Q6: The terms "making vows" and "transfer of merit" are often used alongside each other in Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. What are the differences between them?

Q7: Are there corresponding dedication verses for different Dharma methods? Can these dedication verses be used interchangeably?


Resource: Humanity Magazine Issue #413
Translation: Ariel Shen 
Editing: Keith Brown, Glen Sha