Scoring Sheet on Merits and Demerits as taught to Liao-Fan by Zen Master Yun Gu

Scoring Sheet on Merits and Demerits as taught to Liao-Fan by Zen Master Yun Gu

100 MERITS

Save one life; save a woman's chastity; prevent the drowning of a child by the parents; help continue the family lineage.

50 MERITS

Prevent one abortion; resist temptations (sexual misconduct); provide for one homeless person; bury the remain of a homeless person; prevent one person from becoming homeless; prevent one person from committing a serious crime; clear one person of an injustice; give a speech that benefits many.

30 MERITS

Donate cemetery land for a family without land; convert another to the virtuous way; facilitate a marriage; facilitate another in taking the religious vows; take in an orphan; help another accomplish a virtuous act.

10 MERITS

Recommend a virtuous persons; remove a source of trouble for another; cure a serious illness with one remedy; speak with virtue; treat servants properly; save the life of an animal that serves man; refrain from using power and wealth for one's own self-interest; publish or edit the teachings of Buddha.

5 MERITS

Prevent one litigation; communicate over a lifesaving method; edit a book on lifesaving methods; cure one minor illness with a remedy; urge another to stop the spreading of ill words about others; make offering to one saintly person; pray for others; make a vow not to kill; save the life of an animal that does not serve man.

3 MERITS

Endure a mistreatment without ill-will; take slander without reaction; accept words that are not to one's liking; urge silkworm growers, fishermen, hunters and butchers to change to another profession; bury an animal that died on its own.

1 MERITS

Praise another's merit; hide another's demerit; peacefully resolve an argument; stop another from making a mistake; feed one who is hungry; provide one night's lodging for a homeless person; help another in the cold; offer one medication; give one article on helping others; chant one chapter of sutra (Buddha's teachings); do one hundred prostration for repentance; chant Buddha's name for one thousand times; speak on the truth to ten people; organize projects that help ten people; offer one meal to a monk; provide for one monk; do not turn away a beggar; provide relief for tired animals and people; comfort others when they are worried; for meat eaters to be vegetarians for one day; do not eat meat from the animal one has seen, heard it being killed or killed specifically for oneself; bury a bird that has died on its own; release one life; save a minute life (bugs, etc.); help departed spirits to move on; give money and clothing to people; forgive a debt; return a lost article; do not take improper wealth; help others pay debt; offer land; encourage others to donate to charity; do not take goods stored for others; build grain storage facilities, bridges, roads, clear rivers, dig wells; build and repair temples and statues of enlightened beings; make offerings of incense, lamp oil, tea; give away a coffin; save papers with thousand words (spiritual writings).

100 DEMERITS

Cause one death; violate a woman's chastity; praise another for drowning his or her child; stop the family lineage.

50 DEMERITS

Induce one abortion; break up one marriage; abandon another's remains; cause another to be homeless; cause another to commit a serious crime; teach another to do great evil; make a speech that harms many people; steal another's wife or daughter.

30 DEMERITS

Create slander to dishonor another; reveal private secrets of another; encourage another to sue; break another's religious vow; go against an elder; offend father or older brother; cause the separation of family; in times of famine to save grains without sharing.

10 DEMERITS

Dishonor a virtuous person; recommend an evil person; flatten another's grave (graves in China are built as mounds); mistreat an orphan or widow; take in an unchaste woman; keep a murder weapon in the household; speak harshly towards parents, teachers and wise people; prepare poison; punish a criminal improperly; destroy writings on the truth; have evil thoughts while reciting the sutras; teach false knowledge; talk non-virtuously; kill an animal that can serve man.

5 DEMERITS

Sneer and slander spiritual teachings; not clear an injustice when given an opportunity to do so; turn away a sick person seeking help; block a road or bridge; write lewd articles; write a lewd song; speak harshly with others; kill one animal that cannot serve man.

3 DEMERITS

Get angry over words not to one's liking; scold one who does not deserve it; break up relations through double talk; cheat an ignorant person; destroy another's success; rejoice in another's worry; rejoice in another's loss of wealth and name; wish a rich person to be poor; blame heaven and others for one's own misfortune; be greedy in making money.

1 DEMERITS

Cover another's merits; urge another to fight; generate thought to harm another; help another to do evil; not stop another from stealing small items; not comfort another in fright or worry; not care about the hardship or human or animal; steal one small needle or grass; throw away papers with words (referring to spiritual writings); waste food; break a promise; cause another to be drunk; not help another who is hungry or cold; miss one word in reciting sutra; turn away a monk begging for food; turn away a beggar; recite sutras or go to the temples while eating foods with the five pungent spices (garlic, onion, etc., which give one bad breath) or drinking alcohol; eat the meat of an animal that works for man; kill a minute life form (bugs, etc.); spill a bird's nest and break the eggs; misuse funds; be in debt; damage temples and statues, etc; use false weights; sell a butcher's knife, fish nets, etc; use one's position to take bribes and other's money; keep lost articles; take goods while safekeeping them for others.