Merit can also be transferred between people with-
out the ritual services of a cleric. Passing merit directly
between people technically does not constitute a trans-
fer of merit, which requires the ritual intervention of
a monk or nun and is limited to the merit of good
deeds. These direct karmic interchanges are better de-
scribed as exchanges of merit taking place through per-
sonal relationships. In these situations, it is commonly
believed that harm done to another will result in harsh
retribution. Wrongdoing represents a loss of merit
from the perpetrator to the victim, who thereby has
the right to retaliate, often in the form of curses. Mis-
fortunes are commonly interpreted to be retributions
and even revenge inflicted by those who have been
wronged. In Japan, aborted fetuses, for example, are
said to be able to inflict harm on the parents who ter-
minated their lives. Resolution of this problem takes
the form of a ritual (MIZUKO KUYO) through which a
transfer of merit (eko) from the parents to the fetus
provides proper recompense. An exchange of bad
karma through personal relationships can be corrected
through a transfer of merit.As a moral commodity, merit is quantifiable.
Chanting the name of the Buddha produces merit, and
greater numbers of repetitions result in greater merit.
In both China and Japan, people kept merit books in
which they recorded the number of times they per-
formed a ritual. Accumulated merit could be applied
to oneself or transferred to a group, to ancestors, or to
particular persons, such as the emperor. Quantifica-
tion also permitted simplification, and practices such
as reciting the Buddha’s name became popular among
lay believers who did not have the resources for more
complex rituals. The conflation of merit, benefits, and
blessings meant that the rewards of virtue could be en-MIJIAO(ESOTERIC) SCHOOLSparrows are freed by a merit-maker during the Thai new year festival in Bangkok, Thailand, 1999. AP/Wide World Photos. Repro-
duced by permission.