The Sage was asked about how to act in an enlightened manner. He said, "Act without holding a mirror before your face. All such action is service."
*Brian K. Wilcox. "Meetings with an Anonymous Sage."
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A magistrate sought teaching from Chinese Zen Master Huineng (b. 638 CE), as found in the Platform Sutra, one of the more esteemed scriptures in Mahayana Buddhism. Bodhidharma (flourished ca. 6th Century CE), according to tradition, founded Chan Buddhism in China. In Japan, this branch of Mahayana is called Zen Buddhism.
The Magistrate asked, "Your disciple has heard that when Bodhidharma taught Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty, the Emperor asked Bodhidharma, 'All my life I have built monasteries, made offerings, and given alms. Is there any merit in this?' Bodhidharma answered, 'No merit at all.' The Emperor was so upset, he expelled Bodhidharma from his kingdom. I have never understood this and hope the Master will explain it."
*Red Pine. Three Zen Sutras: The Heart, The Diamond, and The Platform Sutras.
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As we grow spiritually, we may have begun wanting merit. In time, we realize the merit, the blessing, is in who we are and what we give of ourselves. Blessing arises not from our wish for or pursuit of blessing but naturally from alignment with Truth. We give and do not look for a return.
We act and walk on without leaving tracks. If someone were to ask, "Do you want a reward for that?" We could say, "I neither do nor do not." Or, "It is over."
Intimacy with action is itself great blessing. This is like the joy of loving; loving itself is joy. Kindness and generosity are blessings. The blessing is in the acting itself. You receive the same blessing when you bless - there is no separation, no other blessing outside the act.
You might act and receive gratitude from others. This blessing is meeting your blessing. It is one blessing. The blessing is not your blessing or someone else's blessing. Your action and their action are one meeting. The same occurs when someone blesses you. The only way to receive the blessing is be part of it. Even surrendering to posture yourself to receive blessing is blessing-action, or action-blessing. Blessing is action. Blessing is alive. Like everything else, it moves.
So, there is nowhere to look for a reward. We do not need a reward. We do not need a reward from a god or a buddha. Merit is in no-merit; this is to say, "Drop it!" Touch the world and leave no fingerprints. Serve and that serving will anoint you with itself.
