How the Departed Receive Merit: Understanding the Teachings of the Thirokudda Sutta
Death is often seen as a separation. Loved ones disappear, and families are left behind with grief, memories, and unanswered questions. But in Buddhist teaching, the story does not end there. According to the Peta Vatthu and the Thirokudda Sutta, the departed continue a journey shaped by their actions, intentions, and the compassion of those still alive. This teaching reveals a profound truth: the living can help the dead, but not through tears or lamentation. They can help through wholesome actions, merit, and generosity.
This article explores how the departed receive merit step by step, based on the traditional Buddhist understanding. It explains the nature of hungry ghosts, the mechanics of merit transfer, the role of intention, and why offering alms to the Sangha is the highest gift. It aims to be clear and mature, suitable for anyone interested in Buddhist spirituality, whether a beginner or a long-time practitioner.
Understanding the State of the Departed in Buddhism
Rebirth into the World of Hungry Ghosts
In the Buddhist worldview, rebirth is not random. After death, beings arise according to their kamma, meaning the consequences of past actions. The Thirokudda Sutta describes beings who fall into the realm of petas, commonly called hungry ghosts. These beings are not punished by a deity. Instead, they simply experience the ripening of unwholesome deeds such as greed, cruelty, deceit, or stinginess during life.
Petas are described as wandering beings with intense hunger and thirst. They no longer possess bodies that can farm, trade, or work. They live in dependence on merit shared by their relatives. This state is a karmic reflection of their previous actions.
Returning to Former Homes
The Sutta says these beings return to places they once knew. They linger outside walls, near doorways, at junctions and empty spaces. This imagery is not meant to frighten. It teaches something deeper. The mind of a peta is filled with regret and longing. They stay around their former surroundings not because they are physically there, but because their attachment continues.
The Buddha explains this condition to show why compassion toward the departed is meaningful. Though no longer visible, these beings may still be waiting for help.
Why the Living Forget Them
When people eat, drink, and celebrate in their homes, they enjoy the fruits of their current kamma. Their minds are occupied by daily life. They rarely remember the dead who gave them support, love, and resources while alive.
This forgetting is not wickedness. It is a result of strong human conditioning. Desire, entertainment, work, and comfort distract the mind. Unless someone possesses mindfulness, they do not reflect on the impermanence of life, the sacrifices of parents, grandparents, siblings, or close friends. The dead fade into the past. They become silent memories.
The Sutta teaches that this forgetfulness causes suffering for the departed. They remain unseen, hungry for merit. They cannot access material food. They live only on spiritual nourishment.
Compassion Comes from Remembrance
Offerings Made with Purity
The Buddha praises relatives who remember their departed with compassion. They prepare offerings of food, drinks, or goods and donate them to virtuous individuals, especially the Sangha. The offerings must be done correctly, with purity and sincerity. The giver must remember the departed with the wish: “May this merit accrue to them. May they be happy.”
The act is simple. It is not magical. It is not ritualistic superstition. It is a practical expression of gratitude, compassion, and wholesome intention.
Merit Is Not Destroyed by Sharing
Unlike physical resources, merit does not diminish when shared. If one lights a candle using another, the original flame remains. The new candle shines without taking anything away. In the same manner, merit multiplies when shared.
Sharing is an act of generosity. When the giving is done with a clear intention and wholesome mind, the recipient gains merit, and the giver also benefits.
Departed Beings Rejoice When Receiving Merit
When offerings are made properly in their name, the peta beings gather and rejoice in the merit. Their response in the Sutta is full of gratitude.
They bless the donors: “May our relatives live long. They have given us this meritorious wealth. We have received offerings.” This is not poetic symbolism. The Buddha directly states that the departed experience real benefit, joy, and relief.
Their blessings are powerful, not because they control fate, but because gratitude is wholesome. Wholesome mental states generate good outcomes. The donor receives the fruit of generosity, while the departed relieve a portion of their suffering.
No Economy Exists in the Ghost World
The Sutta explains an important principle: beings reborn in the peta world cannot earn resources like humans. There is no farming, no business, no currency. They live entirely dependent on merit sent from the human world.
This teaching emphasizes the urgency of spiritual practice. A human life has opportunity. One can earn, save, donate, and cultivate wisdom. A peta cannot. Their suffering continues until the karmic cause is exhausted or until they receive sufficient merit from compassionate relatives.
This truth dispels confusion. Crying and wailing does nothing. Grieving produces no benefit. Only acts of generosity generate real change.
The Flow of Merit Is Like Water
The Sutta uses two profound similes.
Water Flows Downhill
When rain falls on mountains, the water always flows downward. It finds its way to lower levels. In the same way, merit given by relatives flows naturally to those in disadvantaged realms. It does not struggle to reach them. It follows the pathway created by intention and compassion.
The Ocean Fills from Many Rivers
The Buddha compares the accumulation of merit to the ocean receiving many streams. Even small acts of generosity can fill the ocean of merit for the departed. A single offering may not solve their problem entirely, but repeated acts, accumulated gradually, relieve their suffering over time.
These similes highlight a universal law. Merit moves according to intention, just as water moves according to gravity.
The Duty of Relatives
We honor the dead not by crying, but by gratitude. The Sutta instructs people to reflect on the kindness of departed relatives. One should think: “They supported me. They cared for me. They worked for me. They were my companions in life.”
This reflection transforms grieving into meaningful action. Instead of comparing grief to a storm inside the heart, the Buddha turns it into a bridge of compassion.
Giving merit is not superstition. It is a continuation of relationship through wholesome deeds.
Crying and Mourning Accomplish Nothing
The Sutta states clearly: lamentation is useless. Tears do not change the condition of the departed. They do not improve their karmic state. They only deepen the suffering of the living.
When someone dies, the grief is real. The emotional loss cannot be ignored. However, Buddhist wisdom teaches that sorrow must be guided by insight. Attachment to the body of the deceased causes misery for both sides. But compassion expressed through giving creates benefit.
Merit is a medicine. Crying is only a symptom of attachment.
Example of King Bimbisara
The Thirokudda Sutta is not theoretical. It was spoken about a real event. King Bimbisara, a powerful ruler, offered gifts to the Sangha in the name of his deceased relatives. The Buddha praised him. His offering produced great merit. The Sutta explains that at that very moment, beings who had been hungry ghosts received benefit and happiness.
This moment shows the living can reach the dead through wholesome deeds. Not through ritual magic, but through kamma.
Offering to the Noble Sangha
Giving to anyone with pure intention generates merit. But when one offers to the Sangha, the effect multiplies. The Sangha is described as a field of merit. A field accepts seeds and produces crops. Offering to noble monks is like planting seeds in rich soil. The produce is abundant and lasting.
This is why the Buddha taught that offerings made to enlightened beings or virtuous monastics are the most fruitful. Such offerings not only benefit the departed but also the donor’s own path to awakening.
Why Merit Transfer Works
Some may ask how a living person can transfer good deeds to the dead. Buddhist teaching answers this simply. Merit is not a material object. It is the wholesome force created by intention, generosity, and kindness. When one dedicates it to others, they share the energy of goodness.
Hungry ghosts cannot generate their own merit. They are trapped by the consequences of previous actions. When they receive merit, they rejoice. Their joy purifies their state and improves their rebirth possibilities.
The key mechanism is rejoicing. When the departed rejoice, they generate fresh merit from their own mind. This is why the Buddha said: It is not fruitless.
Merit Transfer Is a Path of Love
Offering food to the Sangha in the name of the departed is not just a ritual. It is love expressed wisely. It connects generations. It transforms grief into compassion. It honors the dead by supporting the living community of monks who continue the Dhamma.
This act benefits all three parties. The donor gains merit. The Sangha receives support. The departed receive relief.
This is a perfect example of interdependence in Buddhism.
Conclusion
The Thirokudda Sutta does not merely describe ghosts wandering around villages. It describes the human condition. People cling to life, work for comfort, and forget the sacrifices of others. When death separates us, grief arrives. Crying may feel natural, but it brings no benefit.
The Buddha offers a compassionate alternative. Give offerings. Make merit. Share it with those who have passed. This act transforms suffering into generosity, memory into gratitude, and loss into spiritual support. It helps the departed and brings peace to the living.
FAQs
1. Can merit be given to non-relatives?
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