พระอาจารย์อธิบายว่าบุญใหม่และบาปใหม่ที่เราสร้างในปัจจุบัน จะเป็นตัวเหนี่ยวนำบุญเก่าหรือบาปเก่าในอดีตให้ส่งผลตามมา ดังนั้นการสั่งสมความดีเล็กๆ น้อยๆ ในปัจจุบันจึงสำคัญมาก เพราะเป็นกุญแจที่จะดึงเอาบุญเก่าที่สั่งสมมาให้ออกฤทธิ์The teacher explains that the new merit or new demerit we create in the present acts as the trigger that draws out our accumulated merit or demerit from the past to bear fruit — which is why even small acts of goodness in daily life matter enormously: they are the key that unlocks our stored-up merit.
A lay follower asked why the teacher's mentor said that past and present karma support each other, whether good or bad.
How the Three Natures Compete for Control
The teacher explained that past and present karma always support each other, whether good or bad. If we don't know what karma we made in the past, the solution is simply to make good karma now — bad will turn to good, and good will keep turning into something ever finer. The three natures — wholesome, unwholesome, and neutral — are constantly competing for control at an extremely fine level, down to fractions of a second. If side wins that moment, it takes charge and holds the mind in its grip, drawing in old demerit through the opening the new demerit created — turning a small matter into something enormous, because old demerit supplies the energy for it to spiral. Without old demerit backing it up, the matter would simply fizzle out as a passing flash of emotion.
New Merit Draws Old Merit the Same Way
The reverse is equally true for merit. Accumulating even a small new act of goodness — say, an ordinary visit to the temple — can draw out old merit accumulated in the past to support it. Someone who was ordained many times in past lives, when new merit draws that old merit forward, will feel drawn to ordain again, and once ordained, won't wish to disrobe, finding in that way of life. Someone who studied deeply in the past will find that old merit supports them in reaching an even deeper understanding this time, able to go on to teach and benefit others in turn.
New Merit Gives Little, But Matters Most
Old and new merit continually support each other, just as old and new demerit do. This is exactly why practicing Dhamma, or even small acts of good thought, speech, and action in daily life, matter so enormously — they are what draws our old accumulated merit forward to bear fruit. Life keeps improving, moving from good to ever finer and more excellent. All of it depends on new merit as the trigger for old merit. Someone who has accumulated much merit in the past will find this process easy and swift; someone with less accumulated merit may find this life more tiring — but the merit made now becomes the old merit that supports an even better life next time. Old merit matters because it gives its full, complete result; new merit gives only a little — but its importance lies in being the key that draws old merit out to act, every single day, whether through chanting and paying respects, sitting in meditation, radiating , or even small acts like offering alms.