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puṇya-jñāna-saṃbhāra

A Dictionary of Buddhism | 2004 | 674 words | Copyright

puṇya-jñāna-saṃbhāra (Skt.). The accumulation of merit and awareness. According to Mahāyāna teachings, a being needs to accumulate sufficient stores of merit and awareness to progress along the path. Merit (puṇya) is necessary to overcome defilements (kleśa), and knowledge or awareness (jñāna) to overcome ignorance (avidyā). According to some interpretations of the Mahāyāna doctrine of the Buddha's three bodies (trikāya), it is merit that results in the nirmāṇa-kāya and saṃbhoga-kāya of a Buddha, while awareness results in the dharma-kāya.

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