འཕགས་པ་གནས་འཇག་པའ་མད་ཞས་བྱ་བ intro.5

intro.5

If one refrains from all these things, even just for one day, one is certain to gain vast amounts of merit. Following this explanation, Vasiṣṭha asks the Buddha how, in terms of merit accumulation, gift-giving compares to maintaining the eightfold observance. The Buddha’s response is definitive: the merit produced by generosity does not even come close to a fraction of the merit born of maintaining the eightfold observance. Moreover, the Buddha adds, by maintaining the eightfold observance, one stands to be reborn into heavenly realms where the gods enjoy happiness for far longer than the average human lifetime, and that divine happiness makes sovereignty in the mundane world pale in comparison.