ABSTRACT When considering questions of Buddhism, business and the economy, the production and transfer of karmic merit is an often-overlooked resource, perhaps due to the unexamined assumption that merit is not, after all, ‘real.’ This essay aims to show that taking merit production seriously reveals a well-established economic model that operates alongside, and at times contrary to, systems of monetary exchange. Precisely because of the tendency to interface with money economies, networks of merit transfer can intervene in common economic practices underlying existing social conditions. For example, Xinxing (540–594), founder of the Sanjie movement, teaches that we can discharge our otherwise insurmountable karmic burden by making a single donation to the ‘Inexhaustible Storehouse.’ Donations to the Storehouse were thought to generate merit for the donors, a system already relied upon by Buddhist monasteries to raise money. However, unique to Xinxing’s Storehouse, anyone could borrow as needed, and repayment was optional. The Storehouse was so successful that it began to rival the government as a resource for social welfare, leading to its eventual disbandment. Moving from Xinxing to the present, this essay surveys other examples of merit-making rituals as drivers for charitable giving and socio-political change.

中文翻译：

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三姐的教训：择优经济是社会变革的催化剂

摘要在考虑佛教，商业和经济问题时，业力价值的生产和转让是一种经常被忽视的资源，这也许是由于人们未经审查就认为功绩毕竟不是“真实的”。本文旨在表明，认真对待功绩生产可以揭示一种完善的经济模型，该模型与货币兑换系统并存，有时甚至与此相反。恰恰是由于倾向于与货币经济进行互动，绩效转移网络可以干预现有社会条件下的常见经济实践。例如，三姐运动的创始人辛兴（540–594）教导说，我们可以通过向“取之不尽，用之不竭的仓库”捐款一次，来消除原本无法克服的业力负担。人们认为，向仓库捐款可以为捐助者带来好处，佛教寺院已经依靠该系统来筹集资金。但是，对于新兴仓库而言，任何人都可以根据需要借款，还款是可选的。仓库是如此成功，以至于它开始与政府竞争，成为社会福利的资源，最终导致了解散。从新兴到现在，本文考察了择优仪式作为慈善捐赠和社会政治变革驱动力的其他例子。导致其最终解散。从新兴到现在，本文考察了择优仪式作为慈善捐赠和社会政治变革驱动力的其他例子。导致其最终解散。从新兴到现在，本文考察了择优仪式作为慈善捐赠和社会政治变革驱动力的其他例子。