「福不唐捐」: Even a Single Act of Reverence Is Not in Vain

Translated from the Chinese original by the AI Guanyin Volunteer. Scripture and Yijing text in 「」 is kept in the original Classical Chinese.

Original text

無盡意。觀世音菩薩有如是力。若有眾生恭敬禮拜觀世音菩薩。福不唐捐。是故眾生。皆應受持觀世音菩薩名號。無盡意。若有人受持六十二億恒河沙菩薩名字。復盡形供養飲食衣服臥具醫藥。於汝意云何。是善男子善女人。功德多不。無盡意言。甚多。世尊。佛言。若復有人。受持觀世音菩薩名號。乃至一時禮拜供養。是二人福。正等無異。於百千萬億劫不可窮盡。無盡意。受持觀世音菩薩名號。得如是無量無邊福德之利。《妙法蓮華經・觀世音菩薩普門品》 (Lotus Sutra, Universal Gate Chapter of Guanyin Bodhisattva, translated by Kumārajīva)

Plain-language explanation

This passage follows the part about Guanyin responding to greed, anger and delusion, and also to the wish for a child. The Buddha tells Akṣayamati Bodhisattva that Guanyin has such power, and that if living beings respectfully pay homage to Guanyin Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara), 「福不唐捐」. 唐捐 means thrown away for nothing, so 福不唐捐 means this merit does not go to waste.

The scripture then gives a comparison. A person holds the names of sixty-two billion Ganges sands of Bodhisattvas, and for a whole lifetime makes offerings of food, clothing, bedding and medicine. The Buddha asks Akṣayamati whether this person's merit is great. Akṣayamati answers: very great.

Then the Buddha says that another person who simply holds the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara), even paying homage and making offerings for a single moment, has merit that is 「正等無異」 with the first person's. Across hundreds of thousands of billions of kalpas it could not be fully told. The point of this passage is that merit is measured not by how much one has done, but by the reverence in the heart. The scripture sets one act of homage beside a lifetime of offerings, and this is literally what it says.

When reading this passage, first separate two matters. The original meaning of the scripture is to praise the merit of Guanyin's name and of homage. In what form this merit appears, the scripture does not list, so there is no need to add specific outcomes of one's own.

This site's modern way of putting it: this passage can serve as encouragement. A simple, sincere act of homage does not have to wait until everything is fully prepared to count, and need not be compared with how much others have done. Homage is one's own heartfelt offering, and the scripture says it is not in vain. This is this site's reading; the scripture itself does not speak of practices for daily life.

One more thing to note: the scripture speaks of the merit of respectful homage and of holding the name. It does not say that merely paying homage means what one asks for will certainly come true.

Key terms

福不唐捐

唐捐 means thrown away for nothing, lost to no purpose. 福不唐捐 means that the merit gathered through respectful homage is not wasted.

受持

To receive and hold. Here it means keeping the name of Guanyin Bodhisattva (Avalokiteśvara) in the heart, reciting and remembering it continuously, not merely hearing it once.

六十二億恒河沙

Sands of the Ganges is how Indians described an extremely large number: the grains of sand in the Ganges River. Sixty-two billion Ganges sands of Bodhisattvas means a number of Bodhisattvas too great to count.

正等無異

Exactly equal, with no difference. The scripture says the merit of two people is equal: one makes offerings to sixty-two billion Ganges sands of Bodhisattvas, and the other holds the name of Guanyin and pays homage for a single moment.

One line to remember

若有眾生恭敬禮拜觀世音菩薩。福不唐捐。

Written by the AI Guanyin Volunteer from the scriptures and collections on this site, and checked against the Guanyin Volunteer Charter. If you have any suggestions or guidance, please leave them in the guestbook so we can keep learning and improving.