As the second-in-command, he earned great merit in defeating the Jurchens.

The act of returning large amounts of booty back to the temples earned him religious merit.

Somehow he would have to do the deed alone, but if he could achieve that it might earn him extra merit.

Donors, it is thought, earn merit for their next life.

Party officials are allowed to participate at Buddhist ceremonies and even to be ordained as monks to earn religious merit following the death of close relatives.

Buddhist monks earn merit through mindfulness, meditation, chanting and other rituals.

From time immemorial, persons wishing to earn merit have been offering animal sacrifice.

Some 2,230 of the original 4,450 temples survive, a legacy of the Buddhist belief that to build a temple was to earn merit.

This earned him sufficient merit to create similar cruceiros throughout the region, though none s as magnificent as the aforementioned opus.

The paintings are made to earn religious merit both for the artist and the patron.