Question
Melford Spiro observed that 30 percent of peasants’ income in Burma went toward gaining this concept, whose increase is the goal of a “life release” ritual linked to invasive species. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this protective force against karma created by charitable acts. Chinese Buddhists kept “ledgers” named for this concept, which can be “transferred” to dead relatives.
ANSWER: merit [or punya; accept bun tham; accept gōngguò gé; prompt on pattidāna or pāramitā or pariṇāmanā; prompt on kusala by asking “acts that are kusala help accumulate what concept?”]
[10m] Giving to the sangha is very effective at merit-making, since the sangha is one of this many “jewels” offering “refuge” to Buddhists. This many “poisons” lead to the cycle of karma.
ANSWER: three [or 3; accept three poisons or triviṣa; accept three jewels, triple gem, ti-ratana, or tri-ratna]
[10e] Merit transfers can help relatives be reborn in one of these paradise-like realms in which enlightenment is easier. Amitabha rules one of these realms, which name a branch of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
ANSWER: Pure Lands [or Buddha-fields, Buddhakshetra, Buddhakkhetta, jìngtǔ, or jōdo]
<Religion>
Summary
| 2024 ACF Nationals | 2024-04-21 | Y | 16 | 16.88 | 88% | 38% | 44% |
Data
| Florida | Arizona State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Berkeley A | Northwestern | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Chicago B | Columbia A | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| Chicago C | Truman State | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Stanford | Cornell A | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Harvard | Cornell B | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Indiana | Waterloo | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Maryland | Brown | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Minnesota A | Purdue | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Rutgers | WUSTL B | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Texas | North Carolina A | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Toronto A | Michigan | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Vanderbilt | North Carolina B | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Chicago A | WUSTL A | 0 | 10 | 10 | 20 |
| Yale A | Johns Hopkins | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| Claremont Colleges | Duke | 10 | 0 | 10 | 20 |