Question: Who benefits from the merit-making when a donation is made to the temple which accommodates the deceased’s niche – the donor or the deceased?
Answer: If the donor has no intention to benefit anyone else, all the merits go to the donor. If the donor wants to dedicate merits to the deceased, one-seventh of the merits go to the deceased, while six-sevenths remain with the donor. This is a natural karmic law. Likewise applies to other good done, even if in the name of the deceased. If the deceased had instructed these donations before death, the ratio is reversed.
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