Divine grace

==Eastern religions==

=== Hinduism ===
{{main|Kripa (philosophy)}}
[[Hindu]] devotional or [[bhakti]] literature available throughout India and Nepal is replete with references to grace ([[Kripa (philosophy)|kripa]]) as the ultimate key required for spiritual self-realization.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060512000536/http://www.hindu.com/2005/06/30/stories/2005063000400900.htm Descent of divine grace] ''[[The Hindu]]'', June 30, 2005.</ref>{{Additional citation needed|date=September 2011}} Some, such as the ancient sage [[Vasistha]], in his classical work [[Yoga Vasistha]], considered it to be the only way to transcend the bondage of lifetimes of [[karma]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.venkatesaya.com/241_vasistha01_months_tags/index.vasistha01_months_tags.php?m=12&d=27|title=Yoga Vasistha - Daily Readings - Swami Venkatesananda|last=venkatesananda|website=www.venkatesaya.com|access-date=2011-10-28|archive-date=2013-04-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130402210124/http://www.venkatesaya.com/241_vasistha01_months_tags/index.vasistha01_months_tags.php?m=12&d=27|url-status=dead}}</ref>
One [[Hindu philosophy|Hindu philosopher]], [[Madhvacharya]],  held that grace was not a gift from God, but rather must be earned.<ref>''Great Thinkers of the Eastern World'', Ian McGreal.</ref>

===Buddhism===
{{Main|Amitābha|Faith in Buddhism|Jōdo Shinshū|Primal Vow|Shinjin|Tariki (Buddhism)|Transfer of merit}}
While many [[schools of Buddhism]] emphasize self-discipline and effort as the path to [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|enlightenment]], something akin to the concept of divine grace is present as well. One of the most prominent examples of this is the doctrine of the [[Jōdo Shinshū]] branch of [[Pure Land Buddhism]], founded by the 12th-century Japanese monk, [[Shinran]]. In Buddhism, the concept of [[merit (Buddhism)|"merit"]] refers to the power of good [[karma]] built up over time through meditation, effort and spiritual practice- in Japanese, "[[Jiriki]]," or "self-power." This merit can be transferred to other sentient beings by a spiritual adept or [[bodhisattva]], motivated by [[Karuṇā|compassion]] for all beings cultivated through attaining [[bodhicitta]]. For Shinran, this ability to muster up genuine self-directed spiritual attainment is lacking in almost all humans, who are in reality "bombu," or foolish beings lost in a sea of delusion and selfishness such that even their good actions are tainted by selfish motivations. The only hope for spiritual advancement is giving up on Jiriki and, through [[faith]], or "[[shinjin]]," embracing the Tariki, or "other-power" of an infinitely-compassionate being. This being is [[Amitābha|Amida Buddha]], who countless millennia ago made a [[primal vow]] to save all sentient beings by building up enough merit to establish a [[pure land]], into which beings could be reborn simply by invoking his name, and in which they could easily attain full enlightenment. The key difference between Shinran's school and other schools of Pure Land Buddhism is the idea that even this faith and the resulting small effort of [[nianfo|reciting Amida's name]] is impossible without the intervening grace of Amida Buddha working in the deluded human being through the power of Amida's primal vow. Therefore, the recitation of Amida's name is seen more as an expression of gratitude for already-existing grace rather than the self-induced catalyst for a grace not yet present.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://bschawaii.org/shindharmanet/bloom/ab-writings/amazing/|title=Amazing Grace: Christian and Buddhist &#124; Shin Dharma Net}}</ref>