Merit tending to happiness
Merit tending to happiness (Tib. བསོད་ནམས་ཆ་མཐུན་ , Wyl. bsod nams cha mthun) means virtuous actions performed in conjunction with a belief in the real existence of the self, both of persons and phenomena. Such actions are productive of happiness in samsara but do not lead beyond it. They are therefore to be contrasted with "virtuous actions tending to liberation" (Tib. ཐར་པ་ཆ་མཐུན་ , Wyl. thar pa cha mthun), which produce liberation from samsara.
Alternative translations
Virtues tending to happiness (Padmakara Translation Group in ’’Treasury of Precious Qualities’’