associated not so much with canonical penance but with remission of the temporal punishment due to sin, giving on the way to indulgence in the precise sense of the term aside from such penance, which, although it continued to be spoken of in terms of remission of a certain number of days or years of canonical penance, is now expressed as the granting to someone who performs a pious action, "in addition to the remission of temporal punishment acquired by the action itself, an equal remission of punishment through the intervention of the Church". As grounds for this remission of temporal (not eternal) punishment due to sin, theologians looked to God's mercy and the prayers of the Church. Some saw its basis in the good deeds of the living members of the Church, as those of the martyrs and confessors counted in favour of the lapsi. The view that finally prevailed was that of the treasury of merit, which was first put forward around 1230. Protestant view In Philip Melanchthon's doctrine of imputed righteousness, it is on account of the alien merit of Christ that a believer is declared righteous by God. Buddhist equivalent Transfer of merit is a standard part of Buddhist spiritual discipline where the practitioner's religious merit, resulting from good deeds, is transferred to deceased relatives, to deities, or to all sentient beings. Such transfer is done mentally, and it is believed that the recipient can often receive this merit, if they rejoice in the meritorious acts of the person transferring their merit. See also Alexander of Hales Communion of saints Merit (Catholicism) Indulgentiarum Doctrina References Christian terminology Catholic theology and doctrine Treasures in religion