Are the many setbacks we encounter in life really just a matter of bad luck? Could the beings we have harmed in the past—or even karmic connections left behind by our ancestors—affect what we experience in this lifetime?
In the livestream “’26 Spirit Season: Karma, It’s All Karma!”, Grandmaster JinBodhi shares five true stories to explore karmic connections across past and present lives, as well as ways to face karma and resolve karmic grievances.
[What You Will Learn]
- How karma affects our fate
- The benefits of accumulating merit
Past and Present Lives | Can Karmic Connections From the Past Affect the Present?
From the perspective of cause and effect, our past actions may influence what we experience today. Some people are born with physical or intellectual challenges; some generally do well, yet things always seem to go wrong at critical moments; others repeatedly miss out on opportunities for wealth and relationships. Could there be deeper causes behind these seemingly coincidental experiences in life?
Five True Stories | How Does Karma Affect Our Lives?
Lee, South Korea: Ten Years of Failed Investments Were Connected to Family Karma
For ten consecutive years, his investments ended in losses. Three years ago, he was also involved in a serious car accident that left him with a severe head injury. This string of misfortunes turned out to be connected to his father, who had passed away at a young age, and his ancestors...
A Mother and Daughter in the United States: The Daughter Ran Away From Home—and the Reason Was Connected to an Incident Involving Her Ancestors
The daughter suddenly left home and disappeared for several months. She spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and was later hospitalized after a car accident. Further investigation revealed an unexpected karmic connection involving an ancestor’s longtime fondness for eating shrimp...
👉Why would an ancestor’s eating habits affect the destiny of future generations?
The Lui Family of Hong Kong: They Made Their Fortune From Live-Snake Wine, But Their Descendants Faced One Problem After Another
The family became wealthy through the business of making wine with live snakes, but members of later generations began passing away one after another. By the third generation, some family members were suffering from severe depression and skin diseases. When they came seeking help, the enormous shadow of a snake appeared behind them...
👉What hidden consequences had three generations of this family business left behind?
Jiang Xiaorou: Repeatedly Challenging Taboos, She Died at Age 24
She entered haunted houses and cemeteries, wore clothing that had belonged to the deceased, and even behaved disrespectfully toward statues of deities. Just a few months later, tragedy struck...
👉From the perspective of karma, how does Grandmaster JinBodhi interpret her experience?
Xiaoping From New York: Six Months of Lower-Back Pain Brought Back Memories of 13 Miscarriages
She suffered from lower-back pain for six months, and none of the treatments she tried brought improvement. It was not until she heard a story about the spirits of unborn children that she reflected on having experienced 13 miscarriages and began making light-offerings and chanting for the children.
👉What changes did she experience after making light-offerings and chanting?
What Are the Benefits of Accumulating Merit? What Do the Buddhist Sutras Say?
After understanding karma, what is even more important is to begin making changes from this moment onward. Grandmaster JinBodhi shares that we can accumulate merit and sow positive karmic causes for ourselves and our families through practices such as chanting, making light-offerings, and performing good deeds.
- Accumulating Merit for the Deceased Can Also Benefit You
The Earth Store Sutra states that when merit is accumulated on behalf of the deceased, the deceased receives one-seventh of the merit, while the person performing the meritorious deeds receives six-sevenths.
- When Facing Major Obstacles, Make Light-Offerings and Pray for Blessings
The Medicine Buddha Sutra states that when facing major difficulties, one may make 49 light-offerings for 49 consecutive days and pray for circumstances to develop in a positive direction.
👉2026 Ullambana Festival Merit Program
2026 Ullambana Festival | Accumulate Merit for Ancestors and Beings Karmically Connected to Us
The Ullambana Festival is an auspicious occasion for honoring ancestors, repaying kindness, and performing good deeds. Grandmaster JinBodhi says that during this time, Earth Store Bodhisattva compassionately opens the gates of hell to liberate suffering beings. Therefore, we can take this opportunity to pray and dedicate merit to our departed loved ones, karmic creditors, and all beings with whom we have formed karmic connections, wishing that they may be freed from suffering and attain happiness.
Whatever causes we may have planted in the past, from this moment onward, we can still choose to cultivate more kind thoughts and perform more good deeds. You are welcome to visit Bodhi Meditation Centers around the world and participate in group practice, expressing your care for departed loved ones while also planting positive karmic causes for yourself and your family.
We may not be able to change the causes we planted in the past, but the positive causes we plant from today onward are ours to choose.
Further Reading:
’26 Spirit Season: How Spirits Are Connected to You
’26 Spirit Season: The Anger of the Ancestors