【Description】
Mrs. Bai’s son suffers from rickets, and after her husband’s early death, she has been raising her son alone, surviving through begging. The source of her suffering, however, traces back to a previous life… Meanwhile, another young woman suffering from a severe illness discovers her family’s debts have led to a series of relatives passing away on the same day, creating a terrifying cycle.
The saying goes, “If there were no debts in the past life, there would be no meeting in this life.” How do the effects of doing good and committing evil impact our lives? Find out more in “Past Debts Shape Present Encounters”
【Content】
Case 1: The Mother of a Child with Rickets
I met her because of her son’s health issues. Her son had a disease called rickets. I asked, “Where is the child’s father?” Mrs. Bai smiled and said, “He died at 32, from a fall at a construction site.” Why did she suffer so much? In this life, she had two loved ones who caused her pain.
There is a story. This story is called Mrs. Bai. This was about 25 or 26 years ago. I met her because of her son’s health issues. She used a wheelchair to push her son, who was in his 20s, to see me. Of course, I helped her. But her son did not recover to walk like a normal person. He could walk, but shakily. It was the first time this 20-something son had walked since he was born. His first time using his own feet. He had a disease called rickets. His limbs were all curled up and bent. He was also extremely thin, like a skeleton. When he sat in the wheelchair, there were pillows stuffed in front and back. Otherwise, he would wobble.
To better help her child, I talked to her to understand her situation. I asked, “Where is the child’s father?” Mrs. Bai smiled and said, “He died at 32, from a fall at a construction site.” I asked about her son’s condition. “Has he ever walked since he was born?” “No, never walked before. Today, you helped him walk for the first time.”
“All these years, with your husband gone, has anyone helped take care of him?” “No, we don’t have any relatives. Relatives don’t visit us much. We are poor, and my husband died young. His family doesn’t really care about us. Our life is very difficult, with no income. I need to take care of my son, so I can’t go out to earn money.” How do they live? They rely on the stalls and restaurants, begging in those places. She has to push the child around the small vegetable stalls. People would feel sorry for them and give some food. That’s their life.
“Is taking care of the child tiring?” She smiled and said, “No, not tiring. It’s just like that.” Why? Because she’s used to it, it’s been over 20 years. I asked, “You have no income. Don’t you find this life hard?” “No, it’s actually quite fun, not hard at all,” she answered. I didn’t dare to ask more. She was smiling, and that made me cry. I couldn’t listen further.
When most people talk about their pain and sorrow, they cry loudly. More reserved people would wipe their tears. But she kept laughing. In fact, she had a breakdown and was suffering in extreme pain. She thought, “What’s the use of crying? No one can help me. I have to take care of my son’s every need, from eating to toileting. I’ve cried countless times. Does it solve anything?” Finally, she had a realization. She was always smiling and laughed with everyone she met. People didn’t understand, thinking she was leading a happy life. But in reality, she suffered immensely.
A fellow practitioner asked, “Why does Mrs. Bai have such a hard life?” In Buddhism, it’s always about karma and causality. Why does she suffer so much? After two days, when I felt more relaxed, I entered a meditative state to see her. It was like watching a movie. Some movie-like stories emerged.
In her previous life, Mrs. Bai was a man. His family had some money, and was considered middle class. His father might have been a minor staff member in a government agency, earning a stable income. However, this child got addicted to drugs. In the past, drugs, gambling, and prostitution were often linked. Anyone who did drugs was likely involved in the other two as well. These three vices.
After getting addicted to drugs, he got addicted to gambling. In the end, he drained all the family’s money. He forced his parents to sell the house, and spent everything from the sale. His family still had some farmland, about 10 acres. He forced his parents to sell those off too. The child used up all the money. It didn’t last a year before it was all spent again.
After selling all their property, his parents felt too ashamed to face their neighbors. They wandered to another place to beg for a living. Eventually, they froze to death in another province. The parents died together. Before they froze to death, they swore to collect the debts in their next life. In this life, Mrs. Bai’s husband, Mr. Bai, died in his 30s. He was the father who died of anger in the past life. The son in the wheelchair was the mother who died of anger in the past life. In this life, they became the two people who caused Mrs. Bai unbearable pain.
A fellow practitioner asked at that time, “Grandmaster, do you think in this life, their sorrow and debts can be settled and balanced?” I continued to look, but it was strange. Things kept spinning like a roulette wheel, for a very long time, over a hundred thousand times. They kept coming back to seek repayment from this unfilial child, to make him suffer. Like a repeated cycle. For such a tragic life experience like Mrs. Bai’s, I thought enduring such suffering once would be enough. But it turns out there are over a hundred thousand more times.
If you perform acts of good, the ratio of resulting merits is over 1:10,000. The same goes for acts of harm and the resulting karma, also over 1:10,000. Mrs. Bai’s reincarnation means continuous suffering. In the next life, she might not be Mrs. Bai. She could be Mr. Li. The name changes, but the suffering remains the same.
Case 2: Ancestors Collecting Debt
Many people undergo such punishment and suffering. A fellow practitioner, whom I met a few days ago, told me she had a very serious illness. She is a young lady. When I looked at her, I felt that something was not simple about her. Because there were dark shadows behind her that also resembled ancestral temples. I said, “Your illness is not simple, it seems related to your ancestors.” It has a feeling of an ancestral temple. An image of a temple appeared and written there is “Ancestral Temple.” I asked the spirits, “What kind of temple is this? Why is it written there ‘Ancestral Temple’?” The spirits told me it’s an issue with her ancestors.
So I said, “Your problem is not simple. It’s not just an illness. It might be related to your ancestors.” She simply responded, “Ah! My grandfather’s brother, my fifth great-uncle, and his descendants, several of them have died. And my grandmother passed away on her own birthday.” Her grandmother died on her own birthday. After that, several of her relatives also died on her grandmother’s birthday. They didn’t die in the same year. But it’s still terrifying, right? Who will die next? The more I think about it, the more afraid I get.
I feel such pity. When I trace back the events, I think there might be a reason behind it. How did such a phenomenon come to be? Her great-grandparents might have been driven to death by her grandparents. Especially by her grandmother. They wanted her grandmother to die on her birthday, not letting her celebrate her birthday. And also punish her grandfather’s brothers. All of them encountered problems. What is this called? This is called ancestral debt collection.
The sins of harming your parents. Your parents would blame you and then die with resentment. Resenting you, their descendant or their son or daughter-in-law. The most troublesome part is that your descendants would face issues too, across generations. I don’t know how many generations it’d take to settle the debt. Very terrifying. Everyone who heard it was horrified. Their hair stood on end from fear. This is very terrifying. But this is also the reality.
If there is no debt from the past life, there is no encounter in this life. In this life, all your relatives, classmates, and neighbors that you get along with, you both have a relationship of mutual debts. With interactions come mutual debts. Why do married couples always argue? It’s because of debt. They can even argue every day. Some have early realizations and say, “Let’s split up.” They get divorced to save their lives. And some argue until one of them suddenly dies. This is called “death separation.” Divorce is “living separation.” There are reasons behind all this. Mutual debts, right?
When such fates come together, there is mutual debt. They become entangled, inseparable. Their bond is unbreakable. Fated encounters are either about settling debts or repaying kindness. Thus, when people meet and come together, it is a matter of fate. What kind of fate is it exactly? It’s because of mutual debts. If you stole a piece of his bread in a past life, in this life, you might lose everything. Because the repayment ratio is over 1 to 10,000. The energy gets amplified. Like a trumpet, when I blow it, the mouth might be small, but the sound it produces is huge, it’s infinite.
Doing good deeds also amplifies in the same way. Some people say that offering incense to Buddha can bring abundant harvests. This is another example of do good, get good. If you sincerely offer incense before Buddha, it’d bring prosperity to your family. The merits got magnified.
Will I get good outcomes just by offering incense? Have you heard of the butterfly effect? For example, in the Philippines, a butterfly flaps its wings, resulting in a typhoon in Canada, blowing cars into the sea. This is possible. It’s not just a romantic idea. That’s how it really is. A small energy can lead to significant effects. It undergoes transformation and development, and can become enormous. The starting point is small, but its impact later is immense.
(Q: How can I truly forgive someone who has wronged me, and not just let it remain a thought in my mind?)
The greatest issue faced by humans in this world is death. The greatest fortune is being human. As long as you are alive, all worries are not really problems. They can’t become obstacles in life. The person you want to forgive was once your family member or a very good friend. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have felt such pain and now have thoughts of forgiveness.
Facing resentment and hatred with kindness brings beautiful and good results. If you face beauty and kindness with hatred, that is equivalent to harm and may result in disaster. If you face hatred with revenge, that is equivalent to death. It may sound harsh, but if you remember this, it might save your life in the future.
As long as you are alive today, as long as you can still open your eyes tomorrow morning, you should think this world is the only one, and it’s yours. There are no enemies, and no grudges to resolve. Thus, you achieve great freedom. If you’re debating forgiveness, it means hatred is still buried in your heart. Where is the freedom in that?
Your hatred will become an obstacle in your body. It may even turn into a tumor. Do you know that it’s poison? It’s called revenge, and the sins accumulate more and more. In the end, it drags you deeper and deeper. But those who hate usually don’t think this way. Unless they listen to our teachings, only then do they understand forgiveness.
Now, let’s think about it in terms of time. Does anyone remember where they were a hundred years ago? And who can imagine where they will be a hundred years from now? We didn’t exist before, and we won’t exist 100 years later either. What hatred is there?
We should live happily every day. Every day, we should rise like the sun. View all people and things in the world with the warmth of kindness. Forgive the entire world just like the sun. We will then attain happiness and peace.