Question asked by Zhen Lin
Do we really dedicate bad karma to our parents if we do not do enough dharma? I always understood that each and everyone's karma is independent. I only know that if i do my prayers and dedicate my prayers to people, e.g. my parents, i help them. I did not know that by not doing enough dharma work and having clean samaya will dedicate bad karma to our parents. Is that really true? Please advise as I am lost.
Dear Zhen Lin,
You are right that everyone’s karma is independent. Everyone has his/her own karma. Because you have a karmic link to your parents, it is possible to dedicate your merits to them. But it is not possible to “dedicate” bad karma to anyone. If you have committed any “bad deeds”, it is you who will receive the fruits of the negative karma, in this life or in future lives. Not doing enough dharma is not necessarily bad karma. It’s just that you are not collecting the merits that you will need to support your spiritual practice. If you think you have broken your samaya with your guru, you can repair the samaya by immediately doing what you are supposed to do, present a gift to your spiritual guide (optional), and seek forgiveness. Then nothing bad will happen to you, and definitely nothing bad will happen to your parents. Please continue to do more dharma and dedicate your merits to your parents.