From the teaching series \”Inner Dreams Kindergarten\” by Luang Por Dhammajayo (Wat Phra Dhammakaya) — Exploring the profound reality of human existence through real-life case studies on the Law of Karma.
1. The Background: Secret Regret and the Haunting Cry of Unborn Souls
This poignant case study explores a critical ethical dilemma frequently encountered in contemporary society. In her youth, a woman faced an unexpected pregnancy during severe socio-economic instability and domestic discord. Overwhelmed by fear and practical unreadiness, she chose to terminate the pregnancy through clinical abortion. Decades later, despite having built a stable family and achieving material prosperity, the psychological scar of that decision remained deeply etched in her subconscious.
Night after night, she suffered recurring nightmares of an infant covered in blood, crying inconsolably while clutching her arms and gazing at her with sorrowful, hungry eyes. Concurrently, she developed severe, chronic gynecological afflictions—recurring ovarian cysts, uterine hemorrhages, and excruciating abdominal pain requiring repeated surgical curettages. Distressed by both physical illness and spiritual remorse, she consulted Luang Por Dhammajayo: Where does the spirit of an aborted child wander, and how can the severe karmic debt of abortion be resolved?
2. Luang Por’s Insight: The Karmic Mechanics of Feticide and the Wandering Spirit
Luang Por Dhammajayo clarified that according to the Law of Karma, human life begins at the precise moment of conception (Patissandhi-citta). Consequently, terminating a pregnancy constitutes the direct killing of a human being (Panatipata), incurring profound karmic retribution:
“Abortion—regardless of gestational age—is the destruction of a fully conscious human life awaiting rebirth to cultivate spiritual merits. The violent termination of the fetus generates immense terror, physical agony, and deep resentment within the subtle consciousness of the unborn child. Dislodged prematurely from the womb, the child’s spirit often remains bound as an earthbound entity (Samphavesi) hovering constantly around the mother’s aura, clinging to her shoulders, back, or reproductive organs. This parasitic spiritual attachment drains the mother’s vital energy, causing chronic fatigue, shoulder heaviness, and intractable uterine diseases. Upon physical death, those who perform or procure abortions descend directly into subterranean purgatory, subjected to searing metallic grinding machines that crush reproductive organs across countless eons. When eventually reborn as humans, residual demerit causes them to be repeatedly aborted, abandoned, or suffer recurring miscarriages across dozens of lifetimes.”
The spiritual consequences of abortion operate across three dimensions:
- Physical Retribution in Present Life: Chronic uterine disorders, tumors, hormonal dysfunction, reproductive complications, and unexplained pelvic pain.
- State of the Aborted Child’s Spirit: Trapped in an earthbound state of hunger and grief, lingering around the mother and causing psychological depression and nightmares.
- Post-Mortem Retribution: Purgatorial torment under heated surgical instruments, followed by future rebirths enduring premature feticide or abandonment.
3. Key Spiritual Lessons and Karmic Remedies
For those who have committed this grave error, Luang Por provided compassionate pathways to mitigate karmic debt:
- Sincere Contrition and Absolute Renunciation: Formulate genuine remorse, mentally request forgiveness from the child’s spirit, and take an inviolable vow never to participate in or encourage abortion again.
- Dedicate Grand Meritorious Deeds: Actively perform grand acts of charity—offering meals to the monastic community, sponsoring Sanghadana, and casting Buddha images—specifically dedicating the merit to the child’s spirit so it may be released from hunger and achieve celestial rebirth.
- Liberate Animals and Sponsor Destitute Children: Regularly save animals from imminent slaughter to cultivate longevity merits, and provide financial aid or educational supplies to orphans and underprivileged infants.
Canonical Tipitaka References
- Vinaya Pitaka, Maha-vibhanga (Vol. 1, Rule 176): The third Parajika rule explicitly stipulates that any monk who intentionally procures an abortion, provides abortifacient drugs, or assists in destroying a fetus incurs instantaneous expulsion from the monastic order, confirming that fetal destruction constitutes human homicide.
- Cula-kammavibhanga Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya (MN 135): The discourse establishes that taking human life produces severe subterranean suffering and results in shortened lifespans and chronic physical sickness upon return to the human realm.
Original Sermon Audio Recording: Listen to the complete sermon on YouTube: Ep.3 Case Study Law of Karma (Inner Dreams Series) by Luang Por Dhammajayo
