Sharing Merits With Our Ancestors | 11 Oct 2024
by Ajahn Anan
Ajahn Anan reminds us of the profound Buddhist practice of sharing merit with our deceased ancestors and other suffering spirits. It focuses on the Sat Thai merit-making festival. A key teaching comes from the story of King Bimbisara, whose Hungry Ghost relatives were freed from their destitute state only after the King made offerings and dedicated the resulting merit to them. This illustrates that beings in other realms rely on the merit we share, which serves as their necessary sustenance. The talk emphasizes that dedicating merit is an act of the highest respect. The sincere practice of generosity, morality, and meditation (Dana, Sila, Bhavana) is our true spiritual wealth. By developing this wealth and wholeheartedly spreading the joy of our goodness to all relatives, both in blissful and suffering realms, we help them ascend and, in turn, cultivate greater happiness and growth in the Dhamma for ourselves.
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