Inherited Sin and Karma

Religions often explain differences in people’s fortunes and native endowments as the consequence of an inheritance from the past. It is conceived in two ways, either as karma from past lives or as the sins of the fathers visited on their descendants. These doctrines encourage people to accept their lot in life and suffer it patiently, in order to expiate past deeds and earn merit for the benefit of future generations.

Karma means action, specifically one’s own actions committed either in this life or in past lives. In Hinduism and Buddhism, religions that hold to a belief in reincarnation, it is taught that people are bound to reap the fruit of their actions in another lifetime. However, these religions part company over whether a person’s situation is fated by karma. For Hinduism indeed it is. Karma determines one’s present circumstances. Hence inequalities of wealth, race, gender or caste are only apparent; in fact the universe is absolutely just and fair. Buddhism, on the other hand, denies that karma is a deterministic principle. As but one of the twenty-four factors (paccaya) that condition a person’s life, karma need not be actualized when other conditions are fulfilled. Through spiritual discipline and meditative practice, a Buddhist aspirant seeks to attain liberation and be released from the bonds of karma.

Most other religions, in both the East and the West, recognize sin to be inherited through the lineage. An individual is burdened by the sins of his or her ancestors, who also bequeath their traditions, attitudes and personality traits, not to mention physical traits. Their lives leave an impression that can endure through the centuries, coloring the experiences of many generations to come. A wise person, therefore, seeks to resolve these inherited problems, so they will not plague his offspring. He would rather leave merit for his children’s benefit. Father Moon teaches many insights about inherited sin, how it comes to pass and how it can be resolved.