dedicating merit to an unborn child who died

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anthbrown84
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dedicating merit to an unborn child who died

Post by anthbrown84 »

hello all,

Does anyone here know of any way I can dedicate merit to my unborn child who died before my wife and I could ever meet him/her.

The child never had a name, nor did we ever get to see it because it was an early mis-carriage.

I have learned to deal with my level of suffering where this is concerned, but I do want to share merit with my child who never got a chance to live in this life. I fear this being had some very bad kamma from previous lives, hence short life span, and I would like to share my merit with him/her.

Also, does anyone know of a timeframe when consciousness enters the being?? My wife lost the pregnancy 8 weeks in, is this considering to be a being by this point in The Buddhas teachings?

Thankyou

Anthony
"Your job in practise is to know the difference between the heart and the activity of the heart, that is it, it is that simple" Ajahn Tate
sentinel
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Re: dedicating merit to an unborn child who died

Post by sentinel »

anthbrown84 wrote: Mon Dec 03, 2018 3:36 pm hello all,

Does anyone here know of any way I can dedicate merit to my unborn child who died before my wife and I could ever meet him/her.

The child never had a name, nor did we ever get to see it because it was an early mis-carriage.

I have learned to deal with my level of suffering where this is concerned, but I do want to share merit with my child who never got a chance to live in this life. I fear this being had some very bad kamma from previous lives, hence short life span, and I would like to share my merit with him/her.

Also, does anyone know of a timeframe when consciousness enters the being?? My wife lost the pregnancy 8 weeks in, is this considering to be a being by this point in The Buddhas teachings?

Thankyou

Anthony
Hi Anthony ,

I'm sorry to hear that , my condolences . This is surely sad for both of you and your wife .
From my own understanding and experience ,
We do not know whether is of previous life what kamma vipaka , probably , but , you can certainly give your best dedication to the unborn child . First , you could offer your unborn child a name . Since you do not know the child is of which gender , why not choose a dhamma name (eg. Mettiya) for him/her ?

I would consider 8 weeks is a being . Be strong of your self , and ask your wife to take good care of her health after miscarriage . She needs to get some nutrition for health .

It would be good to find a proper place to bury the unborn child foetus or cremate it and keep in a urn to place in buddhist temple if possible .

My elder sister passed away few years ago , first I dreamt of her in woeful state , for two or three times still in lower realm , but, I keep on making merits and dedicating to her , only recently I dreamt of her become better and came to thanks me.

Best regards .


PS. Btw , I am sending my dedication to your unborn child and may she reborn in a better state .
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dharmacorps
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Re: dedicating merit to an unborn child who died

Post by dharmacorps »

I am sorry for this loss Anthony. I just lost a few in my family (cats and humans). I have had similar thoughts, and decided to focus on dedicating the merit of my practice to them every day. I have decided to leave out of the discussion issues of kamma because it tends to confuse me and damage my concentration. Maybe this will help. :anjali:
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salayatananirodha
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Re: dedicating merit to an unborn child who died

Post by salayatananirodha »

offerings to the dead https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html
If the child is in the ghost realm currently he or she can receive an offering. If not, you still don't go without reward for making an offering. The child did get to live a short life span, in relative comfort compared to birth in one of the lower realms. Even though it was short, it was the fruit of good kamma
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anthbrown84
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Re: dedicating merit to an unborn child who died

Post by anthbrown84 »

Thankyou all for your kindness and help also.


James, that was a lovely story about your sister coming to visit you to thank you, how amazing.

All, I will follow your advice and dedicate merit in my own way.

Even if the baby can not receive the merit, it may some day bare fruit for him/her.

I feel responsible as a parent, even though I never got to meet, and I would like to help as much as possible. I am hopefully going to cook a meal for the local monastery, along with the help of my wife.

Thankyou all again!


Anthony
"Your job in practise is to know the difference between the heart and the activity of the heart, that is it, it is that simple" Ajahn Tate
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