Are difficulties necessarily caused by ancestors or karmic creditors, and why might I be affected?

Ancestors, karmic creditors, and causes from past lives are aspects we can explore within our faith. They are not the only answer to every difficulty. Illness, work problems, and family discord still call for examining ourselves and practical circumstances. Do not assign all causes to ancestors before understanding the situation.

Discussing ancestral influence does not mean ancestors deliberately harm you. My understanding is that blood ties, concern, and worship create connections, through which unsettled ancestors may affect descendants. But connections vary in depth, and members of the same family may not feel the same. Some cases concern karmic repayment, others ancestors who have not been settled. Their investigation and handling differ too.

In the episode about a damaged cremation urn, I relayed a common Chinese understanding: if ancestors' circumstances are poor, descendants may also experience unfavorable influences, so their condition deserves care. Religiously, asking deities or Lord Bao to help communicate with ancestors may sometimes have greater strength than our own communication.

Conversely, a good life cannot all be attributed to ancestors. I responded to an online claim that rituals making ancestors wealthy would make descendants wealthy too. Ancestral conditions may influence things, but diligent work and skills matter as well. Having money does not necessarily come from ancestors having money, nor does lacking it necessarily mean ancestors are poor. All the different causes in life cannot be reduced to simply handling ancestors.

There are many online videos, and watching them still requires clear judgment. Seeing more is not necessarily bad; the important point is being able to discern. Without that ability, more viewing may instead bring greater confusion.

Each case needs its own assessment. A surname, birth year, or one statement about troubled ancestors cannot explain everything. Religiously, explore whether deliverance, repentance, or settling is needed. Continue practical care and action too: seek medical care for illness and communicate seriously about family problems. Otherwise, you may keep repeating one procedure while the actual difficulty remains untouched.

Some people arrive after hearing that their troubles involve ancestors or karmic creditors. I do not simply repeat what another person has said. Our tradition examines whether the current chess reading also supports that interpretation, showing people the same pieces so they can understand why we say it. Difficulty verifying unseen matters is not a reason to assign every problem the same cause.

In family-fortune consultations, we have also encountered people certain ancestors were responsible, while the reading did not support that. We cannot say it must be ancestors merely to follow their original view. First check what can be adjusted now, and investigate religious questions as needed. I have used the phrase 'reasonable suspicion': suspicion begins further inquiry; it is not confirmation.

YOYO recalled that when her mother was seriously ill, the family asked teachers to inspect ancestral tablets and perform rituals. She was young then and could not determine whether those arrangements were properly completed. That experience cannot establish the tablets as the cause of illness. In the same discussion, I emphasized practical cooperation: suitable doctors and medical resources are still needed. Religious understanding cannot omit them.

One client's business had already become very difficult. Repeated ancestral and karmic-creditor work elsewhere had not provided direction. Our assessment called instead for closer attention to his methods and earlier decisions, alongside what our tradition calls a wealth-robbing harmful influence. Since we had not identified ancestors or creditors as the main issue, we could not keep using the same approach simply because someone else had. Clarifying causes comes before knowing what needs changing.

I discussed a client who, during ancestral work years earlier, promised to hold a merit ceremony after his health improved. He did not fulfill it, and later developed health problems again. Asked whether the ancestors wanted to put him to death, I clearly answered no. I explained it through unresolved connections and promises, not through ancestors or deities deliberately punishing him with illness.

I also reiterated then that poor health is not always connected with ancestors; some cases involve deterioration of the physical body. This client had undergone surgery, transplantation, and other medical treatment. We believed a later ritual was satisfactorily completed, but I still said subsequent developments would depend on how matters unfolded, while hoping he would improve. 'The ritual is complete' cannot become 'health has recovered.' Seeing illness in someone else cannot justify announcing that their ancestors must have done something wrong.

Discussion of ancestors should also turn our attention back to ourselves. I have said that this life's actions may not affect only us. Within karmic faith, harmful acts may burden descendants, and good acts may benefit them. Instead of only asking what ancestors left behind, examine what you are leaving now. I would rather leave good things than harmful karma. This encourages care with conduct; it cannot be reversed into declaring that a troubled or ill family's ancestors must have been bad.