If supernatural powers cannot overcome karma, why does the story of Maudgalyāyana rescuing his mother discuss offerings?

The story of Maudgalyāyana rescuing his mother reminds us not to assume great supernatural powers can directly handle everything. He sees his mother suffering in the hungry ghost realm, but food sent to her turns into burning charcoal and remains inedible. He consults the Buddha and follows the instruction to make offerings to monastics from all directions on the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, dedicating the merit to her. This religious story cannot establish that a person suffering today is being punished for lacking faith.

When discussing it, I emphasize more than the act of giving. Maudgalyāyana trusts that the Buddha does not speak falsely and has firm faith in the method. The recipients are monastics from all directions, beyond one individual, bringing together shared practice, offerings, and dedication of merit. He sincerely participates and acts, rather than merely saying he wants to save his mother without belief. This is the conviction I emphasize when discussing wishes becoming reality, not a claim that intense thought replaces all other conditions.

The recipients matter too. We understood the strength of reciprocal support and dedication in relation to these monastics' sincere, pure practice. I described the summer retreat as approximately three months, from the fifteenth of the fourth lunar month to the fifteenth of the seventh: communal practice with mutual care, reduced disturbance from snakes and insects, shared insights, and reminders where practice falls short, beyond merely shutting oneself away. The retreat ends on the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month, called the Buddha's Joyful Day, when offerings are made in the story.

There is no need to compare which seems more miraculous, powers or offerings. Consider faith, pure practice, actual giving, and collective dedication together. Removing all conditions and leaving 'pay for an offering to resolve all karma' loses the meaning. Learning from deities and Buddhas still requires your own character and practice.