We all wish to attain happiness in our lives, but that is merely impossible if we leave our ancestors in oblivion. This is because ancestry is something much more close to us than we think.

 

You were brought into existence by your parents, and so were your parents born from your grandparents. You stand on this Earth thanks to your family’s unending lineage.

 

This is an undeniable truth.

 

The relationship of our ancestry with ourselves can be illustrated as that of the roots and leaves of a tree. Only with a strong root can the leaves grow healthier. And, if the roots are rotten, the leaves will become ill, and the tree will eventually die. 

 

If our roots, our ancestors, were left unattended and suffering in a state of sorrow and attachment in their afterlife, it is unquestionable that we and our children, the trunk and leaves, would face the effects of their pain: We would unconsciously follow the same woeful fate our ancestors have lived.  A Hungarian psychoanalyst and psychiatrist named Leopold Szondi affirmed that “the repressive consciousness of the ancestors determines the fate of the descendants” after his extensive research on the human psyche of ancestors and present people. The psychic connection between ancestry and oneself is therefore close to being clarified in the field of science, and we hope this fact will be widely known by society.

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In terms of spiritual science, it is common to receive negative influences from external spiritual entities under the negative ancestral influences. In such a case, tending to the pains of the ancestors is the top priority.

 

If you find yourself or your family in the following conditions:

• Chances don’t come despite your efforts;

• Frustration or failure in all attempts for success;

• Constant family quarrels;

• Youth’s addiction to drugs;

• And the inability to think positively about life;

You must realize that your family tree is ill and must seek its healing and recovery.

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Yet, this healing and recovery cannot be done through scientific means, and we believe that this is when Buddhism comes to play a role. We, the Agon Shu Buddhist Association, therefore, emphasize the nurture of the spiritual family trees for the harmony and happiness of one’s family, and so do we hold the Memorial Lantern Festival every year and other memorial services.

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