The Law of Cause and Effect – also known as karma – is a universal principle that teaches that every thought, word, and action sets in motion a chain of consequences. Nothing happens by chance; all experiences are the fruit of seeds we have sown. In this series, we explore true stories of lives transformed through karmic lessons. These accounts reveal how spiritual awareness, repentance, and virtuous living can uplift the soul and reshape destiny.
A fetus is the early stage of human life, a developing being that requires protection and care. Yet in certain circumstances, a woman may decide to end this life developing within her body.
According to the UNFPA’s State of World Population 2022 report, nearly half of all pregnancies globally –about 121 million per year –are unintended, with over 60%of these resulting in induced abortion. The World Health Organization estimates that approximately 73 million induced abortions take place annually worldwide. Alarmingly, around 45% of these abortions are unsafe, contributing significantly to maternal mortality and morbidity.
Abortion may seem like a temporary solution, yet it leaves indelible marks that can never be erased. For a woman, abortion not only means ending a life, but also creating a lingering wound within the soul. The following story serves as a reminder of late regret, the price of choices made, and our responsibility toward the lives of those yet unborn.
I became pregnant just a few months after getting married. At that time, since I hadn’t yet understood the Buddha’s teachings and didn’t know about the dangers of karmic retribution, I thought our financial situation wasn’t stable enough to raise a child, so I had an abortion. Later on, as our business gradually grew and our finances improved, I gave birth to three children one after another. But when I became pregnant with the fourth, I felt no joy at all, because it disrupted our plans. So I chose to have another abortion, committing the same offense once more. Later on, some friends invited me to the temple, where I was fortunate to hear the Dharma teachings. Inspired, I resolved to study and practice Buddhism, reciting repentance prayers as part of my daily routine. From then on, I vowed to do good and refrain from evil, just as the Buddha taught.
This marks a crucial turning point – the moment when spiritual awakening begins. Through exposure to Buddhist teachings, she began to understand the law of cause and effect.
Upon self-reflection, I realized that I had committed a grave sin. The two abortions I had in the past have left me with endless regret. Now I am over 50 years old, and last year, during a medical checkup, the doctor told me I had breast cancer. I know this is retribution – the bitter fruit that has come from the karma of taking the lives of unborn children. Now the only thing I can do is calmly accept it. All the merits of my practice, I dedicate to the innocent unborn souls, and for their sake I strive to do many good deeds, praying that they may be reborn into a blessed realm. Thanks to studying the Buddha’s teachings and relying on the blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, although I have cancer, I do not suffer torment or unbearable pain.
Rather than responding with denial or despair when facing her illness, she accepted responsibility for her past actions and transformed her suffering into compassion. This exemplifies how spiritual understanding can turn even the most difficult circumstances into opportunities for growth and healing. She continues to share the story of her sister.
My younger sister Vy, however, wasn’t so fortunate. Her husband worked abroad, and although she had a very good job, she was extremely busy and had little time to care for her children. When she was pregnant with her second child, her husband was away. Since Vy did not understand the Buddha’s teachings, she felt no joy; instead, she thought this child would only bring burdens and worries, consuming much of her time. So, without even discussing it with her husband, she told the doctor that she did not want to keep the child. Blinded by ignorance, Vy committed the grave offense of taking a life. When her blessings ran out, misfortune arrived: at the age of 55, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Despite undergoing surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and every possible treatment, Vy eventually passed away.
This tragic comparison illuminates a fundamental truth about the power of repentance and spiritual practice versus the consequences of remaining in ignorance. Both sisters committed the same grave actions and both faced similar karmic consequences through breast cancer. However, their vastly different outcomes demonstrate that it is never too late for spiritual awakening and repentance to transform our destiny.
Let’s hear the final message of the woman in this story.
If I had learned the Buddha’s teachings earlier, I would not have committed such sins, nor would I have allowed my friends and relatives to do so. I have found that being vegan is truly beneficial – it helps purify both body and mind and lessens desires. On the other hand, eating meat stirs up stronger desires, makes the body impure, and self-restraint becomes difficult. What I want to tell everyone is this: when you are pregnant, never – under any circumstances – should you have an abortion. I hope that the very word “abortion” will be erased forever from this world, so that every unborn child may have the chance to be born as a human, encounter the Buddha’s teachings, cultivate the path, leave suffering behind, and find true happiness.
This heartfelt testimony is not meant to bring fear, but to awaken compassion and awareness. The Buddha taught that taking life, even that of an unborn child, creates deep karmic debts. Let us now reflect on the spiritual teachings about abortion and why understanding karma and repentance is so essential.
When asked about this topic by Western scientists, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (veg advocate) affirmed: “Buddhism holds that consciousness enters the living being from the very first moment of conception, because where the blastocyst is still considered an organism. So, they view abortion as taking a person’s life.”
In the Saṃyutta Nikāya (Connected Discourses), it is taught that being reborn as a human is as rare as the small amount of soil that clings to a fingernail compared to the vast Earth; countless beings must take rebirth outside the human realm. Abortion, therefore, is seen as harming compassion, diminishing moral values, and subjecting one to the law of cause and effect.
The Mahāyāna Sūtra on Longevity teaches that the crime of killing a fetus leads to rebirth in hell: “From above, fire blazes downward; from below, fire rises upward. On all sides, iron walls enclose, and iron nets cover both above and below. The four gates – east, west, north, and south – burn with the intense flames of karmic retribution. Each wrongdoer’s body is transformed and stretched across the eight thousandfold cycles throughout hell. Giant iron serpents spew poisonous fire that burns the sinner unbearably. From the mouth, eyes, or ears, fierce flames erupt, engulfing the sinner for countless kalpas. Iron eagles tear and rend the flesh, while iron dogs gnaw ravenously. The torturers have heads of bulls and faces of horses, wielding weapons, shouting thunderously like storms.”
Such vivid depictions of karmic consequences remind us of the seriousness of taking a life. Reflecting on this, Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) offers Her wisdom on how we can respond to such difficult moral situations.
“In Buddhism, to kill is absolutely a no-no. In many other ‘-isms,’ it’s the same. It’s just in Buddhism, it’s more strict. And the women who have been raised in Buddhism would think more before they take such a decision as an abortion.
But now, whatever mistake you have done, you can always repent and redo the present and the future to make up for it. Remember, one time, Mahatma Gandhi was asked a question. Some person asked him that that person had killed a Muslim child, so he probably will go to hell; what should he do? So Mahatma Gandhi told him that you can redo it. You can redeem yourself by adopting a Muslim child, and raise them up as best as you can. Humans can make mistakes due to ignorance, due to unfavorable situations, due to financial hardship, but we can always redeem ourselves. Return the sin by the favors. Do the opposite. Do what we can to erase the bad memories, guilty feeling, and the bad mistakes. Make a better future from now on.”
