How to have a son with good karmic connection to us

Dear friends, today's story tells us how to have a son with good karmic connection to us.

The following story was recorded in the Warning of Adversity Caused by Lust. In the city of Zhengzhou of Yangwu County in Henan Province, there was a man named Shi Bangmei. His father was a low rank military officer who had no son when he turned 60. Once, when he was escorting troop supplies to Chengdu, his wife asked him to get a second wife so that he could have a son to carry on his family name. Per his wife's request, Shi Bangmei's father obtained a beautiful woman in Chengdu. When he returned to the residence, he found that her hair was tied up with a strip of white cloth. He asked her why. The woman cried and said, "My father was originally from Duxia. He had assisted the chief of the state. Unfortunately, he passed away recently. My mother and I were travelling back to our hometown to bury my father. We run out of money when we were passing here and we were unable to go on. My mother had to sell me to have more money so that she could carry on taking my father's body back to our hometown for the funeral." Bangmei's father listened with pity. He sent the woman back to her mother and gave them some more money as a gift. He also made arrangements for them to return home. When Shi Bangmei's father returned to Zhengzhou, he told his wife about the incident. His wife said, "It is a great virtue to save people from danger." It didn't take long for his wife to become pregnant. One night, she dreamed of a purple-gold person sitting in the middle of the guest hall. The next morning she gave birth to her son Shi Bangmei. Shi Bangmei grew up and obtained first place in the Imperial Examination at the provincial level, and later became the minister that was the highest leader in charge of official personnel affairs.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was a man named Mo Wentong who lived in Yunjian County. His family were peasants for generations. He was always happy to help others. One day, Mo Wentong took twenty taels of silver to buy rice seeds. When he moored his boat to the bank of the Huangpu River, he saw two men were about to drown a young girl who was tied up.  Mo Wentong hurried forward to ask the reason. The men told him that she was the daughter of their master. The master heard that she had had an affair and could not tolerate the shame she had brought upon their ancestors and clan relatives, so he decided to drown her in the river. After hearing this, Mo Wentong said, "This girl is young and ignorant. Moreover, your master had not witnessed it himself, so if he made a mistake, she would have died for nothing! I will give you twenty taels of silver, please let her go." After the girl was freed, she knelt in front of Mo Wentong crying and said that she was willing to serve the Mo family for a lifetime to repay him for saving her life. However Mo Wentong said indifferently, "I saved you not because I desire you, but pity that you would die for lust at such a young age. Now it's getting late and my boat is too small for you. You should go ashore and find somewhere safe to stay overnight." When Mo Wentong returned home, he dreamed that a deity said to him, "You have saved a life and accumulated a lot of virtue. Heaven will give you filial sons and grandchildren." After that, Mo Wentong's son Sheng successfully passed the imperial examinations. His grandson Hao obtained second place in the country recommendations. Hao's son Yu obtained first place in the imperial examinations. Yu's son Ruzhong also obtained second place in the country recommendations and became a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations in the year of Jiajing Wuxu. He later held the highest position in the province.

Mr. Sima Guang, a historian of the Song Dynasty, pointed out in his family motto: Future generations may not be able to keep the funds you have accumulated for them; they may not be interested in reading the books you have left for them; it is better to accumulate some virtues for your descendents as a long-term plan.

We can learn that it is better to rely on ourselves than asking for protection from others. If we try to accumulate more virtues and do good on our own, not only can our own requests be granted, but our descendants will live good lives in the future as well.

Dear friends, the ancients are our best teachers, let us learn the stories of the ancients together.

There is a seed of kindness in everyone's heart. We can let it take root and ensure its prosperity.

That's today’s story, thank you for listening. See you next time!