As a women, I believe that our greatest fear is not the pain
of giving birth but the fear of miscarriage or having a child with
abnormalities. It is always heartbreaking when we see children suffering from
illness, especially those who does not have the means to undergo treatment for
their illnesses. I have always ponder if I should bear children. Why not I just adopt which will save me the misery and fear of child bearing? Furthermore, our world is already over populated and there are so many less fortunate children who needs our help.
Then I stumbled into this book below which has shed some light into my dark hole. Lol
"Some children are born with incurable illnesses. It is a difficult, heartbreaking situation
for any parent to face this kind of karma. But everyone possesses the noble
life-state of Buddhahood and born with a valuable mission.
One mother's third daughter was born with Down
syndrome. The doctors also told her that
the child had two holes in her heart.
Surgery could solve the heart problem,
but she would have to live with Down syndrome for the rest of her life.
Regardless, the
mother showered her new baby with love,
firmly believing that her child was born with an important mission in
life. Her eldest daughter, a sixth grader, and her second-eldest daughter, a second grader, also loved and cared for their new baby
sister. When their baby sister smiled, the two sisters broke into smiles, too.
The mother thought our new baby girl has already brought her two sisters
together this way she clearly was born with a wonderful mission!" When the baby girl made sounds or turned over
in her crib or played with a toy,
everyone in the family applauded happily The second eldest daughter
wrote in a composition for school: "Just seeing how hard my little sister
is trying, I feel encouraged and she's
taught me that I should never give up..I'm very proud of her. No matter what
happens, as her big sister I'll protect and
take care of her all my life.
The eldest daughter also wrote in a school composition.
"I'm so proud to have this angelic sister who has overcome surgery and
brings such joy to everyone in our family. Some children die of illness soon
after being born. But life is eternal.
Encountering the Mystic Law in this existence dramatically opens the way to
transforming our karma. In a way, it could be said that such children were born
with the mission to awaken their parents and other family members. The karmic relation of being born together as
parent and child is immeasurably profound.
It is an inseparable bond. The
death of a child can lead to a deepening of faith and an expansion of life
state on the part of the parent, a process that in itself could be considered
as an aspect of that child's mission."
Quoted from the book Ode to Mothers by Daisaku Ikeda
