The Child and the Cruel Uncle

**Summary:** The fate of an orphaned boy living under his harsh uncle's rule reflects the karmic law of dealing with difficult creditors and the arduous path to settling one's debts.

The northeastern monsoon wind swept in, carrying a cutting cold. In a dilapidated wooden house in the countryside, the boy Minh huddled under a thin blanket, his eyes wide open staring at the dark ceiling. His uncle's curses still echoed in his ears, sharp as a knife cutting into his heart. That morning, just for accidentally breaking a ceramic bowl, Minh had been beaten on his back with a rattan cane, leaving red, inflamed marks.

Minh had been orphaned as a child. His uncle, his father's younger brother, had taken him in. Everyone in the village praised the uncle's kindness. But only Minh knew that this "kindness" came with conditions so strict they were cruel. He was not treated as a nephew, but as a servant. From the crack of dawn, Minh had to wake up to sweep the yard, cook porridge for the chickens, and run to the market for errands. In the evening, while the uncle's own children studied, Minh had to wash the dishes and do the laundry for the whole family.

One afternoon, a kind-hearted neighbor saw Minh sitting on the porch crying and called him over to ask,

"Dear child, why are you so sad? Does your uncle beat you?"

Minh wiped his tears, his voice choked:

"Auntie, my uncle calls me an ungrateful freeloader. I try my best with the work, but he still criticizes me. I don't know what I've done wrong."

The neighbor sighed, looking into the boy's dark-ringed eyes. She recalled the rumors about this family's past lives. It was said that Minh's father had once borrowed money from this very uncle and never repaid him, even defaulting on the debt, causing the uncle to suffer a great financial loss. That resentment had smoldered, and now, with Minh's parents gone early, the uncle took him in not out of affection, but to "collect the debt."

The uncle came out, saw Minh talking with the neighbor, and shouted loudly:

"Have you finished your work yet that you sit here whining? Get inside and finish washing those dishes! Useless!"

Minh jumped in fright, hurriedly stood up, his legs trembling as he walked into the kitchen. He didn't dare to utter a word of protest. In his heart, Minh felt an ultimate helplessness. He knew he was repaying a debt, but this method of repayment was agonizing. Each passing day was a day he swallowed his tears, enduring the severity of a demanding creditor. He wondered: "What did I do in my past life to face this now? And when will this debt finally be paid?"

But Minh did not know that his very endurance and silent gratitude (despite the abuse) was his way of dissolving his karmic obstacles. If he harbored hatred for his uncle, the feud would carry over to the next life. However, if he accepted repaying the debt with patience, sowing no new resentment, then even though his current life was arduous, his future would be more peaceful.

**The Meaning of the Story**

Venerable Thích Chân Quang uses this example to explain the concept of "difficult creditors" within the karmic law of cause and effect. Some debts are easy to repay, but others are extremely arduous, where the creditor is a family member or someone in power, and they collect the debt through severity, insults, and exploitation. The orphaned child serving the cruel uncle is the manifestation of repaying a past-life debt (a defaulted loan). The lesson drawn is: When we encounter circumstances of unjust treatment, instead of harboring resentment and wanting revenge (which creates new karma), we need to understand it as a time for settling old debts. We must be patient, endure, and maintain a pure mind, not allowing hatred to arise. Only when the debt of material and emotional obligations is fully repaid (with no remaining enmity) can we truly escape the spiral of injustice and end the chain of suffering in samsara.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thích Chân Quang.