Little Conduits of Karma: Children and the "Karmic Retribution by Proxy" Trope in Medieval Chinese Buddhist Literature

This paper analyzes the “karmic retribution by proxy” trope in medieval Chinese Buddhist literature from the mid-third to mid-tenth century. In Chinese Buddhist miraculous tales, karma generated by an actor may not manifest upon themselves, but rather through the body of their child. This paper surveys surviving miraculous tales to determine why and how children assumed the role of proxies for their parents’ karmic retribution. By situating this trope within wider medieval Chinese repertoires of collective retribution, I illustrate that karma in medieval China reflected socio-cultural assumptions of collective or familial responsibility. I further place this trope alongside other concepts of collective or shared karmas in Buddhist thought, as well as examine medieval Chinese debates over the veracity of familial karmas. This paper contributes to scholarly conversations on collective karma in Buddhist traditions, underscoring the necessity to reevaluate conventional definitions of karma in light of noncanonical texts and lived contexts.