法苑珠林 62.28

62.28

Furthermore, the Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna-sūtra says: If one cultivates giving for the sake of a deceased person, and they have been born in the ghost destiny, the ghost may receive the merit. Because ghosts know to repent the stinginess and greed of their former lives, when one gives on their behalf, they rejoice. If they are born in other destinies, for the most part they do not obtain its power. For instance, if one attains birth in heaven, one exclusively experiences pleasant retributions; not repenting past causes, one has no mind to think of merit. Therefore the sūtra says: 'If born in the heavens, they have no recollection whatsoever of the objects of the human realm. Why? Because the heavens are endowed with superior and wondrous treasures. If they enter the hells, they suffer various agonies and have no leisure to recollect. It is likewise for animals.'