Thinking my husband would like to share in this opportunity, I suggested he also make an offering. When one of the Buddha’s disciples came on his alms round, I offered him food. When the woman returned she admonished Shrona, saying, “Do you really think you are more compassionate than I am? These four ghosts were people I knew my past life, and they have all been reborn here because of their stinginess and greed. For the next ghost it turned into a lump of iron, for the next a lump of flesh, and for the last ghost the food turned into pus mixed with blood. He gave the ghosts food, but when the first one tried to eat it, the food turned into chaff. When she was gone, however, the ghosts begged Shrona and he took pity on them. She offered Shrona food but told him not to share any of it with the ghosts chained to the throne. Each was chained to the four legs of throne that belonged to an unusual, beautiful female ghost.Ī traveler from the human realm named Shrona happened by as the woman was leaving for a period of time. A classic Vajrayana tale (found in Words of My Perfect Teacher by Patrul Rinpoche) is told about four ghosts with specific obstacles. Some are powerful, intelligent, wealthy or have supernatural powers with which they can either help or harm beings. Ghosts with specific obstacles have various kind of experiences, depending on the nature of their previous deeds. Theses ghosts can hardly move because their bellies are huge but their limbs are as thin as grass. They can never force enough food through their tiny mouths to satisfy them, and even if the food reaches their stomachs it bursts into flames. No matter how much water these ghosts find to drink, by the time it gets down their tiny throats the heat from their breath has evaporated it. Ghosts with internal obstacles have gigantic bellies that it is impossible to fill, necks as thin as a hair, and mouths no bigger than the eye of a needle. Everything is agony for them, and if someone from another realm comes near, the desire of the ghosts produces a fever in the traveler (Patrul p.72). They may see an abundance of food and drink somewhere, but when they approach it, they are driven away by men who attack them with weapons. Similarly, they sometimes see an orchard of trees but arrive to find the fruit has dried up and withered. When they finally arrive, the water has dried up. Occasionally they glimpse a stream from afar, but it takes them a long, painful time to get there because their joints are so fragile. They may not hear news of food or water for centuries. Ghosts with external obstacles never find the food and drink they crave. There are four types of hungry ghosts: those with external obstacles, those with internal obstacles, those with specific obstacles, and those who move through space (Patrul p.75). If you’re looking at the Wheel of Life ( click here for a full image), the Hungry Ghost Realm is usually the section just above the Hell Realm to the left, below the Human Realm. Hungry ghosts (also known as pretas or gakis) are strange and pathetic-looking creatures that are consumed with hunger and thirst. Significance of Rebirth in the Human Realm Significance of Rebirth in the Hungry Ghost Realm Read/listen to the Six Realms of Existence Part 2: Asura, Beast, and Hell Realms I continue offering a traditional, mythological account of the realms, followed by a section about how to practice with each realm as a particular mind state you might experience in the course of your daily life. In this third episode of a 3-part series on the Buddhist teaching of the Six Realms of Existence, I describe the Hungry Ghost and Human Realms. 32 - The Practice of Not-Knowing: Relief, Intimacy, and Ground for Effective Action
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