Buddhism Halloween And Ghosts

Jackolantern with brilliant Buddha carving (thebuddhistblog.blogspot.com)

Buddhists certainly have ghost stories. These restless or "hungry ghosts" (PRETAS) have an entire section of the ancient texts devoted to them called the Petavatthu. These ghost stories (a counterpart to stories of celestial planes called the "Vimanavatthu") tell tales of karma and its result. They will be recognizable to the Western as rewards and punishments for well and ill done deeds.

* Real paranormal activity: laghost.com
* Investigating the paranormal (Patt Morrison)
* "On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears"
* Zombies, cyborgs, or a rare disease: science and film

A "peta" is a person who has been reborn on the ghost plane, an unfortunate subhuman destination. Ghosts are not technically "disembodied"; they have subtle bodies varying in transparency and density. While they may be creepy, grieving, and clingy, they are not generally "evil." They are hungry and desperate. This is because when they died, they were very confused as happens when the death is untimely, unfair, sudden, or violent. Furthermore, excessive attachment to relationships or property leads to rebirth on a plane not far removed from this one. They are not adapting to the loss. Most significantly, violating one or more of the Five Precepts is karma (action) that, if it ripens at death, leads to an unfortunate rebirth.

Mara on the "Day of the Dead," LA 2007

Rather than coping with what has been lost, hungry ghosts are clinging to the past. Much like humans who live as hungry ghosts, they find themselves stuck in spite of wishing to move on to a better state. Grasping at and clinging to lost treasure, a lost loved one, or unfinished business keeps them stuck, no longer human but lingering here. The Buddha found the Indian term "peta" (Sanskrit, "preta") appropriate. For although hungry ghosts have departed, they linger and loiter around the perimeter of houses, outside the walls, at thresholds, gates, and doorposts waiting. They are neither fully in the human world nor completely separated from it. Yet, while they lack the karma to participate in it, they can be helped by humans.

Japanese depiction of a wretched "hungry ghost" with a large empty belly, naked, thirsty, voracious, and miserable (mangashare.com).

HOW TO HELP THE DEPARTED

The danger of making contact with ghosts is that they are very needy and clingy, even parasitic. To interact with them is somewhat like feeding a cat and expecting it to go away afterwards. To help, as for example to benefit lost relatives one misses and worries about, an offering may be made in their name. This skillful karma is the doer's alone. However, if the ghost approves and applauds the act, that very act of approval is a mental deed that benefits the doer, that is to say, the ghost.

If the deed is very good -- such as giving to the Sangha or feeding and clothing many people -- the approving, lauding, and praising of it will be very profitable, very karmically beneficial. It is as simple as exclaiming "Well done!" ("Saddhu!") In some cases, such approval will be enough to immediately liberate them from their miserable state. In any case, it will certainly benefit the doer. It even has the potential to profit other unseen beings (such as "devas") who, aware of the wholesome deed, make the mental karma of approving of it. This is why Buddhist ceremonies and group meditations end with the "sharing of merits." It gives other beings the opportunity to share in the good karma. Far from costing those who share merit, it compounds the benefits.

Profitable karma -- specifically, keeping the Five Precepts -- ripens either in the human or lower celestial planes. Unskillful deeds that come to fruition do so in the animal, ghost, titan, and unspeakably woeful destinations. Hungry ghosts do not come from planes we would call "hell" (naraka) nor are they "demons." They can nevertheless be unpleasant, "unclean," upset poltergeists, who are noisy, disruptive, and terrifying. While potentially more active around Halloween, their activity depends on human activity. (Not only ghosts, but inimical earthbound devas -- corresponding to wood nymphs, faeries, elemental spirits, and entities in Western lore -- may not necessarily want humans interrupting their sporting ways, celebrations, and play).

That having been said, for the most part exonerating ghosts, there are malevolent beings:

* Ogres/beasts (yakkhas)
* Reptilians/serpents (nagas)
* Dwarfs/gnomes (kumbandas)
* "Killers"/demons (maras; Scandinavian, Mares)
* Titans (asuras or former "devas", "angels" who were cast out of the Tavatimsa celestial world or "heaven," whose general antagonism is towards the remaining "devas" and their king-of-kings Sakka rather than humans).

Whereas later schools often simplify Buddhist cosmology down to six worlds (depicted in this Tibetan "thangka"), the Buddha in fact detailed 31 Planes of Existence.That all of this echoes Christian themes is in no way an accident or coincidence; these ancient Eastern mythologies may very well be the root of the descriptions found in European lore. Greek culture and mythology, which marks the beginning of "Western" civilization, was strongly influenced by its contact with India ("see" Bactria). And all of the mythological and hybrid creatures mentioned in Buddhist cosmology are pre-Buddhist Indian legends.

In Buddhism the difference (and this is a central yet woefully neglected point that non-meditating scholars fail to appreciate) is that this pantheon of "mythological" creatures is verifiable. The same is true of entities in Buddhist physics and psychology (Abhidharma), such as:

* elementary particles (kalapas)
* consciousnesses or thought-moments (cittas)
* the factors of Dependent Origination

How? With the power of jhana one turns attention toward them and the unseen becomes visible. Because these things are so far removed from normal awareness, however, they are hard to believe in. Therefore many scholars and most Western Buddhists choose to regard all such things as quaint myths and philosophical speculations rather than real and literal things that can be known directly. Pagans and Pegabus observe solstices and other pre-Christian celebrations like All Hallow's Eve (AP).

Anyone who refuses to believe in "ghosts" and hair raising things that go bump in the night might consider visiting a farm house, a haunted house, or weakening one's natural defenses by consuming sugar from artificially colored goop to commercial chocolate to alcohol. If one wishes to be frightened at Halloween, there are unseen beings to frighten one. But sugar, which is visible and ubiquitous, cripples the body, weakens the aura around it, and exposes the subtle bodies and fields, making one susceptible to all manner of harm. While the immune system is knocked out for hours at a time whenever sugar is ingested, it seems Halloween calls for inordinate consumption of candy and spirits.

Asia has Obon, a tradition of expressing filial piety by remembering the dead. Similarly, Latin America observes a holiday called the Day of the Dead. It is wonderful that North America has at least one night a year to acknowledge death, darkness, and discomfort. So step out of the comfort zone and address what's in the closet. It's not likely to be nearly as scary as it is while it rattles around in there ignored.

On the other hand, (attention Goths) anyone morbidly obsessed with sadness, suffering, loss, or pessimism would do well to avoid wallowing in negativity for a day to dress up as a bright faerie, a loving "bodhisattva", or even a repugnant Teletubby.Halloween has become an all-American celebration expressing our:

* fetishes
* anxieties
* impulses
* shadows
* trickiness (when we don't get treats)
* obsession with celebrity
* fear of disease and death

But Halloween is actually nothing more than the eve before the ancient Day of the Dead ("Dia de los "Muertos, "November 1st). It may be nothing more than a chance to vent and grapple with issues most of us would rather not deal with but which impinge on our consciousness anyway:

* war
* crime
* sex symbols
* social transgressions
* wild revelry

Not coincidentally, these five all-American obsessions correspond to Buddhism's FIVE PRECEPTS we otherwise live by when we refrain from:

* killing (even under the banner of war)
* stealing (defrauding people and institutions)
* sexually misconducting ourselves
* lying/slandering/perjuring or speaking harshly/divisively/idly
* intoxicants that abuse the body and lead to negligence

Halloween has morphed from a childish pastime to a sexy and psychologically significant adult event. So play dress up and pretend. Don a costume of whatever you dream or dread you might become -- and get out there. This is the best soon-to-be-holiday on the calendar next to Vesak, which is still the coolest.

Frightening landscape in of the Great Waste, a euphemism for the many woeful but impermanent planes of existence beneath the human realm.

by Seven Jaini and Ashley Wells

Ghost Children

A ghost of child is a difficult one for me. A mother myself, I cannot bear to think that a helpless child is lost, searching for his or her parents and unaware of their passing.

In the documentary film Children Of The Grave, viewers are faced with the reality of ghost children and the awful events that brought them to be. Hearing EVPs of their laughter, cries and tiny voices clearly communicating with the living brought tears to my eyes after sending an icy cold shiver up my spine. Filmmakers, along with the investigators who worked on this documentary were professional and showed compassion/respect for each of the innocent, lost souls that they encountered along their journey.

Another haunted location that comes to my mind is Whispers Estate - a B&B in my home state that is believed to be home to ghosts of children. Reported paranormal activity, along with recorded sounds of a baby crying and children talking, have led the owner and visitors to believe in and accept the existence of ghosts. Paranormal investigator Keith Age, from the Louisville Ghost Hunting Society, has said that this is one of the most active places he has been to and one where the ghosts clearly respond to the questions being asked.

~I would hope that in cases where the child ghost is accompanied by a malevolent entity or needs help in getting to the "other side", those involved would do their best to help release them from whatever keeps them earthbound.

Behind Ghost Hunting

Ghost hunting followed a renewed interest in spiritualism caused by two young girls that claimed to speak with a dead peddler. Forty years later one revealed that the noises heard during his "presence" were fake, but by that time, such a resurgence of interest occurred that no one cared. The first group that devoted it's time to the search for disembodied souls was a society devoted to ghosts at Cambridge University in 1851. London's Ghost Club started 11 years later. These pioneers provided the beginnings for today's avid ghost hunters.

There are really only three forms of ghost hunting:

The first uses psychic methods to make contacts. Sensitive's walk through a home and make communication with the ghost or go into a trance. Others may use Ouija boards or other channelling tools to make contact.

The second type of ghost hunter uses something known as "ghost buster" tools. These can consist of Infrared cameras, tape recorders and energy measurement tools like the electromagnetic field meter. Pictures of orbs, ectoplasm and spirits represent their proof.

The third type of ghost hunting uses the scientific method. They gather all data and evidence of a haunting and search for normal, natural scientific explanations. If they can find none, then these investigators look to the paranormal for answers.

In their introduction to ghost hunting, The American Ghost Society tells the future ghost hunter's that some of the cases that they investigate are frauds and pranks perpetrated to make the ghost hunter look foolish. Other cases without merit are people that, out of fear, mental illness or some other reason, mistakenly believe that their house is haunted. These ghost hunters search for the truth and understand that the scientific community does not accept their work but make it their duty to find evidence of true hauntings.

Most ghost hunters seek the adventure of the unknown or simply want answers to age-old questions. Some, however, are more dubious and their desire is for personal fame. With the fame and claims of ghost hunting come the fat cheques for the books they authored, or ironically, had authored by ghost-writers. Television guest appearances and movie contracts add to the bounty. These types of ghost hunters usually have spectacular stories, later debunked by further investigation. The public seldom learns of the misinformation and prefers the gripping tale told originally.

The unfortunate effect of the professional attention seeker is that true ghost hunters receive not only a bad name, but further dismissal from the scientific community. Most impassioned ghost hunters want substantial proof that what they believe they experience while hunting spectre was real. The stories aren't spectacular but interesting and as any good ghost story, they can send a chill up your spine.

Across the world, people have the opportunity to join the ghost hunters by paying a small fee to joining a ghostly walking tour of haunted areas. Many times ghost hunters lead these tours and give important historical information as well as relaying stories of ghost sightings at the sites that they have visited.

Keith Ward is the Founder and Director of the Circle of Professional Clairvoyants, which offers Psychic Readings with fully qualified Senior UK Clairvoyants and Psychics.

Tales Of Haunted Hollywood Part I

With Halloween growing near, it's a good time for a ghost stories. My brother and I were trading ghost stories when he recalled something he'd seen on TV as a child. There were no History, Travel or Syfy channels in the late 60s, but the program was definitely a documentary. It featured haunted houses and the people who lived in them. One of the interviews was with German-born actress, Elke Sommer, who played opposite Peter Sellers in a Pink Panther movie called "A Shot in the Dark".

Elke Sommer and her husband, Hollywood columnist Joe Hyams, lived in Benedict Canyon in North Beverly Hills, California. They claimed that a ghost was living in their house. I can remember feeling spooked after watching this program. Sommer and her husband reported that they had a ghost in their dining room. The chairs would move around at night. Marks were put on the floor below the chairs before they went to bed, and in the morning the chairs wouldn't be standing on the marks anymore. The chairs would be all over the place.

In the middle of the night, Sommer and her husband would wake up to what sounded like a dinner party going on downstairs in the dining room. They heard voices, chairs scooting, glasses tinkling, and silverware clanging. Yet when they would venture downstairs, no one was there. Sommer said, "Things would move all the time and it would be very noisy and the usual poltergeist nonsense, you know." The ghost was described as being a middle-aged man wearing a white shirt.

After attempting to battle the spirits themselves with no relief, Sommer called in some help, contacting the Parapsychological Institute at UCLA. When Life photographer Allan Grant arrived at the house to take some pictures, he was a skeptic - but not so when he left. He said:

"Something happened that spooked me. On one roll of film that I shot in a particular room where they first spotted the ghost there were about four or five frames of film that were progressively fogged down to the end of the frame, giving it a ghostlike appearance, especially (of) Joe Hyams, who was in the shot. When that was processed and I took a look at it, I thought, there's no way that would happen...in the center of a roll...something else had happened that I couldn't explain and I've spent years as a photographer and that had never happened to me before....Something did happen in that house. "

The haunting continued. One night, awakened by a knocking on their bedroom door, Hyams opened the door to discover that a mysterious fire had broken out. He and Sommer managed to escape through a window. Shortly thereafter, they moved out of the house permanently. Hyams wrote a book about the haunting experience called "The Day I Gave Up the Ghost. "Evidently, though, the ghost didn't give up. The "severely haunted house" at 2633 Benedict Canyon was bought and sold more than seventeen times since Sommers vacated it, and many have reported ghostly phenomena.

Oddly enough, this ghost story made it to the pages of a 1965 and 1966 Jehovah's Witness publications, "AWAKE!" and "THE WATCHTOWER". Yet to be found, are the results of the investigation conducted by UCLA.