Buddhist Ghosts. . .
Tibetan culture includes a widespread belief in ghosts. Ghosts are explicitly recognized in the Tibetan Buddhist religion as they were in Indian Buddhism, occupying a distinct but overlapping world to the human one, and feature in many traditional legends.
When a human dies, after a period of uncertainty they may enter the ghost world. A hungry ghost has a tiny throat and huge stomach, and so can never be satisfied. Ghosts may be killed with a ritual dagger or caught in a spirit trap and burnt, thus releasing them to be reborn.
Tibetan Buddhists believe that when a person dies, they enter the intermediate Bardo state, from which they may be reborn in this world in a human or animal body, in the ghost world in a ghost body, in one of the paradise realms or in one of the hells. But eventually, the person will die in this after-death world and be reborn as a human or other creature unless they achieve Nirvana, where they are beyond all states of embodiment.
These appearances are due to their negative karma and lack of merit. Sometime individuals have a predominance of hungry ghost in their makeup. They can never get enough, and are always hungry for more. The Tibetan word for the emotional state of the hungry ghost, ser na, literally means “yellow nosed”, and could be said to mean “meanness” or “lack of generosity”. The person in this state is constantly seeking to consume and to enrich themselves, but can never be satisfied.
According to Buddhist cosmology, you can avoid being reborn as a hungry ghost by attaining spiritual liberation and cleaning up your karma. In Buddhism, the realm of the hungry ghosts is one of six realms of rebirth, and people are reborn there based on their past actions. Factors that can lead to rebirth as a hungry ghost include greed, anger, desire, and ignorance.
Peace and Love, Jim
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