(Continued from issue #292)
Instructional talk given by Venerable Master Hua
(9) The Dharma Realm of Hungry Ghosts
The ghostly crew delights in hate,
Confused about cause, deluded by effects.
Their ignorance and upside-downness
Grow greater each day, deeper each month.
Many people have heard of ghosts. Some people believe in ghosts; some say ghosts don’t exist. Even some Buddhists don’t believe in ghosts. Just exactly what are ghosts? Ghosts are masses of yin energy which have shadow but no form, or form and no shadow. Sometimes you may see a dark shadow, but when you look closer it disappears. You see what appears to be a person, but it vanishes in the wink of an eye. It’s not easy to understand the principles behind such phenomena.
How many varieties of ghosts are there? There are as many kinds of ghosts as the sands in the Ganges’ River. If you want to know how many kinds of ghosts there are, you have to cultivate the Way. When you cultivate to a point where you are able to open the five eyes and attain the six spiritual powers, then you’ll know how many kinds of ghosts there are.
To those people who say that there are no ghosts, I tell them that if there are no ghosts, then there are also no Buddhas, no people, and no animals. This is because animals, people, and asuras are also transformed from ghosts. The celestial gods, Arhats, Those-Enlightened-by-Conditions, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas all come from the realm of ghosts. Why? It’s because the Ten Dharma Realms are not apart from a single thought. This single thought creates the Ten Dharma Realms. If you do ghostly deeds, you fall into the realm of ghosts. If you do human deeds, you become a human being. If you do the deeds of Arhats, you join the ranks of Arhats. If you do the deeds of Those-Enlightened-by-Conditions, you become a Those-Enlightened-by-Conditions. If you do the work of Bodhisattvas, you become a retinue of Bodhisattvas. If you perform the work of Buddhas, you become a Buddha. If you do hellish things, you’ll fall into the hells. These are all created from the present thought of your mind.
The ghostly crew delights in hate: Ghosts like to flare up in tempers and get angry. If they are treated well, they get mad. If they are treated badly, they also get mad. What do they like most? They like to give people trouble. If you treat them well, they give you trouble. If you don’t treat them well, they also give you trouble. There’s a saying, “Lighting a stick of incense calls forth the ghosts.” You offered them incense to show them your respect, yet, they come to bother you and make you sick. Hence, Confucius said, “Respect the ghosts and spirits, but stay far away from them.” You should certainly respect the ghosts and spirits, but don’t get near them. It’s better to keep them at a distance.
Deluded by effects, confused about cause. Not knowing and not understanding the principle of cause-and-effect, they can’t differentiate between good and bad. Basically, if you plant good causes, you will reap good effects. If you plant bad causes, you will reap bad effects. If you plant melons you will get melons; if you plant beans you will get beans. Since they don’t understand cause-and-effect, they plant eggplant in the hope of harvesting hot peppers, or plant hot peppers and anticipate eating cucumbers. They do things in total confusion; that’s what is meant by being deluded by effects and confused about cause. Their ignorance and upside-downness / Grow greater each day, deeper each month. The karma they create day after day keeps adding up. The more karma they create, the deeper their offenses become; the deeper their offenses are, the more karma they create. In the end, they fall into the ghost realm.
(To be continued …)