What to do when ghosts/spirits interact with you?

lanie

Two of my work colleagues came back from their retreat and told us stories about a ghost (i don't know what to call them) who tried to disturb them at night. One said, the ghost had been watching him whenever he was about to sleep which caused him sleepless nights. The other one said, the ghost tried to strangle his body with its long hair. I have never encountered ghosts but wonder: How should a Buddhist deal in this type of situation? I mean when it is already interacting with you.

how

How do you meditate?
How do you deal with any arising phenomina in meditation?
Treat "ghosts or visions" in the same way..
Allow them to come and go on their own.
Don't hang on to them, push them away.

Zero

lanie said:

How should a Buddhist deal in this type of situation? I mean when it is already interacting with you.

Calmly and intuitively

taiyaki

Fear constructs and solidifies the appearance.

Love deconstructs and untangles the appearance.

Love or metta for yourself and the appearance. Or if you're smart then metta for all the appearance.

If you're a bit more advanced in practice then see that the appearance has no link to anything. Just visual consciousness.

And if you're even more cunning examine when and where exactly is the appearance. And if you close your eyes what happens?

If it disappears when the sense organ is not operating then it is a dependent arising. That means anything that is constructed is subject to impermanence. Bring that to the forefront of the mind and examine the appearance. Examine what is brought to the situation. How does fear solidify? Is my attention narrow or wide? Is this really a ghost? Step back. Can you just see colors meeting colors making shapes. Bring love into the situation, how does that change the appearance?

Things appear so solid to us when we are scared. But these are the best times to gain insight.

What happens when we desire to be more scared? What happens to the fear? And is there a distinction between the fear and the perceived object of fear?

What causes and conditions are in play? And how can we play with the causes and conditions to create new outcomes?

sharonsaw

Ghosts definitely exist. I know several people who can see them. Some were born with this ability and some developed it. I was told that ghosts are just like human beings - there are some good ones, some harmless and some harmful. Usually they have been reborn in the spirit realm because of negative things they have done - their strong attachments to a place or certain people. If a spirit is disturbing us, it must be because we have a particular karma with this spirit. The spirit is usually suffering badly, because they could have been stuck in that situation for a long time and they may not understand what state they are in. Because of their attachments, they keep repeating the same behaviour over and over again. This is why certain places are haunted - the ghosts just walk back and forth for hundreds of years.

If you encounter a spirit, please do read this article which might help - HE Tsem Rinpoche gives 4 remedies for spirit disturbances. http://blog.tsemtulku.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/buddhas-dharma/protection-from-black-magic-and-spirits.html

BonsaiDoug

Not sure how I'd interact as I've not as yet had an opportunity. I recall reading that in the suttas there are references to thirty-one planes/realms of existence into which beings can be reborn. I wonder if these ghosts might be those in the Hungry Shades/Ghosts realm (peta loka)? I seem to recall that this realm is in close connection/approximation to the manussa loka, where we as human beings are now living.

sean

i love tsem tulku rinpoche. that link will have the best info

how

how said:

How do you meditate?
How do you deal with any arising phenomina in meditation?
Treat "ghosts or visions" in the same way..
Allow them to come and go on their own.
Don't hang on to them, push them away.

Sorry folks..sloppy last sentence that should be

Don't hang on to them or push them away.

lobster

The other one said, the ghost tried to strangle his body with its long hair.

Really.
I would recommend astral speed hair braiding . . .

These hippy ghosts sound really wasted. May they find peace and dissolution and a good Buddhist barber. :coffee:

Takuan

Obviously, you make friends with them and use them to fight other ghosts.


lol, but really...

A ghost would be a interdependent being, just like you and me . I see no reason to fear them. You should also take into consideration that most ghost sightings are just projections of the mind.

Cinorjer

IF ghosts and spirits exist, and that's a big if, you should interact with compassion, same as with every being.

Unfortunately, people interact with fear. You get a half-glimpsed bit of white blowing in the night wind and run screaming. Nobody has ever been harmed by a ghost. It's the living that become predators out there, not the dead.

Patr

lanie said:

Two of my work colleagues came back from their retreat and told us stories about a ghost (i don't know what to call them) who tried to disturb them at night. One said, the ghost had been watching him whenever he was about to sleep which caused him sleepless nights. The other one said, the ghost tried to strangle his body with its long hair. I have never encountered ghosts but wonder: How should a Buddhist deal in this type of situation? I mean when it is already interacting with you.

I have a friend who sees spirits very clearly, in detail. A lot of the people with the 'YinYang' eye see them but in varying degrees of clarity, some see smoky shadows, others just an outline. Because they know when he sees them , they always follow him, asking for help. Cant blame them as everyone else 'ignores' them completely!

As with humans, there are naughty ones, helpful, mean, really nasty, almost all the categories of humans in this world would carry on in death as ghosts with their personality. I kid you not!

Anyway, just chant " Om Mane Padme Hum", usually does the trick, worked perfectly well for another friend of mine, whose a Christian as well.

seeker242

The story of Milarepa and the demon filled cave is a good one. http://buddhism.lib.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-EPT/simm.htm

Cinorjer

As a writer I'm fascinated by stories, and the patterns in the human mind that produce what is technically called "memes" or common, recognizable elements in the made-up stories we tell each other. When it comes to the dead, our cultures at first had both helpful spirits (usually ancestors with a vested interest in the bloodline) and evil spirits. While we still talk about "Grandma is looking down on you from Heaven" we don't grant her the power to actually help us anymore. But we refuse to give up our evil spirits out there trying to mess up our lives.

I guess we just love a good scary story. Long as it happened to someone else.

lanie

These are very helpful. Thanks!



"Things appear so solid to us when we are scared. But these are the best times to gain insight. What happens when we desire to be more scared? What happens to the fear? And is there a distinction between the fear and the perceived object of fear?"



"Anyway, just chant " Om Mane Padme Hum", usually does the trick, worked perfectly well for another friend of mine, whose a Christian as well."

footiam

lanie said:

Two of my work colleagues came back from their retreat and told us stories about a ghost (i don't know what to call them) who tried to disturb them at night. One said, the ghost had been watching him whenever he was about to sleep which caused him sleepless nights. The other one said, the ghost tried to strangle his body with its long hair. I have never encountered ghosts but wonder: How should a Buddhist deal in this type of situation? I mean when it is already interacting with you.

A monk once said to send the ghost good poistive thoughts, asking it too to go on in its journey and to leave the world of humans where it does not belong. Good idea, no?

Jason

lanie said:

Two of my work colleagues came back from their retreat and told us stories about a ghost (i don't know what to call them) who tried to disturb them at night. One said, the ghost had been watching him whenever he was about to sleep which caused him sleepless nights. The other one said, the ghost tried to strangle his body with its long hair. I have never encountered ghosts but wonder: How should a Buddhist deal in this type of situation? I mean when it is already interacting with you.

I'm skeptical about the existence of ghosts; but traditionally, Buddhists in Theravadin countries like Thailand and Burma will chant one of the parittas, a list of which can be found here (a shorter list with some of the specific uses can also be found here, the Atanatiya Sutta, Ratana Sutta, or Metta Sutta probably being the most popular in this instance).

Meditating, particularly the cultivation of metta or goodwill, and dedicating the merit one's practice to offending spirits is also another common practice.