| Hungry Ghost
Buddhism
The souls of those rich in the wrong kind of karma. Hungry ghosts (or pretas) were greedy, envious people who failed to do good works such as giving alms. They suffer intense hunger and thirst that they must work off before they can reincarnate. Hungry ghosts may take the form of burnt trees. Or they may be comic figures with immense pot bellies and needle-thin necks. Each year, charitable Buddhists gain good karma by feeding these revenants as they congregate outside houses and along property lines. It is deemed wise to go home before midnight and to avoid places, such as walls and fences, where a hungry ghost may be hiding. They like to seize living persons as substitutes for their suffering. One should not, it is said, turn around when someone calls one's name in the middle of the night because it allows the ghost to seize one's soul. Hungry ghosts have a liking for barbecued pork: they can ruin a cafe's prosperity by salivating over the meat.
|