Question: “I’ve been reading your book! It’s been very helpful so far – I’m really enjoying it! Can you expand on what a hungry ghost is?”
Thank you so much! I’m very glad my book is been helping you 🙂
The image of a hungry ghost in Buddhist literature and art is a greedy person with a “beer belly” and a long, narrow neck. Every time they try to eat something, it turns into fire and they’re not able to eat it.
One of my favorite stories of a hungry ghost is of Maudgalyayana’s mother. She was a cruel and greedy woman in her life. She always mocked and slandered the Dharma. When monks would go out for alms, she would give them dog meat. Her cruelty and greediness lead her to hell. When Maudgalayayana became an Arhat, he obtained supernatural powers and used them to see where his mother was.
When he saw her in hell, he transformed himself there and tried to offer her a bowl of rice. Because of her greediness, she took the bowl of rice with one hand and used the other hand to hide the bowl from the other hungry ghosts so she wouldn’t have to share. But she couldn’t eat it because the bowl of rice turned into fire. Maudgalayayana was sad and cried for his mother.
He then went to the Buddha and told him what he had seen and asked what he could do. The Buddha told him to take 99 other monks and him to make 100 and pray for her for 49 days (if I remember correctly). Eventually the mother heard her son’s prayers and she vowed to be a better person and she was reborn out of hell.
In the real world, a “hungry ghost” represents people who are in nature selfish, greedy in helping others, avaricious, angry, full of desires and ignorance. They are the people who are constantly after things and always wanting more, never believing they have enough. Though a hungry ghost is one of the three unfortunately ways of rebirth, they can still be successful and wealthy people, but whom are deeply suffering and dissatisfied.
To avoid rebirth as a hungry ghost, we practice compassion and generosity.
Smile and be well!