Ghost Month continues: Shadow Realm

Get outta my way! Hungry ghosts are after me!

"Ghost Month" (the Seventh Month of the Chinese Lunisolar Calendar, corresponding to Sept. 6 to Oct. 6, 2025) is the time of the Ghost Festival (Yulanpen). It is observed among the Chinese diaspora population of the world, particularly in Chinatowns, Malaysia, Singapore, and anywhere Mahayana Buddhism dominates. Hungry ghosts or petas (Sanskrit pretas) are miserable being who have been reborn deprived due to unskillful karma (deeds).

• Wisdom Quarterly coverage: Hungry Ghost Festival

Guanyin feeding (Stephen Asma)

If hungry ghosts, demons, and malignant spirits are living beings, and Buddhists cherish all sentient beings, how do we exorcise them when they create obstacles in our lives? Why did Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava) convert angry subhuman beings into "protectors of the Dharma" (Dharmapalas)? Why did the great Tibetan sage Milarepa have long conversations with ghosts and demons? How do can humans protect against curses and black magic? What are Buddhism’s Protective Verses (Parittas), and how do we chant them? These questions are answered in this “Buddhist Guide to Exorcism: A Spirit Handler’s Guide” and demonstrate some of the methods. More: Buddha Weekly

The Hungry Ghost Realm: A Buddhist Teaching of Hope in Addiction

Maha Moggallāna (Ven. Mulian)

(Mythos & Logos) Complete Archives: Mythos & Logos. The Realm of Hungry Ghosts (peta-loka) is a plane of existence in Buddhist cosmology, an unfortunate destination, an afterlife marked by deprivation, suffering, and dependency.

The journey of one of the Buddha's chief disciples, Maha Moggallāna (Sanskrit Maudgalyayana, Chinese Mulian), to this realm provides a first step for how to break the vicious cycle of addiction borne of trauma.

Many of us have a "hungry ghost" (peta, preta) lurking inside of us. If anyone is struggling, please reach out to a professional as there are many great organizations, including ‪@TWLOHA‬, filled with people trained and willing to help.*

• VIDEO: Buddhist Exorcism: Spirit-Handlers Guide - The Paritta Protection from Demons, Ghosts, Curses (Buddha Weekly)

Politics of hungry ghosts: Israeli imperialism

• (BBC World Service) Gaza: Dying for Food - BBC Gaza World Service Documentaries

Background Briefing with Ian Masters · September 23, 2025 - Dulcie Leimbach | Arthur Caplan | Maha Nassar

Trump trashes countries of the world at UN in front of the world’s leaders (Ian Masters, Background Briefing, Sept. 23, 2025, KPFK.org)

TIMESTAMPS

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:31 Bhavachakra at Punakha Dzong, Bhutan, photographed by Bernard Gagnon, licensed under Creative Commons
• 00:49 The Six Realms of Birth, Edo Period Japan, British Museum
• 01:13 Ghosts from the Bangkok National Museum
• 01:26 Hungry Ghost Scroll, Kyoto National Museum
• 02:06 Unending Hunger
• 02:09 Hungry Ghost Scroll, Kyoto National Museum
• 02:50 Haunting Ghosts from the Thirty-Seven Nats
• 03:15 Dr. Gabor Maté, In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction
• 03:54 Hungry Ghost Scroll, Kyoto National Museum
• 04:39 Maudgalyayana [Maha Moggallana] Rescuing His Mother, Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum
• 05:05 From Darkness
• 05:08 Ven. Maha Moggallana at Wat Olak Madu, Kedah, photographed by Ven. Anandajoti Bhikkhu, licensed under Creative Commons
• 05:38 Hungry Ghost Scroll, Kyoto National Museum
• 06:37 Yulanpen Sutra, Mahayana canon
• 07:12 Shakyamuni Buddha from the Dazu Rock Carvings, photographed by Michael Gunther, licensed under Creative Commons
• 07:42 Mulian Saves His Mother, 19th Century China
• 08:26 Into Light
• 08:30 Silk Roundel with Endless Knot Symbol, 19th Century China, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
• 09:00 Rahans Receiving Offerings, 19th Century Burma
• 09:18 Hungry Ghost Scroll, Kyoto National Museum
• 09:57 Offering at Hong Kong Ghost Festival, photographed by Rose Tim Wing Mxuiek, licensed under Creative Commons
• 10:10 Begging monk in Himeji, photographed by Nesnad, licensed under Creative Commons
• 10:20 Mukaebi of the Bon Festival, photographed by Batholith
• 10:55 Conclusion
• 10:59 Homeless man in New York, photographed by CGP Grey, licensed under Creative Commons
• 11:09 The Drinker by Albert Anker
• 11:26 Sinhalese manuscript, photographed by Wellcome Images, licensed under Creative Commons
• 11:51 Floating Lanterns, photographed by San Lie, licensed under Creative Commons
• 12:25 Hungry Ghost Scroll, Kyoto National Museum Ambient - The Ambient by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

ABOUT: Mythos and Logos are two ancient words that can be roughly translated as “Story and Meaning.” Support the channel by subscribing, liking, and commenting to join the conversation. Patreon: mythosandlogos. The purpose of this channel is to share the important stories at the foundation of human cultures throughout history. These include mythology, legends, folktales, religious stories, and parables from the dawn of history to the modern day. This channel provides interpretations and insight into these stories, to find and apply their meaning to contemporary life. All stories covered are treated academically. This channel makes no claims regarding the historical, scientific, or religious truth of these tales. Rather, its goal is to find the meanings understood by their authors and apply them to the modern world.

*All channel income from October 31-November 30, 2021, donated to To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) to help the Hungry Ghosts around us every day. Thanks for supporting an organization that helps those who are struggling.

• Parittas: Protective Buddhist Chants (Theravada Pali canon)
• Mythos & Logos, Oct. 31, 2021; CC Liu, Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly