Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit preta
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| Wait, rebirth is real? Those monsters, those feeders, are depending on me to feed them?! |
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| I'm not a ghost yet. I'm getting there. Gimme! |
There are 31 Planes of Existence (and countless individual worlds) one might be reborn in, in accordance with one's deeds as their resultants come up at the time of dying.
One of the "unfortunate destinations" (niraya, the downfall or downward path) is the Realm of Hungry Ghosts.
Not all ghosts are hungry and suffering in the same way, as they are very diverse in accordance with their deeds, but deprivation is common on this plane.
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Beings reborn among them undergo suffering generally greater than that of humans, particularly an extreme level of hunger and thirst [1].
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| What must it be like in the Land of the Dead? |
Preta is often translated into English as "hungry ghost" from Chinese and East Asian adaptations. In early Buddhist sources, such as the Book of Ghost Stories or Petavatthu, they are much more varied.
Descriptions here apply mainly in this narrower context of those deprived of food, drink, shelter, and possessions clung to from their time on the human plane.
The development of the concept of the preta started with just thinking that it was the ghost and gandhabba (or intermediate conscious continuation of a person) once that person died on one plane.
In order to successfully pass through this phase of the cycle of karmic rebirth (samsara), the deceased's family are thought to have to engage in a variety of rituals and offerings to properly guide the suffering spirit into its next life [2].
If family or friends do not engage in these funerary rites, which last for one year, the person (spirit) could remain suffering as a preta for an indeterminate period of time that may seem like an eternity [2].
Karma (deeds)
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| I now love filth. I love smearing it on my face. |
As a result of that person's deeds (that store of karma), one is afflicted with an insatiable hunger for some particular substance or object.
Traditionally, this is something repugnant or humiliating, such as feces or cadavers, though in more recent stories, it can be anything, however bizarre [3].
In addition to having insatiable hunger for an aversive item, pretas are said to have disturbing visions [4].
Pretas and human beings (and also animals) occupy the same physical space. But while humans looking at a river would see clear water, pretas see the same river flowing with a repugnant substance. Common examples of such visions include pus and filth [4]. More
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