Yesterday was the Hungry Ghost festival day (14th day of the 7th Chinese lunar month). I thought about writing on what to do if one discover that the place one live in is or possibly could be haunted.
This is through my own experience, as well as people I know who share with me their experiences.
There is actually a few types of haunting that I am aware off:
1. Spirits from karmic debtors
2. Spiriits from people or animals that had died in that placec but could not move on.
3. Local beings, elementals, guardians that have been there before the home is even build
4. Spirits of those who followed people home.
Note: I typed this article on my mobile hence there would be grammatical errors. I would later go in to amend this post when time permits.
Karmic debtors
These are beings that someone has harmed for example in cases of abortions and harming of other living beings where usually spirits of the unborn child do not have sufficient merits to take rebirth. Or a home where a lot of killing of animals take place.
Karmic debtors are bound to the person through kamma, or gift and take account. Usually these beings can follow the person from place to place, so even if the person moved houses, the being can still follow them.
Some people may engage bomoh, mediums or Taoist priests to try to hurt or banish them. Usually I noticed there may be peace for a while but later they will find the being come back, often with a vegence. No one would be able to intefere with kamma we have with another being.
The way I find best is to ask for forgiveness and to consciously perform meritorious acts such as donating alms food to monks and nuns, voluntary work and spiritual practice. Always dedicate the merits to these beings and ask for forgiveness. Of course, if one perform acts that harms other living beings, one should stop it immediately.
2. People and animals who have passed in that home
Example people who passed through old age, illness, accidental death, murder or suicide. Or sometimes animals like pets who lived many years who passed and still attached to the home.
Like I have told in a previous story about a haunted house in my neighborhood, it can create disturbance and illness for new occupants there. Worst of the feng shui of the place is changed through bad renovation decisions.
3. Beings that have been there before us
All housing, town and cities are build on forest and mountains that had been cleared. Most people prefer to buy a home first hand as they feel safer. However, I have a friend who bought a home from a developer. And as her luck would have it, the very plot she bought was the home of a demi god or Datuk Kong.
Another person I knew got a condo first hand but as his luck would have it, he bought the very unit that has many strange incidents happening. When he consulted a bomoh, he was told it was the spot, like a kinda opening for the netherworld so many spirits would pass through.
4. Beings that follow us home
If our life force energy is low, due to illness, stress, too much negative emotions or drinking alcohol and substance abuse or always going out at night, certain beings may latch to our auric field and follow us home.
Most homes have altars or religious symbols that may be able to stop the entry of these beings. This is especially if someone in the home is kind and pious and prayed constantly, there may be guardian beings who can protect from these ‘uninvited visitors’. Homes that are unkept, having constant disharmony where occupants always fight would not have protective energies.
What to do if we suspect our place is haunted
If we have a idea who the being may be (such as a deceased person), we may want to engage in meritorious deeds and spiritual practice and dedicate the merits to them. In Buddhist practice, they would go to temple to offer donations and alms, as well as prayers and dedicate the merits to that particular being.
Do note the best protection is through our own spiritual practice, keeping our mindfulness and having goodwill. A genuinely good person who is kind and pious attract protection wherever he or she goes. Malevolent beings usually would not dare to go near or harm the person for fear of karmic repurcussions. Harm is often possible unless that person has a karmic link to that being, ie the person had harmed or hurt that being in the past.
In Thailand, many monks go to the forest, cemetries and caves to practice alone. Often these places are haunted. In fact, many monasteries are build on charnel grounds or haunted places. The monks, through their practice is often able to turn and transform the place around. In fact, they inflienced the spirits to do spiritual practice themselves.
When I was younger, I often like to venture to remote places alone and sometimes at night. There are times I felt, uh oh, that I am not alone. At that point, I understand clarity of the mind, spiritual practice and goodwill are very important for protection.
If we just start by dedicating 10 or 15 minutes of our time towards spiritual practice based on our own faith, these would add up over time. The merits from this practice could be dedicated to unseen beings that we suspect may co habitat with us, as well as our own guardian beings/angels.
Even if the home is ‘clean’, some people may bump into life dangers outside when they are at the wrong time, wrong place when their life force energy is the lowest, and they happened to be either experiencing extreme negative emotions, or are high on intoxicants.
Sometimes I feel it is not pure chance we ended up in a particular home with its invisible occupants. In fact, I have been told that my childhood home has some invisible occupants. They were probably there before we moved in as we were the 3rd family who moved in. The previous 2 families I heard never stayed long. Mainly, I guess we co existed for many years as we are not bad people. And later, my mom started her consistent chanting and prayers daily. Eventually, I started too and I felt the vibe of the place slowly changing.
So if we find ourselves in a place where we suspect there are invisible occupants, and we have no financial means to move out, the best protection would be to work on our spiritual practice and to practice goodwill.
