I THINK I AM A HUNGRY GHOST!

Thich Nhat Hanh, Touching Peace: Practicing the Art of Mindful Living, edited by Arnold Kotler; drawings by Mayumi Oda (Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 1992) ("Every time I see someone without roots, I see him as a hungry ghost. In Buddhist mythology, the term 'hungry ghost' is used to describe a wandering soul who is extremely hungry and thirsty but whose throat is too narrow for food or drink to pass through. On the full moon day or the seventh lunar month in Vietnam, we offer food and drink to the hungry ghosts. We know that it is difficult for them to receive our offerings, so we chant a Mantra to Expand Hungry Ghosts' Throats. There are so many hungry ghosts, and our houses are small, so we make these offerings in the front yard." Id. at 99. " "A sangha in which each person is an island, not communicating with each other, is not helpful. It is just a collection of trees without roots. Transformation and healing cannot be obtained in such an atmosphere. We must be rooted if we want to have a chance to learn and practice meditation." Id. at 99. "Each of us needs a sangha. If we don't have a good sangha yet, we should spend our time and energy building one." Id. at 112. "Interpersonal relationships are the key for success in the practice. Without an intimate, deep relationship with at least one person, transformation is unlikely. With the support of one person, you have stability and support, and later you can reach out to a third person.... You demonstrate your willingness and capacity to live in peace and harmony with everyone in the sangha." Id. at 107. "Meditation is to live each moment of life deeply. Through meditation, we see that waves are made only of water, that the historical and the ultimate dimensions are one. Even while living in the world of waves, we touch the water, knowing that a wave is nothing but water. We suffer if we touch only the waves. But if we learn how to stay in touch with the water, we feel a great relief. Touching nirvana frees us from many worries. Things that upset us in the past are not that important, even one day later--imagine when we are able to touch infinite time and space." "We come to the practice seeking relief in the historical dimension. We calm our body and mind, and establish our stillness, our freshness, and our solidity. We practice loving kindness, concentration, and transforming our anger, and we feel some relief. But when we touch the ultimate dimension of reality, we get the deepest kind of relief. Each of us has the capacity to touch nirvana and be free from birth and death, one and many, coming and going." Id. at 124.).