Ghosts In Thailand

[McAttack]

My wife has been talking about stories she has read from Thai newspapers about Thai people seeing/hearing ghosts in Phuket and Phi Phi.

She believes it to be true (I can't disprove it so no arguement comes from me).

Stories of people on Phi Phi hearing Farangs swimming in the water at night, taxi drivers talking to ghosts but believing them to be alive.... and so on.

How entrenched is the "ghost" belief in Thai culture?

I remember seeing news stories whilst in LOS about people being posessed. My wife's friend won't let me whistle at night because she believes it calls ghosts.

Do Thais see it as a superstition or do they truely believe it? I know my wife believes it however she said she is not scared when she goes past a cemetary here in Aus but is scared if she goes past graves when in Thailand (eg when buried for 100 days before being cremated).

[RamdomChances]

In my experiance the belive in ghosts is deeply ingrained in "thai culture" even well educated thais will belive in ghosts. My wife has already said thet she does'nt want to go back to phuket on holidays as she is afraid of the ghosts, I can see these sensationalist stories hurting the affected areas even more as a lot of thai tourists will stay away.

There was a woman just down the raod that was hit by a lorry recently, nobody would walk anywhere on their own in the night and my mother-in-law cam and slept in the house as they were all afraid of ghosts.

[NarrLing]

An easy answer to your question is for you to look at all the spirit houses in Thailand. They are there to please the ghosts and direct them away from entering the home.

Maybe some of the guys in the Buddhism threads can fully enlighten you on how deep the belief in ghosts is and the role they play in Thai religion.

Ghosts come up in Thai conversation daily. I’ve been told of ghosts coming to the house to give lucky lottery numbers, ghosts possessing people, deceased family members visiting in the nights after their death, people seeing a ghost leaving a body soon after they had been killed in a road accident etc. These are only a few examples I have come across.

There are parts of Issan where men have been known to wear women’s clothes to bed at night to prevent them being possessed by evil female ghosts. The carved wooden penises carried by some Thai people have something to do with warding off ghosts I believe.

I’ve also been told not to look back when leaving cremations as the ghosts will enter my body if I do.

In my experience Thais truly believe in ghosts. It is just one of the things that makes Thailand so special to me.

Cheers

NL

[cdnvic]

My mother in law was freaked when she saw me burn a single incense stick. Apparently it attracts ghosts. You are supposed to break a bit off the bottom of the sticks, and burn at least two at a time. Dunno if thats the Chinese in her, or the Thai.

cv

[Abandon]

I gather that you feel you don't believe in ghosts, believe you are right, and think you cannot be wrong. Maybe you are not right. Maybe there really are ghosts.

Buddhism teaches almost nothing about ghosts, but does teach rebirth, and that rebirth can be in many different realms including as ghosts. If you suspend your disbelief for a moment, there may be a reason for Thai's having more fear and belief of ghosts than many typical weterners.

A ghost does not have a physical body, and therefore cannot be seen by the naked eye, or by scientific instruments which only measure affect on physical matter. To see ghosts, you must see with the inner vision of the mind. Naturally in the superiority complex of western thinking, that would mean imagination, but if for a moment you were to accept that possibly there is a genuine way of seeing with the mind sense rather than the eyes, then to access that would require a fine sensitivity; something that comes from a quiet mind. Westerners never dtop thinking from dawn to dusk, and even when asleep. But many Thai's do have the sensitivity of mind, and can see and even talk to ghosts and devas. The Farang only gets close to this sensitivity when in quieting circumstances such as a deserted graveyard, or when startled and in fear. Hence ghosts always seem to populate "spooky" places. In reality it is only in those places that bring the mind to the necessary sensitivity.

Now you might be wondering how come Thai's would have this ability of mind more than others. In truth for the most part they cannot. But enough can, through purity and simplicity (in the good sense) of mind, or through meditation, that the knowledge thereof is commonly accepted.

As for the Buddha in one sutta, a monk sees a ghost being stabbed by demons and his hair stands on end. He asks the Buddha if he too saw it. The Buddha replied that indeed he had, but had kept quiet. He said telling anyone would not bring any benefit for those who believe him, but for those who disbelieve him - they would be closed off to the things the Buddha had to say that had some importance and relevance.

[sua yai]

My ex explained it to me yers ago on Koh Samui. On two occasions, after a lot of beer and a minor tiff, I dropped the bike while riding home. She escaped with not even a scratch. I had a few cuts and scrapes. She told me the spirits had decided that I was to blame for the arguments and so were punishing me. I've never got on a bike drunk again.

The other main occasion I've seen it is in Issan, when it's lottery time. Groups of people go off to the sacred banyan tree and sit up all night for the spirit of the tree to show - always a woman. They then ask for the winning numbers. Quite often they would win something. These people certainly believed in it all.

[sua yai]

My ex explained it to me yers ago on Koh Samui. On two occasions, after a lot of beer and a minor tiff, I dropped the bike while riding home. She escaped with not even a scratch. I had a few cuts and scrapes. She told me the spirits had decided that I was to blame for the arguments and so were punishing me. I've never got on a bike drunk again.

The other main occasion I've seen it is in Issan, when it's lottery time. Groups of people go off to the sacred banyan tree and sit up all night for the spirit of the tree to show - always a woman. They then ask for the winning numbers. Quite often they would win something. These people certainly believed in it all.

[cdnvic]

I gather that you feel you don't believe in ghosts, believe you are right, and think you cannot be wrong. Maybe you are not right. Maybe there really are ghosts.

I don't know where you got this from. Everyone here has been asking questions of it, not dismissing it.

Buddhism teaches almost nothing about ghosts, but does teach rebirth, and that rebirth can be in many different realms including as ghosts. If you suspend your disbelief for a moment, there may be a reason for Thai's having more fear and belief of ghosts than many typical weterners.

It wasn't that long ago in western society that most people believed in ghosts. Rebirth in buddhism is a pretty ethereal matter. We can only guess what comes after death.

A ghost does not have a physical body, and therefore cannot be seen by the naked eye, or by scientific instruments which only measure affect on physical matter. To see ghosts, you must see with the inner vision of the mind. Naturally in the superiority complex of western thinking, that would mean imagination, but if for a moment you were to accept that possibly there is a genuine way of seeing with the mind sense rather than the eyes, then to access that would require a fine sensitivity; something that comes from a quiet mind. Westerners never dtop thinking from dawn to dusk, and even when asleep. But many Thai's do have the sensitivity of mind, and can see and even talk to ghosts and devas. The Farang only gets close to this sensitivity when in quieting circumstances such as a deserted graveyard, or when startled and in fear. Hence ghosts always seem to populate "spooky" places. In reality it is only in those places that bring the mind to the necessary sensitivity.

Pure speculation.

Being western does not mean you are closed off from these things. Most catholics and many protestant sects believe in demons. All of them believe that Christ rose from the dead. They do not have ghost houses, but they do have the crucifix, or rosary.

The 'typical' westerner may not believe the same thing as Thais do, but don't be so arrogant as to think that only non-westerners can be spiritual. That's the very thing you are accusing them of being.

cv

[chico]

You call them "ghosts", thais (especially in Isaan) call them "people you cannot see" - it's for them, that you have to get a monk, when building a new house, to explain them, that now you want to live there, and kindly ask them to look for a new place for themselves somewhere else.

The same goes for the "ghosthouses", give them food and something to drink, then they will protect you.

What is so different in the western world?

Never heard of angels to protect you in christianism?

What about ancient gods in nordic, greek or roman mythologie? just to name some.

What about literature : Hamlet?

And I have to admit, although I am a firm believer in science, there is certainly more to it, and there are things you cannot explain by pure logic alone.

How you call it, and how much you believe, is certainly up to everybody.

[Neeranam]

My wife is Thai and we don't have a spirit house. She says it is not needed as we only rent it. We have a banana tree which has a "spirit" living in it! My mother in law was told the winning lottery numbers by this banana tree, unfortuanately she misheard the numbers, silly old cow.

[wamberal]

When I lived in Hong Kong I heard quite a lot about ghosts...in fact there is a Chinese "Festival of the hungry ghosts", which is a night when those who died without descendants are feted and feasted so that they do not bother normal folk.

Hallowe'en, of course, is the Eve of All Hallows' Day (Hallows meaning Saints), when some churches intone the names of all those who departed this life during the past year.

Of course Thai people, Chinese or not, also have beliefs about ghosts. A belief in ghosts is surely one way of believing that there is more to life (and death) than what we can see and touch.

[chuchok]

Chinese, korean,Thai and Malayasian culture all believe in ghosts to a certain extent. It is certainly not just Thai that have these beliefs.

[Abandon]

Fully accept that weterners have spiritual beliefs, and don't think that only Thais/asians can be spiritual. Speaking of steryotypes, I maintain that, so far as I can tell, westerners have busy minds full of thinking, which lessens their sensitivity of mind to non physical phenomena. I have been meditating for 14 years, and still find my mind fits that description. But I didn't mean to imply that only Thai's are spiritual.

But now you mention it, as far as the general picture goes, I think that Western spiritualism rarely goes beyond mere beliefs... Ha!

[McAttack]

My posting of this topic is to better understand Thai culture . I don't think I ever questioned it .

One day I would like to live in the LOS and getting to know as much as I can beforehand would only be of a benefit. Four visits as a tourist doesn't qualify me to know anything about LOS, beliefs, culture, economy etc etc...

As a westerner, and being bought up with Christian beliefs does not mean my mind is closed off to all other cultures. In fact, I try to understand, and I accept all cultures and try not to judge any of them. Whether I adopt any of these cultural aspects would solely be up to me to make me the person who I am.

Being bought up with Christian beliefs doesn't neccessarily mean I adopt any of these beliefs either. In fact I would call myself a healthy sceptic open to anything.

One day I might take up meditation so I too can read the "busy minds full of thinking" people and know what they are thinking. Obviously, Pandit35 you have pidgeon holed me and most other westerners. I would be happy to read anything that you post regarding Thai culture and get your perspective on it and I was interested in what you had to say in your post. However, it is only one perspective. That is why I posted this topic on TV. To get many perspectives. Don't try to put all westerners in one basket. Others have open minds as well.

Show me what ya got

[Smokin Joe]

My GF believes in ghosts 100% and one thing I thought was unusual when talking about it with her was that there were no “good” ghosts, all of them were bad or evil in varying degrees. No helpful or benevolent type ghosts in her beliefs. She’s also scared of lightening but I’d call that prudence rather than superstition since she was near a water buffalo that was struck and killed by lightning when she was a kid.

Personally, I think its bad luck to be superstitious.

[ProfessorFart]

It has nothing to do with Buddhism. I'll try and nutshell the place of 'spirits' in Thai beliefs.

These Animistic beliefs in 'spirits' predate Buddhism in Thailand and just for simplification could be called 'traditional Thai beliefs' as opposed to imported Buddhism.

As the early Thai principalities embraced Buddhism and tried to export it from the court to the masses, it was realised that they would have to retain elements of traditional beliefs in order to make the 'new' religion more accessible.

Over the years Thai beliefs have become intertwined with both traditional Animistic beliefs and newer Buddhist beliefs.

Because of this, upsetting spirits can seem as abhorrent to many Thais as showing disrespect to a Buddha image.

[meemiathai]

Can I have a room with a female ghost in it?

[NarrLing]

Can I have a room with a female ghost in it?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Would you prefer one from the Thai horror movies?

[kreon]

i had a thai guy die next door to my apartment, my gal at the time would not stay at home unless i was there, this lasted for about 3 months

i wonder what this will due to tourism in phuket, etc, as most visitors are from asian origins and they believe all in ghosts

[ProfessorFart]

One point worthy of note is that the early Brahmins who introduced Hinduism to SEA incorporated traditional spirit worship into their religious structure in order to attract the populous into Hinduism (and later Buddhism) This is why things like Spirit Houses are Brahmin/Hindu in essence.

The Erawan shrine is the best known example of this. It was built to appease spirits which had been blamed for a series of fatalitles during the building of the Erawan Hotel. Although the shrine is technically a Brahmin shrine it remains mainly an Animistic shrine. That is to say no one goes there to worship Hindu gods but the spirits which they believe reside there.

Kreon, I think there will be many such shrines appearing in the affected areas over the next few months.