Spirit Houses

[pomchop]

As we all know Thais tend to leave their old spirit houses usually under a big tree I guess when they buy a new one or the old one is broken....but i notice sometimes when i am walking that they also leave them just on the side of the road with no big tree.

There is one nearby now that appears to be quite nice and in close to perfect order...it has the spirit house plus the base plus all the various little statues of people, vases, etc....my guess is new it cost several thousand baht and there doesn't seem to be a thing wrong with it....it has been sitting there for a week or more and although many people pass by with pickups nobody has taken it away to use at their home?

I assume no one takes these as it is bad karma or something but i really have no idea as to the proper treatment of spirit houses etc....I suspect most any other valuable item left along this road would be gone in less than 24 hurs.

So the question is: What's the deal with spirit houses? Bad karma, bad luck, prefer new, already have plenty????

Edited January 22, 2013 by pomchop

[villagefarang]

If it is made of concrete and of any size, it would be very heavy, even broken down into sections. Somebody obviously thought there was a big enough problem that a house was needed to appease the troubled spirits. Don’t think many people are going to take the risk of messing with some pissed off ghosts.

[DonaldBattles]

​Spirit houses are like spirit trees and flowers. they are what people decide they are. Did you ever meet a Thai who says that they have seen a ghost during daylight hours. A Thai lady once told me that Thai ghost were mostly from men and don't come out to do anything during the day. Some Thai men do not come out during the day.

[onthedarkside]

I would never mess with the spirits and ghosts in Thailand. If a spirit house has been 'dumped' then there must be a reason and no Thai would think about recycling.

[BarnicaleBob]

The trashed houses you see on the road are left for the homeless "ghost". Instead of totally trashing it, people will sometimes leave it by the road for the ghosts that have no place to live. Some of these ghosts died too early, and are in between the human world and hell or heaven. DO NOT TAKE THAT SPIRIT HOUSE, LEAVE IT BE.

[DonaldBattles]

Yesterday I had a conversation at the Longhorn Saloon with a Thai lady about ghost. She stated that no one had ever seen a ghost during the day and ghost were usually always men. Can it be possible that some of the living and the dead are mostly asleep during the day.

[pomchop]

The trashed houses you see on the road are left for the homeless "ghost". Instead of totally trashing it, people will sometimes leave it by the road for the ghosts that have no place to live. Some of these ghosts died too early, and are in between the human world and hell or heaven. DO NOT TAKE THAT SPIRIT HOUSE, LEAVE IT BE.

I'm not about to take or mess with ANY spirit house.

I have been trying to learn and understand the connection between the spirit house and Buddhism and can't quite figure out where the ghosts all get involved and if it is more about spirits or more about Buddhism or exactly what is the connection?

[kirk0233]

The trashed houses you see on the road are left for the homeless "ghost". Instead of totally trashing it, people will sometimes leave it by the road for the ghosts that have no place to live. Some of these ghosts died too early, and are in between the human world and hell or heaven. DO NOT TAKE THAT SPIRIT HOUSE, LEAVE IT BE.

I'm not about to take or mess with ANY spirit house.

I have been trying to learn and understand the connection between the spirit house and Buddhism and can't quite figure out where the ghosts all get involved and if it is more about spirits or more about Buddhism or exactly what is the connection?

The only connection between spirit houses and Buddhism is in the minds of the Thai.

[pomchop]

The trashed houses you see on the road are left for the homeless "ghost". Instead of totally trashing it, people will sometimes leave it by the road for the ghosts that have no place to live. Some of these ghosts died too early, and are in between the human world and hell or heaven. DO NOT TAKE THAT SPIRIT HOUSE, LEAVE IT BE.

I'm not about to take or mess with ANY spirit house.

I have been trying to learn and understand the connection between the spirit house and Buddhism and can't quite figure out where the ghosts all get involved and if it is more about spirits or more about Buddhism or exactly what is the connection?

The only connection between spirit houses and Buddhism is in the minds of the Thai.

http://www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/spirit_house.html

[villagefarang]

Another satisfied Google customer. Search and ye shall find.

[pomchop]

Another satisfied Google customer. Search and ye shall find.

yep google is usually the answer ...or answers. Seems Buddhism has a bunch of spirits and ghosts all mixed in with it over the centuries...i supppose not all that different from the spirits etc in many other religions.

But it seems the last part of this article doesn't really address anything about unhappy ghosts..seems according to this they basically are just "discarding" the old ones.

Editor's note: many people have asked about what happens to old spirit houses. When changes dictate that a new spirit house be created, a ceremony will be held to transfer the spirit from the old spirit house to the new. After that, the old spirit house can be discarded. Many are discarded near a temple or wat, but usually at a place where other spirit houses have been discarded . So it is common to see many old spirit houses jumbled together.]

[uptheos]

I would never mess with the spirits and ghosts in Thailand.

Are you saying they are real (for you)?

[onthedarkside]

I would never mess with the spirits and ghosts in Thailand.

Are you saying they are real (for you)?

No, but I have a Thai wife.

[uptheos]

I would never mess with the spirits and ghosts in Thailand.

Are you saying they are real (for you)?

No, but I have a Thai wife.

Say no more!

[DonaldBattles]

Did the editor say anything about moving spirit strees or cutting them down. In order to make a spirit tree you simply have to hang a garland on it and it becomes one.