Stories about ghosts
16 Buddhist wisdom stories about ghosts from Buddhist teachers, each linked to the original talk.
- An email from beyond the graveStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A dying man in Singapore who had come to love Ajahn Brahm's talks asks to speak with him; his sister gets through and Ajahn Brahm talks with him on a couple of evenings. He dies…
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There was a Sri-Lankan lady. She's been listening to my talks a lot, I think she's been over here. And she called me. She had an emergency. During the Retreat time, you're not really supposed to receive many calls. She said 'Can you please help my brother? He's got a very, very bad blood cancer. We sent him to Singapore for treatment. But nothing is working. He's now paralyzed. He's only got a few days to live. Can you please talk to him?' So, of course, you don't worry about retreats and stuff. Of course you help out. So, for two evenings in a row I talked to him on the phone. And he was so weak. When he spoke to me he spoke very slowly and you had to listen very, very carefully to listen to what he was saying. But I gave him some advice about dying, and about letting go. And then the third night, he died... So I called him just in time, which is wonderful. Now, he was paralyzed, he could only.. they had to just... he could only just about speak. The next evening, his sister called me to tell me that he died the night before. But also to tell me: 'You won't believe this Ajahn Brahm This is absolutely true... that this morning, I got an email from him. Just saying 'Thank you'. And the email was sent about 6-8 hours after he died. The email, it's true, email from beyond the grave. So, you're actually wrong here, people actually do. They don't get cell phones, that's passé. That's the 20th century, i this is 21st century They send emails... Twitters, have you checked your Twitter account yet, to see if there's anything? So, now, I told people, 'Now I know what Gmail means'. 'Ghost mail
- Ghost stories on the walk to the graveStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At a Chinese burial in Kolkata Cemetery he kills ten minutes walking with an elderly funeral director and asks for ghost stories — she has heaps, treating cemetery ghosts as…
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Kolkata Cemetery. There was a Chinese funeral and so those of you who know Kolkata cemetery that you start at the gate and we go in procession leading the cortees in this case was a burial and the Chinese burial site is the furthest away from the entrance and I knew I've been there many times about 10 or 15 minutes walk so I knew I had no know uh 10 minutes to kill that's the wrong word at a funeral but you know I knew it's just know 10 minutes walk. So we were just uh the funeral director, she was an elderly woman and uh I said, "How long you been in this industry?" And she said, "Oh, you know, for 20, 30 years." Said, "Oh, great. Just to pass the time till we get to the the grave site. Have you got any ghost stories
- “How about the Holy Ghost, then?”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Being shown around the creaky old Benedictine abbey at New Norcia, Ajahn Brahm teases Abbot Placid by asking if there are ghosts. “No, no, Ajahn, we don't believe in ghosts.” —…
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So I was walking there with the Abbott, the performer Abbott, Abbert Placid, and I said to him, he said, "Are there any?" Actually, I was leading him on because I know a lot about Christianity and they don't believe in ghosts because they believe that once you die, you go to heaven or hell or in limbo or something, but they don't believe in ghosts. So, I decided to have some fun at the good Abbott's expense. I said, "Are there any ghosts, you know, in this abbey? It's very old. I'm sure many people have died." And he said, "No, no, Ajan, we don't believe in ghosts. You don't believe in ghosts?" "No, we don't believe in ghosts. How about the Holy Ghost then?
- “I can't understand Thai ghosts”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: At an open-air cremation in Thailand (of Ajahn Chah's brother, he thinks) all the monks leave as soon as the chanting ends. The young Ajahn Brahm says he'll go and sit by the…
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When I remember I just went uh Ajahn Chah's I think his brother died when I first went up to to Thailand and they did this open cremation. And so, it's after they they had all the monks around the fire and we all did the chanting and as soon as we could, all the monks left. Then afterwards, I said, "Oh, I'm just going to go by the fire." They said, "You go by the fire?" I said, "Yeah." They said, "Alone?" I said, "Yeah." "Aren't you afraid of the ghosts?" I said, "No, I'm not afraid of the ghosts. I can't understand Thai." Cuz even if the ghost goes something in Thai, I don't know what they're talking about. So, what's the point of being afraid? Is that the case that Thai ghosts only speak in Thai? And Sri Lankans only in Sinhalese? So, if it's a Western ghost and you don't understand English, you've got nothing to worry about
- I've been waiting for you for hours — get outStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Five years a monk, walking without lifts, Ajahn Brahm asks Ajahn Suwat for a cave toward Sakon Nakhon and is warned of a ghost that drove monks mad. A villager leaves him at a…
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So, I had my great chance when I was only just 5 years as a monk, and had the opportunity to go walking through Thailand with everything I owned on my back, sleeping out, going to any sort of village for alms round in the morning, getting enough to eat, maybe just some rice, but nothing. But, I was well fed. And I stayed in a monastery. It was a Wat Tham Seua Khao. And so, at that time, Ajahn Suwat was the abbot of that monastery. It was quite a well-known monastery. I went there for the the full moon day. And afterwards, I was time to go. I had a resolution I would walk. I wouldn't take any lifts to go anywhere. And I asked the head monk, "Is there any nice caves on my journey halfway between where I was and going to the town of Sakon Nakhon?" He said, "Yes, there is a cave, but be careful. Because he said there was a ghost in that cave. And some monks have gone mad staying in that cave too long." And now this was a senior monk told me this. And so I had no doubt he was telling the truth. So I said, "Yes. I'm going to meet a ghost the next night told to me by a very senior Thai monk, Ajahn Suwat Thamsatika." So I managed to find that cave. And it was a spooky cave. The one of the villagers took me to the cave. There was a beautiful spring outside, lovely water. And inside the cave, there was an old bench which you could lay down on. There was a very, very, very old Buddha statue there. And the villager told me that deeper in the cave, there was a skeleton, a human skeleton. And then it was getting dark, so the villager didn't explain much more. He went back to his his house and left me there in the spooky cave with a skeleton and a reputation of a ghost who drove monks mad in the dark all night. And I was very excited. Okay, come on, ghosts. So I meditated there and meditated and meditate and meditate. No ghost came. That's really disappointing. I was expecting the ghost. It never came. So maybe about 10:00 or something at night, I'd been walking all day. I lay down. It's in the dark, pitch black. And as soon as I lay down, something ran towards me. It was a ghost. Came to see me. You know what I replied? I said, "I've been waiting for you for hours, and now you decide to come. Get out." And I said to the ghost, I chased it away. I think ghosts should be more respectful to monks. And be more polite. Been waiting for you, and now you come and I just want to go to sleep. Get out of here. That's true story. So that was the end of that ghost.
- I've lived in this castle 300 yearsJoke · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Tourist asks castle guide if he's seen a ghost; never, in all his time there — how long? 300 years. He was the ghost.
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have you ever seen a ghost and the guide said and all the time I've lived in this Castle I've never seen a ghost and she said well how long have you lived in this castle and he said 300 years that's Today's Joke folks it was a ghost
- No real ghost has ever hurt a humanStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Cambridge/London Psychic Research friend Dr Tony Cornell — 'head ghost hunter of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' — always took a professional magician to supposed hauntings.…
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And I remember one of the guys I knew in that society, you can actually get him on uh the internet if you want. Dr. Tony Cornell. He was a another good friend of ours. And I remember he would give this this uh business card which was a beautiful business card to have. It was legitimate, but the head ghost hunter of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And I remember sometimes, if there was any ghost stories in the Sunday newspapers, he'd be the one who wrote it. He was real. He was a real ghost hunter. But, one of the things he'd always say, he'd always go to these supposedly hauntings with a professional music uh professional magician. Cuz magicians just knew how you could deceive people. And he wanted to make sure that what he actually saw was real. And many times there were real occurrences of like hauntings. But, first thing that no ghost has ever in all of the history of hauntings in UK, no real story of a ghost has ever hurt a human being. And he told me that sometimes in some of these rooms, the things were flying all over the place and crashing into the wall. But, they would never crash into a human. They would always miss you. Always. And that's over 100 years of research. So, first of all, there's no need to feel afraid if you hear anything which is a little bit strange.
- “Put your hand under here”Story · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A young builder from a poor family, renovating an old Perth house on stumps, hears a voice — with no one around — telling him to put his hand under the stumps just there. He…
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There's a couple of people who were really really strong supporters of this temple. They still are. I won't say who they are, but they were just a young couple, you know, just uh, you know, from poor families. And he was a bit of a builder. And he told me the way he got started in life, you know, with his wife, the way he got the money to actually put a deposit down for his first house was when he was doing some renovating in an old house somewhere here in Perth. Remember those old houses? You can still see them, you know, in North Perth in maybe sort of Vic Park, you know, on little stumps and the houses on top. As he was walking past alone, he heard very clearly someone say to him, "Put your hand under the under the um the stumps right here." And there was no one around. So he checked himself. Did I hear that? And it said it again. Put your hand under here. And he put the hand under the house where he heard the voice. And there he found an old tin. You know those old tins, you know, like they used to have tobacco tins or or biscuit tins. An old tin. And he drew it out and in there was full of cash. The previous owner of that house had been hiding his money there to know avoid paying taxes or whatever, but that was where he was stashing his cash. He died, but he wanted this guy to have a start in life. He was a very good man and he took that out and that's where he got the start in life.
- Sit and meditate — or get outStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: An ex-monk supporting the BSWA, meditating at a Thai cremation-ground monastery, feels a tug on his outstretched leg and then a foul-smelling presence entering his hut. He puts…
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There's one of the ex-monks who's still alive and still supports uh our Buddhist society. He told me once that he was in one monastery which was a cremation ground over in Thailand. And it's supposed to have been notorious for ghosts. And he was meditating there one day. And you know what it's like when you meditate, sometimes you get tired. So, he had his legs stretched out, leaning against the wall. And he felt somebody pull his leg. I don't mean a joke, it actually tugged it. And he thought, "Oh, this must be like a good spirit trying to make him be more diligent." But, that was only the start of this being coming into his hut. Cuz the being was starting to come in. And he would notice it coming in cuz it had a very bad smell. And he soon realized it was one of the ghosts. And it would always um tease him. Or just try and irritate him. But, the way he overcame that, and this is why I tell the story, anyone of you have any problems with ghosts, the way he overcame that was one day he put another cushion next to him. When the ghost came in, he said, "You can come in, but you sit down and meditate like me, or get out of here." He scolded the ghost. And because he scolded the ghost, that was the last time the ghost came in.
- The cheap haunted London townhouseStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Friend buys a London townhouse cheap because the agent admits it is haunted; first night midnight rap-rap; searches, finds nothing, gets louder.
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halloween the night [snorts] for good and as one of my friends [sighs] he was uh in london and you know he was getting his first house he got this town house really cheap because even the real estate agent who sold it to him admitted it was haunted no one else wanted to buy it but you know he said we didn't believe in ghosts it's cheap so let's get by it so he bought it and the first night in that house he was sleeping on the ground floor in the middle of the night around midnight he heard a sound rap rap rap rap and he thought well just imagining no ghosts and everything was closed and shut there's no wind just imagining so he just turned over and tried to go to sleep again as soon as he turned over rap rap rap rap even louder and so he got up tried to find out
- The ghost dog who brought back the ringStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A woman living alone with her beloved dog loses a sentimental ring in a park and can't find it after hours of searching. Days later the dog dies. She keeps hearing its…
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One of those ghost stories was a lady, I'm not sure if she's here this evening, but she told me this story a long time ago. She was a uh lived by herself. No, not really by herself. You know, she didn't have any any other human friends. She had her dog. And she told me here in front here just after a Friday night talk she said that uh you know she loved her dog her dog and her was you know basically the the contents of the house and she said one day she would taking her dog for a walk in the the park or the reserve and she don't know h didn't know how this happened but she lost her fingering you know in the in the park. As soon as she came home she realized she'd lost this ring. It wasn't expensive, but it had sentimental value. So, she immediately returned, traced her steps trying to find her fingering. She looked everywhere, but in a in a park, there's just too many twigs and leaves and grass. You just can't find it. It's hard enough to find things in your house, let alone in a park. So, after a couple of hours, she gave up and then she just came home. Few days later, her dog died. And of course she was devastated because that was the the being she was close to, she loved very much. And she swore to me in front here saying, "Absolutely honest, Ajam Brah, I won't lie to you, not a Buddhist monk. I heard that dog many times in my house barking. I couldn't see it, but I heard it." And if you've had a pet dog, you know its bark. You know its bark is different than any other dog. You recognize that was my dog. She's heard it many, many times. It was always behind a door around a corner and she'd rush around the corner, try and open the door. She could never see it. She could hear it though. But she was really wanting so much to see the dog that one day she was right in front of her front door inside the house and she heard the dog barking just outside the front door of her house and she was right there. So she immediately opened the door trying to get a glimpse of her dear dog. No one was there, completely empty. But she heard the sound there. And that's when she looked down at the welcome mat. And right in the middle of the welcome mat was her fingering. It was a dog who found her ring once. It was a ghost. True story.
- The ghost that moved next doorStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Near Dr K. Sri Dhammananda's temple in Kuala Lumpur a haunted house is cleared by his chanting — then neighbours complain the ghost has moved next door. He ends up chanting…
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But one of the most interesting ones was not one of the ones which I did, but one which Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda in Malaysia did and told me about. Just This was in Kuala Lumpur. And very close to his temple, there was a house which had a notorious ghost in it. And they tried many ways to get rid of the ghost. Nothing was working. So they asked him to go there. He was a good monk. He did the chanting there, and the ghost left. Departed the house. It worked, sort of. But a couple of days later, the neighbors came to complain. The ghost had just moved next door. And so he said he had to go doing some chanting in all the houses in the street, every one of them. So that ghost couldn't just move next door. Had to leave the whole neighborhood.
- The ghost who kept playing practical jokesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Scottish man's mate promises that after death he will still play practical jokes; in the English friend's house a pot plant and other tricks convince the visitor the ghost is…
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I'm going to still play practical jokes on you and he did and so this house had this ghost we always playing practical jokes even to the point this guy went to work one day the guy who survived the F who survived and all this furniture from the front room was in the garden when he came back to work and it's all it's him again and so this guy the um the Scottish guy who was visiting they're talking about this and he said I don't believe in ghosts said really I see if I can get him to do something for you and they're just having coffee on the coffee table and there was a pot plant
- The prankster ghost and the three leavesStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: Two young English friends share a house in Perth; one dies young of cancer, promising to come back and haunt his mate. Pranks follow: the shower turning cold, the lounge…
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one of our members he's got a great Ghost Story one of his friends let's go back for earlier his friend I moved to to Australia to Perth from England two young men they were friends so they shared a house together as they shared a house there two guys you know they weren't gay or anything they're just um to uh say on R when out had a great time but one of them developed cancer very young he died but before he died he always says I'm going to come back and Haun you you know like what some young people say I'm going to come back and Haun you and apparently he did and he was you know what you call those Lans always like doing practical jokes and so the other fellow who kept the house you know his girlfriend moved in after his mate died and little things would happen like be in the shower and it would turn from the hot to cold so you turn the hot on and it' be boiling little silly things like that but he said and he's quite sure about this one day he went out to work when he came home all the furniture from the landro was in the garden and there was just silly little things but sometimes you know if it's a a mate a friend they do this little jokes on you and his wife apparently could see him his wife wife never knew him and could see this Spectre in the in the house and described he said oh yeah that's him and so they just after all I just accommodate to these people but this member of our Buddha Society I better not say who it is he went to visit his friend I don't believe in ghosts she's just making it up and he was having coffee with his friend at the time and his friend said look he's he's around I'm sure he's around and he asked his friend come and prove to this visitor that you exist there's a pot plant on the table a leaf fell off that pot plant floated horizontally and then went down on the edge of the table half on half off and the visitor said no that's just it's just a wi just [Applause] coincidence and then another Lea fell off horizontal and then went vertically down exactly on top of the second Leaf no no no no just Charles thirdly exactly the same hor is onto straight down on the edge of that Lea and our friend who comes here said I've got to go and just jumped in his bed and just put the foot on the acceler just w didn't run away H you can have nothing to be afraid of it's just ghost playing around
- The shire ranger's mother at the foot of the bedStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: English shire ranger living alone in northern WA wakes mid-night; turns on the light; his sick mother stands clear at the foot of the bed smiling love for six or seven minutes —…
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Northern Iowa many years ago there was one of the members of our Buddhist society lived there by himself and he was a he was English and he was a ranger ear first it was sterling Shire yeah and what was it Vincent anyway one of the science Shire Ranger very down-to-earth man and he told me that one morning writing up one morning middle of the nights in his house living there by himself he woke up middle of the night knowing that something was strange he turned on his lights next to his bed and saw his mother standing at the end of his bed clear as if it was her his mother had got on a plane and came to visit him but he knew it couldn't be his physical mother his mother was sick in hospital and it was clear as ever could be she was standing at the end of his bed I don't know why the end of his bed but that's where she was standing looking at him with only the smart of love which her mother can give to her children beautiful smile
- The wife who came back for the willStory · Ajahn Brahm
In brief: A Thai woman who never trusted her Chinese husband asks Ajahn Brahm to do her funeral and pay for it, in return leaving her assets to the Buddhist Society; he passes it to the…
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there was this this Thai lady married to a Chinese man and she never trusted her husband at all. So much so she asked me a bra can you please uh do the funeral for me and pay for it and in return we'll I'll dedicate uh you know my assets is not that much my assets to the Buddhist society and I told them at the time I can't do that I can't do deals as a monk but I'll give it to our committee and they said yeah this is a nice little earner you know they're paying for funerals a few thousand dollars but the what would you get from the inheritance or from the will be worth much more than that. So we signed off on that and I did a funeral for them. Then after the funeral was finished that uh I did ask the widow George said have you got the the will said no I can't find it it's disappeared and I didn't want to harass him so just left it be. Then one morning that's when he came to monastery very early in the morning. George, I've never seen a man of any tradition so frightened. He said, "AJ," he came in a taxi all the way from, I think, Mlands all the way to Serpentine really early in the morning. He said, "AJ, can I give you this?" What is it? He says, "It's the will. Here, take it now, please. Quick, now." And what happened? Last night, my wife came as a ghost. George, George, you know where that will is. Take her to Ajam Brahm now. He was so scared. He was scared of her when she was alive. She was doubly scared. No, she was dead. So sometimes that's what you have to do. You just she was making sure her husband did the right thing and then after he did the right thing, then she could disappear.