Found this article in a local buddhism website, thought it might
be interesting to share it with everyone in here:
1. It is said sometimes that ghosts can actually feel your fear;
they can even breathe it in and grow larger from it. If you are in
a fearful situation with a ghost, say a mantra or a Buddha or
Bodhisattva's name that will help you feel at peace and protected.
If you feel something close to your face taking your breath away,
tell it to back off now!. Remember, you are more powerful than any
entity. When they are breathing in your breath or the energy from
your fear, it's just an indication that they are not feeling very
powerful and are trying to draw on your power.
2. When there are children ghosts in a house, it works well to ask
one of the adult ghosts to persuade the children to leave
together.
3. Children and animals can see ghosts easily. Their intellect
isn't getting in the way, telling them it's not possible. If your
dog growls or your cat hisses at nothing, or your children talk to
"nothing," chances are you have a ghost around.
4. Many times there are ghosts so filled with remorse, guilt or
shame about something it did during its lifetime that it is
completely stuck. It won't allow itself to go on. Many feel they
must stay in this state of "limbo" and be punished. The truth is,
they are the ones who condemn themselves to limbo, but they can
take the next rebirth whenever they're ready to.
5. Ghosts will sometimes stick around if they are older and
genuinely concerned for people on this side, or younger but using
that as an excuse. We can always tell of the concern is genuine or
not, but in either case, we re-assure the ghost that there are many
people on this side who can help these people out. The ghost needs
to learn to let go and trust that people will take care of
themselves or find others to help them.
6. Ghosts who had a drug or alcohol problem when they were alive
may choose to hang out with people who have a similar addiction and
may actually take over their bodies from time to time to still feel
that high.
7. Some people think of their ghosts as pets, and what's sad is
that these ghosts often think of themselves as pets. They're
grateful to be loved, no matter how it comes. These ghosts have
very little self-esteem, so we are gentle and loving toward them.
But it is also important to be firm about the fact that they need
to set themselves free, e.g. by chanting "Namo Amitabha" to aspire
birth in Amitabha Buddha's Pure-land. Ghosts are people, not
pets.
8. Sometimes if a person doesn't believe in life after death, he
will not move on when he dies, because he won't understand what is
going on. He will simply hang out in a place most familiar to him.
The good news is most people do believe in some kind of after-life,
so this doesn't happen that often. When you are dealing with ghosts
who don't believe they are dead, it's important to be honest and
direct and tell them that their physical body is dead. We can tell
them to chant the Buddha's name and head for the golden light of
Amitabha.
9. Sometimes it's better that the owner or resident of a house tell
the ghost to leave, first because it is empowering to the resident
to know he can make this happen, and also because it is a message
loud and clear to the ghost that it is not wanted.
10. The more fuss that's made about a ghost, the more ghosts you'll
attract. A good example is the Chinese celebration of the 7th lunar
month's Hungry Ghost Festival. In Buddhism, contrary to the popular
Chinese cultural superstition, hell's gates do not open and the
hell beings are not the same as the hungry ghost beings as they
exist in different realms. Giving offerings in mass to the ghosts
and fearing them thus attracts the hungry ghosts, who are already
around, in masses, along with wandering ghosts. (Please re-read the
header above if you are unsure of the differences between hungry
ghosts and ghosts as in wandering spirits.) Many traditional
superstitious Chinese do not see the difference between wandering
ghosts, hungry ghosts and hell-beings. While the first is not
really a realm by itself (limbo), the other two are realms in
themselves. The so-called ghosts that we encounter as humans are
either wandering ghosts or hungry ghosts- as hell beings do not
wander in other realms.
Portals are openings from our world into the spirit world. The most
common way to create one of these is to use an Ouija board ("plate
fairy" in Chinese) because it's inviting communication. The problem
with opening ourselves up to the spirit world without knowing what
we are doing is that we attract all kinds of ghosts to us that may
not be so favourable. If you suspect you have a portal in your
home, it's time to have some psychic protection. This is nothing to
mess about.
11. Ghosts in general have no concept of time. They can remain in
the same room or area for years and years, never giving any thought
to how long they've been dead or how much life is changing around
them. They are literally stuck at a point in time in the
consciousness. Honesty is the best way to handle a situation like
this. We tell the ghost, "This is the year 2000; it's important for
you to move on to a better place."
12. Ghosts can be very self-serving. They do what they want,
without consideration of what it's doing to others. Don't ever let
a ghost "have its way with you," no matter what that means. If you
suspect that you've been taken over by a ghost, do not under any
circumstances put up with it. They need to honour boundaries just
like the rest of us.
