Spirits Are Not Enemies, But Friends

Do not fear when you encounter beings from the unseen realm. Understand that they are sentient beings who need help and prayers for liberation. Listen to Venerable Thich Chan Quang share how to interact with the invisible world to live peacefully and transform karma.

Consider one family whose sixty-five-year-old mother passed away from cancer. After her death, the household frequently saw her appear: sometimes when opening a door, other times while drinking water. A young grandchild would cry and point toward a room rather than looking at the altar. Each time the thirty-year-old son saw his mother’s spirit, he would faint. Although they had taken her remains to the temple for prayers of liberation, four weeks passed with no change in the situation. The entire family was confused and terrified, unsure of what to do.

This story is just one of many cases that Buddhist practitioners face when confronting the invisible world. Many people try to suppress or drive away these spirits, but the more they resist, the worse things become. So, what is the right attitude? In a session answering questions, Venerable Thich Chan Quang opened up an entirely new perspective: spirits are not enemies, but friends who need our help.

### Spirits Are Not Enemies, But Friends

When hearing about spirits, people often think of vengeful ghosts or those intending to harm them. However, Teacher Chan Quang advises us to view them through the eyes of compassion. He explains that spirits are not enemies; they are friends. They are also sentient beings who lack a true dwelling place, so they patch together spaces and borrow shelter from others. They often manifest to signal their presence, seeking our assistance and asking for offerings of food.

Yet, we assume they are causing trouble or teasing us, so we try to suppress and banish them. Unintentionally, we push them further away, increasing their suffering and prolonging a painful connection. The teacher continues: "If we pray for their liberation and make proper offerings of food, they will find peace and stop causing disturbance."

Therefore, let us change our perspective. See them as lost souls longing for guidance and comfort. When we offer a portion of food, a recitation of the Buddha’s name, or a little love, they will let go and depart peacefully.

### View Beings from the Invisible Realm with Compassion

In another story, the teacher spoke of a mother who had been deceased for four weeks yet still appeared to her family. He explained that this person possessed strong mental energy due to excessive attachment and grief for her children and grandchildren. This was not a malicious spirit, but a mother who could not bear to leave her loved ones, or perhaps had something left unsaid. Instead of fearing, we should encourage them to seek refuge in the temple and ask virtuous teachers to pray for them. When teaching children in the family, we must also learn to face unusual occurrences with calmness.

Spirits are friends. They are sentient beings without a true home, living in makeshift conditions. They manifest to inform us of their existence, hoping for our help and sustenance.

Standing before a departed soul, what is most needed is not amulets or traditional rituals, but a heart full of understanding. When we genuinely wish to help them, we will see them gently move away.

### Cause and Effect (Karmic Law) and Karma – Realities Science Has Not Yet Touched

Many people believe in science as an absolute truth. But Teacher Chan Quang reminds us: "To this day, science is still often wrong. I do not understand why, so do not trust science too much. Trust it lightly, but do not rely on it completely."

For example, science claims that humans evolved from a single mother in Africa and then spread across the world. But the teacher refutes this: humans appeared independently in many places at different times. If humanity originated from a single genetic line, we would have died out due to inbreeding. This is a profound suggestion that cause and effect (karmic law) is not as simple as we imagine, and the spiritual world has its own laws.

The teacher also offers a surprising perspective on illness: "Cancer is a living parasitic entity within the body that possesses a soul... it demands repayment of life."

Thus, spiritual practice is not only to avoid disasters but to transform debts accumulated over many lifetimes.

### Practicing Correctly Means Cultivating Wisdom and Compassion

Practitioners easily fall into two extremes: either focusing too heavily on rituals while neglecting duties, or being too pragmatic while losing reverence. The teacher advises: "As long as your conditions are sufficient for ordination, go ahead and renounce the world. But if you remain a layperson, you must share the burdens of your family, because the Dharma lies right there in daily life."

The path exists within everyday existence. When going to the temple, remember to care for your family. When meditating, do not act like someone showing off. The teacher also taught: "The more married you are, the more you should meditate," until you are no longer tightly bound to each other, allowing enlightenment to occur.

Above all, always remember the teacher’s advice on interacting with beings from the invisible realm: do not fear, do not drive them away, but instead show love and pray for them. Because when we open our hearts, we take a great step forward on the path.

The Buddha once said: "Nothing is more precious than compassion." Let us bring this compassion into every action and every recitation, so that not only those around us but also the invisible sentient beings may find peace and attain enlightenment.