Sermon
According to the folklore surrounding Halloween, October 31st is the chance for the dead to return and walk the earth. Unlike most indigenous cultures around the world, many Unitarian Universalists think once you die, you stay dead and don't come back in any form. It seems to violate what we know about the laws of matter and energy for a ghost to exist at all. I'd guess most of those present this morning do not believe in ghosts, thinking it an artifact of our superstitious ancestors.
Could we be mistaken? The disbelief in ghosts is a relatively new shift in thinking born of the age of science and reason. How would things be different if we accepted the possibility that there are ghosts in our midst? Let us now go a ghost hunting and see what we find.
During the Middle ages and before in Europe, belief in ghosts was widespread. After the Renaissance, the belief declined until the rise of spiritualism and psychic research during the 19th century. Although attempts to contact the dead continue back to the dawn of history, spiritualism got its start in the United States through the activities of Margaret Fox in 1848 at her parents' farmhouse near Hydesville, New York. Fox and to a lesser extent her two sisters, were able to produce spirit "rappings" in response to questions asked of the dead. Her fame spread like wildfire across the Atlantic and inspired many imitators. (Fox admitted later in life she produced the rapping noises through manipulation of her joints)[1]
Since that time, there have been waves of enthusiasm for Spiritualism after World War I and most recently in the 1980's with the appearance of high profile "channelers" who feel they are in contact with men and women from ancient cultures, enlightened beings or at least very wise beings without bodies, and even extra-terrestrials.
What I feel paved the way for the increased belief in existence of ghostly beings without bodies has been the borrowing from the East and increasing acceptance of the idea of reincarnation. For those who are fearful of death, the idea of reincarnation, at first glance seems very appealing. If I don't get it right in this lifetime, I'll get another chance in my next lifetime (assuming the incarnation isn't as weasel or a worm). Since people die at a different times and rates than people conceive babies, for reincarnation to work the soul may have to spend time in some kind of intermediate state waiting for a baby to hop into.
People who have spent a lot of time thinking about this process of going from one's last breath to one's first cell division are the Tibetans. They have gone to the trouble of creating a guidebook to the afterlife known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead. The book in great detail goes over all the sites, sounds, smells, joys and horrors in store for us after we die.
My title this morning comes from the Tibetan description of one of the six options for rebirth. In their system, you don't just have the choice of heaven, hell, or limbo but several other possibilities The first two are heaven realms full of pleasures and delights, then come rebirth has humans, then as non-human life such as birds, animals, and insects, then as hungry ghosts and finally in hell. Those who have been extremely covetous, having great feeling of attachment to their wealth and being obstructive to the generosity of others have a very good chance of a rebirth as a hungry ghost. Hungry ghosts are tormented by unbearable heat, cold, hunger, thirst, weariness and fear. Their limbs are grotesquely out of proportion with the rest of their bodies. Their heads are covered with disheveled hair and faces covered with wrinkles. Their necks are extremely thin and knotted so they can take no food or water. Their torsos are as large as mountains with an insatiable appetite and thirst they cannot satisfy. Their arms and legs are thin as straw. Sound familiar? Maybe a little like old age? Their suffering is 100 times worse than old age so it is said. But remember, this isn't as bad as being reborn into hell. We can revisit this description of what happens after death to covetous people when fund raising time rolls around if you like. I'd wager it has been used to stimulate a lot of generosity in Tibet when funds were needed for building temples.
In the Book of the Dead, before the process of rebirth happens in one of the six realms, our spirit spends time in intermediate states known as `bardos'. In this ghost like existence, the dead have various opportunities to escape rebirth and becoming one with what is or upgrade their next incarnation based on how they lived their life and their skill dealing with the afterlife. The book details a number of stages one passes through each with an opportunity to, in a sense, go toward the light. In fact there are remarkable parallels between the Tibetan account of the afterlife and people's reported near death experiences.
Those who have led virtuous lives are likely to escape suffering in the bardo and may go straight to their next rebirth without passing go. Those who have led despicable lives may get sucked up temporarily by the horrible void of oblivion. The whole process can take as long as seven weeks after death. During this time the dead can be greatly helped by the positive thoughts and prayers on their behalf by the living. The Tibetans read the Book of the Dead over and over hoping to aid their relative's ghost through the bardo and into a good rebirth. Some, though, get stuck in the process and become the common Western notion of spirits and ghosts.
One thing we can be sure of (at least in the mythology of ghosts) is that they have some strong earthly concern which prevents them from moving on beyond death. Hamlet's father's ghost returns to him suffering greatly and demands he avenge the great wrong done to him by his brother Claudius and by his betraying queen. The ghost pleads with him "If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not. Let not the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest." Scrooge's miserable ghosts of Christmas past, present and future show him the errors of his ways. Many a dead soldier is said to haunt the place they have fallen.
The many stories of haunted houses are often connected with the unfortunate demise of one of the occupants. The Octagon is a well known haunted house in Washington D.C. In the early 1800's, a daughter of a wealthy Virginia planter living in the house died falling down the stairs after a quarrel with her father. She had fallen in love with a British officer and her father hated the British. As you might remember this was also the time of the 1812 War so relations were not good between the United States and Great Britain. Did she trip? Was she pushed? Did she jump? No one knows. But on certain stormy nights what appears to be a candle is seen flickering on the stairs. Then there is a scream and a sickening thud.
One part of the Octagon was continually disturbed by thumping sounds. When workmen broke through a wall where these thumping sounds seemed to originate, they found the skeleton of a young woman. It was said that she was a servant who had been killed by her lover. To conceal his crime, he sealed up the body in the wall. After the skeleton was removed and properly buried, the thumping stopped.[2]
The tragedy of their demise or unfinished business during their life seem to be the preconditions for the appearance of ghostly phenomena. Whether we accept the possibility of ghosts or not, we can relate to the fact that our past can haunt our present. The Tibetans emphasize that what ever happens to us in the bardo is a reflection of the kind of life we led. The two are intimately connected by the law of cause and effect. Thus any success we have in excising the ghosts in our life today will help us not just now but, if the Tibetan Book of the Dead is correct, also after we die.
So how does one help the living and the dead and release ghosts to continue their journey? Many cultures around the world engage in some form of ancestor worship, something I'm sure all of us wouldn't mind a little of from our own sometimes less than grateful children. Particularly notable for these kind of practices are China, tropical Africa, Malaysia and Polynesia. The motives for it are various ranging from reverence for the wisdom of the elders, the desire for blessing from those who have died, the desire to assuage a family's grief and to prevent ghostly visitations and possible vengeful acts from the grave. In many parts of the world, the final resting place of the body or ashes becomes the object of devotion to the departed's memory. Some cultures have elaborate systems of burial, morning and regular visitation as a way to honor the dead. This was taken to extremes in ancient Egypt as the Pharaohs invested an enormous amount of energy and resources preparing for death building the magnificent pyramids.
I don't know if it has been discussed or studied but the Egyptians must have interesting parallels with the Tibetans in charting the underworld looking for a way of safe passage. After all, if there is existence beyond the grave, it would nice to know what one could do to help oneself and one's loved ones navigate the river of death for the best possible outcome. The Tibetans do not just chronicle the challenges and opportunities in the bardo, they recommend a number of ways to help yourself and others through the bardo. Most important in their ghost prevention efforts is not forgetting those who have died. Probably the most beneficial thing one can do is hold warm loving thoughts for the recently departed. Beyond this, the Tibetans feel there is a great deal we can do.
Sogyal Rinpoche, a living Tibetan Buddhist master who teaches in the west, outlines one way I'd like to share with you this morning in his very fine book, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. The way is a practice called phowa (pronounced po-wa). His westernized version of a much more elaborate Tibetan practice is a way to bring peace to those who are dying and have died. Basically, the practice consists of getting into as comfortable, relaxed and attentive mind state as possible and bringing your awareness to the present moment. Then, visualizing the sky in front of you, you bring to mind an image of the embodiment of whatever truth you believe in. If you feel inspired and guided by the Buddha, imagine the Buddha in a lotus position. If you feel close to Jesus or Mary, imagine them surrounded by light. Perhaps a great teacher or spiritual master will be the earthly image of truth for you. If no person comes to mind, imagine a form of pure golden light. The goal of this visualization is to project a presence which IS an image of the embodiment of the truth, wisdom, and compassion of all the buddhas, saints, masters and enlightened beings who have ever lived. In the Sufi tradition, this being is often called the Spirit of Guidance. I particularly like this name for the embodiment of truth, wisdom and compassion.
Next, through spoken words, make contact with this visualization through invocation and/or prayer and ask for its help in bringing peace to yourself and to the one who has died or is dying. Imagine rays of light coming from the visualization's heart or center and making contact with you and/or the one who has died or is dying. In the luminescent connection, the separation from the visualization is crossed and the two merge together as one. The key to the practice is breaking through the sense of separation and isolation of the individual from the visualization of truth, wisdom and love.
This practice has been modified by Sogyal Rinpoche from the Tibetan Buddhist original which is directed to the Buddha of compassion I think, because the Buddhists understand that what happens in our minds is much more important than the symbol the mind uses. The phowa practice develops one's feeling of connection with truth, wisdom and loving kindness which has great merit whether in this world or what may be beyond it. The actual form which expresses this great reality is valuable only in its ability to direct our energies. What is all important is cultivating the feeling of connection in oneself and others with truth, wisdom and love which extends beyond us and unites us with what is.
So what happens after we die? I don't know and wish I had a definitive answer for you. But I suspect if I did, you would probably either doubt me or have me committed to a mental institution. Such is the unhappy lot of the prophet. It would seem even the ghosts can't tell us except to create some motivation for us to release the ghosts who already haunt us. With practices such as the phowa meditation we can make peace with our own ghosts and help release the ghosts of others.
May no person in this congregation, may none of our families be reborn as hungry ghosts. May the faith of our forbears in universal salvation give us courage to believe that whether or not we are reborn, the necessity of our death need not be feared Death is a completely natural part of existence.
Finally, may we all constantly grow -
whether engaged in the process of birth,
the letting go of death or somewhere in between -
May we all constantly grow in truth, wisdom and love.
SO BE IT.
Copyright (c) 1996 by Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore. All rights reserved.
[1] Grolier's CD-ROM Encyclopedia (rev. 6)
[2] Cohen, Daniel, Ghost in the House,
1993, Cobblehill Books, NY, p 26