Can human be possessed by another spirit?

Sounds weird to me. What about the vegetarian spirits?

7 Likes

Perhaps there is a belief in Sri Lanka that spirits are attracted to the dead bodies.
By the way, I am not a vegetarian even though I wish to become.

2 Likes

Thank you, Bhante.
What does it say on the link as per my post?
Is it Yakka or Peta?

Either one, or indeed any other kind of spirit.

2 Likes

After a recent discussion with a monastic person about mental problems frequently faced by Western practitioners, it struck me that it is quite possible that some forms of schizophrenia could be interpreted as spirit possession in the early Vinaya. Hearing voices issuing commands is a common phenomenon in schizophrenic patients, and what could be a better candidate for spirit possession?

3 Likes

There is a story about some labors in a factory possessed by spirit/ghost (we call it “kesurupan”). A friend of mine was assigned to lead the factory and hear the story, but strangely when he was at the factory, there’s no event of possessing by spirit. When he was on business trip to other city, the event happened twice. When it happened, the spirit possessing always ended after the local religious leader negotiated with the spirit and performed some kind of ritual with a goat being slaughtered.

My friend was curious and asked the HR manager who the labors were being possessed. It turned out there was only three labors who were always being possessed. So, he called a meeting with HR manager and factory doctor to discuss it, including the possibility of psychological health problem and the risk of accident because there are dangerous large machines in the factory if the labor fall on it when being possessed.

After the meeting, he had the HR manager announced if there is a event of being possessing by spirit again, the possessed labor will be checked by doctor for his medical condition. If there is an indication of health problem (i.e psychological problem), he will be moved to cleaning service staff (which is the lowest job in the factory). If he is positively being possessed, the labor will be fired with 3 months of salary payment because it is dangerous if the labor fall into machine when being possessed; he wil die instantly.

After that, the event never happened again :smiley:

4 Likes

Even a spirit can’t live without money!!

1 Like

I obviously don’t know the full details, just what you have said here, and just that much makes me sad enough. It seems like a pretty uncivilised and insensitive way of dealing with a mental health issue. Your friend seems to be the sort of person I would not associate with at all - that is, a person who threatens to penalise people for problem with their mental health. Still, disagreeable people tend to get into positions of more power and money than those who are less disagreeable and those who are vulnerable. Then they use that power to oppress the vulnerable. That is the way of the world.

Just because it hasn’t been reported to your friend again doesn’t mean it “never happened again”, whatever “it” was - you see your friend never got to the bottom of it. Maybe the workers were just too scared to say anything. I know I would be.

I wonder if your friend gets a good quality of work from his workforce? I wonder what his attrition rate is? He does not sound like a very inspiring boss. I hope for his sake that there is more to the story.

2 Likes

The Visuddhimagga might be the source of that, for its account of the charnel-ground-dwelling dhutaṅga practice includes the advice:

“He should not take such foods as sesame flour, pease pudding, fish, meat, milk, oil, sugar, etc., which are liked by non-human beings.”

8 Likes

Thank you Bhante @Dhammanando
Any logic behind this?

Yes, of course, I forget to add the happy ending: he managed to increase the factory production, i.e. when the production reach the target, he have some kind of festivity (we call it “selamatan”) for the workers as exchange of the exorcism ritual, all of workers was happy with it and their productivity is increasing since that :slight_smile:

1 Like

If you’re asking whether the claim has any empirical foundation, I can only reply that I’m not personally aware of one. For example, I’ve been living in a village cremation ground for over a year now, unmolested by any amanussas, in spite of the fact that I sometimes take my coffee with sugar.

9 Likes

Have you experienced any unusual things like Ghosts?

Since settling in this cremation ground, I believe my most unusual experience to date was a surprise visit from a Vallader-speaking Swiss lepidopterist. He was unusual by virtue of being the only lepidopterist and the only speaker of a Rhaeto-Romantic language I’ve ever met.

But as far as amanussas go, I’m afraid I’ve drawn a blank. Like Sāriputta in the Juṇhasutta, Ud4.4, I’ve never even got to see a mud-sprite (paṃsupisācaka).

10 Likes

But do you any pain in your head?
Just kidding.
:grinning:
I am so scared of cremation grounds.
But few months back I book an accommodation on my holiday and it happened to be a cemetery next to my room. Cemetery separated only from the brick wall.
I was not scared except for the bad order of the room.
First day I slept well but not the second day.
I had some wired experience but it is too long to tell you here.

I doubt all headches are caused by spirits- some of them by a blood vessel bursting inside your head :face_with_head_bandage:

with metta

1 Like

Part of my job involves doing autopsies. I’ve been around dead bodies since age 18 and I’ve never seen a spirit or anything supernatural. I don’t rule it out. I do know some people who have experienced things they can’t explain though.

3 Likes

What kind of things?

I have a close colleague who swears to have seen footsteps in condensation coming out of a morgue cooler (where bodies are kept) after the floor was freshly polished.

4 Likes

someone’s been playing games… :ghost:

with metta