Ghosts of Myanmar
Tuesday May 20, 2008 8:28 AM
Ghost stories have been filtering out of South East Asia's Myanmar, devastated by Cyclone Nargis two weeks ago. Family members with lost loved ones say the ghostly images of their relatives have been appearing to confirm their deaths. Some of the alleged ghosts have carried messages of warning while others have merely appeared quickly and then disappeared. Even military soldiers are reporting encounters with ghosts.
In Laputta town in the Irrawady Delta, villagers claim to hear desperate voices coming from the rice fields. They call out, "Help us... help us!" However, searchers carrying flashlights have been unable to find anyone there. The voices continue to call out to villagers at night.
Belief in ghosts among the Buddhist traditions of South East Asia is very strong. It is believed that if a person is killed in a violent or an "unnatural" manner, that person's spirit might linger on Earth.
After a spirit is seen by a living person, the custom is that the living should request a blessing from a monk to assist the dead in moving on from this world. In southern Thailand, large groups of people gathered to bless the spirits of the dead who might be stuck on Earth following the cyclone.
