法苑珠林 6.7

6.7

問曰。云何名鬼道者。如立世論云。鬼道名閃多。為閻摩羅王名閃多故。其生與王同類。故名閃多。復說。此道與餘往還善惡相通。故名閃多。又新婆沙論。問。何故彼趣名閉戾多。答施設論說。如今時鬼世界王名琰摩。如是劫初時有鬼世界。王名粃多。是故往彼生彼諸有情類。皆名閉戾多。即是粃多界中所有義。從是以後皆立此名。有說。由造作增長增上慳貪身語意惡行往彼生故。感飢渴業。經百千歲不聞水名。豈能得見。況復得觸。或有腹大如山咽如針孔。雖遇飲食而不能受。有說。被驅役故名鬼。恒為諸天處處驅役常馳走故。有悕望故名鬼。謂五趣中。從他有情悕望多者。無過此故。由此因緣故多鬼趣。又鬼神者。婆沙論中。鬼者畏也。謂虛怯多畏。故名為鬼。又希求名鬼。謂彼餓鬼。恒從他人。希求飲食以活性命。故名希求也。

Question: Why is it called the "ghost destiny" (pretagati)? As the *Lokasthitābhidharma-śāstra* says: "The ghost destiny is called *śānta*, because King Yamarāja's name is *Śānta*. Those born there belong to the same category as the king, and are therefore called *śānta*." It also states: "This destiny has reciprocal traffic with others, where good and evil communicate; hence it is called *śānta*." Furthermore, the *New Mahāvibhāṣā* asks: "Why is that realm called *preta*?" Answer: "The *Prajñapti-śāstra* says: Just as the king of the ghost world at the present time is named Yama, so at the beginning of the kalpa there was a ghost world whose king was named Pitṛ. Therefore, all sentient beings who go and are born there are called *preta*, which means 'belonging to the realm of Pitṛ'. From that time on, this name was established for them all." Some say: "Because they perform, accumulate, and increase evil bodily, verbal, and mental actions born of intense stinginess and greed, they go and are born there, thus experiencing the karma of hunger and thirst. For hundreds of thousands of years they never even hear the name of water, so how could they manage to see it, much less touch it? Some have bellies as large as mountains and throats like needle-holes; though they encounter food and drink, they cannot ingest it." Some say: "They are called *gui* (ghosts) because they are driven and enslaved (*quyi*), constantly driven and put to work everywhere by the devas, always running about." They are also called *gui* because they "entertain hopes" (*xiwang*), meaning that among the five destinies, there are none who entertain more hopes from other sentient beings than these; due to this condition, many belong to the ghost realm. Furthermore, regarding ghosts and spirits (*guishen*): in the *Mahāvibhāṣā*, a *gui* is "fear" (*wei*), meaning that being timid and weak, they have much fear; hence they are named *gui*. Alternatively, they are named *gui* from "hoping and seeking" (*xiqiu*), meaning that these hungry ghosts constantly hope and seek for food and drink from others in order to sustain their lives; hence they are called "those who hope and seek".