法苑珠林 6.7

6.7

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".