Audio recorded at Buddha House Adelaide. Transcript auto-generated and AI-corrected; may contain errors.
About this talk. A question about whether hungry ghosts can actually benefit from offered food anchors this 18.5-minute Q&A session with Geshe Pema Tsering. He first addresses afflicted doubt — the nagging uncertainty about whether Buddha or karma truly exist — noting it is only fully abandoned through the path of meditation, then briefly lists the five categories of afflicted view. Turning to the three lower realms, he explains why ceaseless suffering leaves hungry ghosts and animals with almost no capacity for beneficial minds. The session ends with a concrete daily practice: bless a spoonful of leftover food three times with Om Ah Hum, each recitation progressively multiplying and purifying it, then offer it mentally to hungry ghosts — something anyone can do after any meal. The tone is warm and gently humorous throughout.
File metadata (for organising)
File: GPT – questions mc.mp3
UUID: 447b61c7-d5d2-4e7e-9c98-ee1b75d14ec1
Teacher: Geshe Pema Tsering
Collection: z Unallocated multiple years (Geshe Pema Tsering)
Recorded at: Buddha House Adelaide
Duration: 18.5 minutes
Words: ~1,218
So then there is attachment, anger, pride, ignorance, pride, ignorance, afflicted doubt, and then there is views. It’s one yeah. Wrong views is one of the views that there is. It’s this one, main one, which is views, and then there are wrong views is one of them. Okay?
So then it’s it’s the mind that that thinks in in this way, as Geshe-la is explaining, and all that it is said, people say that there is a Buddha, but then is there really a Buddha, or is there not a Buddha? And then people people say that there is karma and and cause and effect, and then there’s this this mind where things always is there really cause and effect, or is there not? This is afflicted doubt. So then there are many things that we we we have not how do you say? We do not know.
We do not have we do not have a firsthand knowledge about. We haven’t seen. So then and and we still hear about things, and we think, oh, is is this really so or not? And so then there are many things in this way we have doubts about. So then to to abandon it’s like I’m saying to to to abandon these afflicted doubts is very difficult.
It’s something that you only abandon in the path of meditation. Yes? So there are five there are five of these views. Do I have them here? Afflicted views.
View of the transitory collection, view holding to an extreme, conception of of bad view as a supreme view, conception of a bad ethics and mode of conduct as a supreme ethics of mode of conduct, and perverse view or wrong view itself. And this will all come later on in the text, inevitably. Okay? Here. You okay?
This one. No. No. No. Lots of questions.
Lots of questions. I’m scared now. Scared. You’re scared. Do you have anything to say?
That’s the question. Even though though the hungry ghost, are they trying to be good as much as good? Or I don’t think they are trying to be bad. I don’t think so. They’re trying to be bad.
No. They’re not trying. I don’t know. Yeah. So then this is then explaining that hungry ghosts, they are continuously continuously experiencing suffering.
So they do not do not have many opportunities to then to give rise to to beneficial minds, such as mind of enlightenment or compassion and renunciation and so forth. So and so then because they are constantly afflicted and tormented by by their sufferings, are very great sufferings that they experience. And then and then the and then the of course, in order to to avoid whatever sufferings that they experience and in order to to then in an attempt to to obtain pleasure, happiness, food, or whatever it is that they’re after, then they do engage in in all sorts of misbehavior, so to speak. Then the hell realms and the the the realms of of hungry ghosts and the animal realms, all these the three lower realms, then one must one must now one must engage in ways that to avoid being born in this three any of these three realms. Once one is born there, then it’s will be very difficult to give rise to good beneficial minds.
Extremely difficult. Okay? So then, Geshe-la is then saying that it’s very it’s easy to understand if you look at at animals themselves, if you look at dogs and cats, for example, they did they do not have good beneficial minds. They do not stop to think about any of these beneficial minds. They are either after after food.
Or if they are not after food, then they are just fooling around or they are completely asleep. Animals. So then they have even less opportunity then. Is it I mean, they’re continuously experiencing suffering So then, yes, if you offer with a with a good motivation, and if you if you offer the food for them, then with a visualization so forth, then they will benefit. And then there is another Geshe-la was making reference to one particular ceremony ritual, which is the Sur ceremony where you burn you burn a flower and so forth, and then they they feed on the smell.
It’s it’s supposed to to to to give them that that fragrance smell, and then they feed on that. So, yes, they benefit. Yes. It’s a particular it’s a specific ritual, Tibetan ritual, when one of the ingredients of the mixture that they burn is is is is is flower, barley flour. And then they burn that, and and it’s it’s they feed on that.
They feed? Yeah. They eat that. Eat. They smell that, and that helps them, benefits them.
Okay? So you’re gonna give food to the hungry ghost? You’re not sure, are you? You’re not sure, are you? I mean, I am.
You are. So it’s not it’s not it’s not difficult, and you don’t need much. After eat, you have just a little with just a little spoon of one’s leftover, or was leftover from one’s meal, then one just blesses it with Om Ah Hum, and then visualizes it as being a huge amount of food, and then offers it to them. Great amount of food which covers the whole earth, and then offers it to them as as food for hungry ghosts. You offer it to them, and then it’s a great benefit out of it.
So then visualization. So then if if just it’s just a little spoon of food, but then we should not think that it’s just a little spoon. If you if you if you bless the food with Om Ah Hum, and then you visualize it to be a a very great amount of food for a very great amount of of of hungry ghosts. And then in this way, you offer to them, and it’s it’s a great benefit. So then the recitation of Om Ah hum is very important.
So in the first time that you recite Om Ah hum to bless the food, then that food, which ordinarily the the normally, the hungry ghosts are not able to eat, after you recite it the first time, then it makes it it makes it then suitable for them to eat, makes makes it possible for them to eat. And then you recite it the second time, then that food then turns into a huge amount of food, not only just a little amount, but it’s a huge amount of food. And then in the third time, then it turns into everything that is good in in, I’d say, pervading a huge amount of space, and in this way, you offer. That’s how you give food to them. That’s how you give food to the hungry ghost.
So now now you’re going to give to to the hungry ghosts? If you are hungry and the food is is is very delicious, then you you think I I won’t give anything. And then if if when you you your stomach is full and the food is not so very not very tasty, then then you will think of giving it away. Okay. Okay?
Okay.